The Chthonic Realm of Our Psyche: Mythic and Moral Aspects of Dracula’s Nature

Abstract

Myths reflect the collective experience of mankind. Certain things recur in world myths. Carl Gustav Jung, Swiss psychologist, psychiatrist and analyst noticed that his patients’ dreams contained a lot of similar motives without being acquainted with one another. He observed that these motives in dreams are akin to motives appearing in myths, tales and legends. These archaic pictures or symbols which are universally recognized, he entitled archetypes. The distant locations of vampiric entities prove that vampirism is also a universal phenomenon. In the following article I intend to explore the essential inherent mythic characteristics of Stoker’s Dracula, focusing on possible conceptions of morality.