Реферат: Untitled Essay Research Paper Sociopolitical Philosophy in

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Sociopolitical Philosophy in the Works of Stoker and Yeats
Around the turn of this century there was widespread fear
throughout Europe, and especially Ireland, of the consequences of the race
mixing that was occurring and the rise of the lower classes over the
aristocracies in control. In Ireland, the Protestants who were in control
of the country began to fear the rise of the Catholics, which threatened
their land and political power. Two Irish authors of the period, Bram Stoker
and William Butler Yeats, offer their views on this “problem” in
their works of fiction. These include Stoker’s Dracula and Yeats’
On Baile’s Strand and The Only Jealousy of Emer, and these works show
the authors’ differences in ideas on how to deal with this threat to
civilization. Stoker feels that triumph over this threat can only be achieved
by the defeat of these “demonic” forces through modernity, while
Yeats believes that only by facing the violent and demonic forces and emerging
from them could Ireland return to its ancient and traditional roots and find
The vampire was a common metaphor used by many authors
in an attempt to portray the rising lower class and foreign influence as
evil and harmful to modern civilization. The Irish Protestant author Sheridan
Le Fanu uses vampires to represent the Catholic uprising in Ireland in his
story Carmilla. Like much of gothic fiction, Carmilla is about the mixing
of blood and the harm that results from it. When vampires strike, they are
tainting the blood of the pure and innocent, causing them to degenerate into
undead savages who will take over and colonize until their race makes up
the condition of the whole world. This was the fear the Protestants had of
the rising Catholic class. They were seen as a lowly people and the fear
was that they too would colonize and degenerate Ireland, and perhaps the
rest of Europe, back into a primitive land of savages. This fear of the breakdown
of civilization by dark forces is also what Dracula is about.
In Dracula, Stoker sets up the heroes and victors of the
novel as civilized people, while the foreign villain is ancient and demonic.
The book begins with the journal of Jonathan Harker, a stenographer from
London who is sent to Transylvania to close a land deal with the mysterious
From what is written in the journal, it is clear that
Jonathan is very civilized, logical and organized. His journal is written
in shorthand, which is a sign of modernity and efficiency. He is a stenographer,
which means he is well versed in the legal system, also a sign of a civilized
person. Harker also mentions that he had visited the British Museum and library
in preparation for his trip to this strange land, once again showing that
he is well-organized resourceful. Stoker makes sure to give the reader this
impression of his protagonist as a rational individual because it is he who
will later combat the savage forces with common sense and logic.
Harker’s detailed account of his journey into
Transylvania shows the contrast between the West and the East. As he travels
farther east, the land becomes more primitive and wild. As he writes in his
journal, “I had to sit in the carriage for more than an hour before
we began to move. It seems to me that the further East you go the more unpunctual
are the trains. What ought they to be in China?” (9). Here the reader
sees that as Jonathan goes east, technology begins to break down a bit and
things are a lot less orderly. Jonathan also finds that he is beginning to
lose command over the language, as he writes, “They were evidently talking
of me, and some of the people who were sitting on the bench outside the door.
. . came and listened, and then looked at me, most of them pityingly. I could
hear a lot of words often repeated, queer words, for there were many
nationalities in the crowd” (13). Harker’s inability to understand
the language is one of the ways in which he loses control as he travels east.
Back in the modern world of the West, even in foreign countries, Jonathan
can understand what is being spoken and therefore has a sense of control
over his situation. In the East, however, he has lost this control. If he
were able to understand what the people are saying, he might realize the
danger that lay ahead of him in Transylvania before it is too late, but because
of the Eastern dialect, he is oblivious to the warnings.
When Jonathan reaches his eastern most destination, Count
Dracula’s castle, he soon realizes that he has lost all control of his
situation. He writes, “I am not in heart to describe beauty, for when
I had seen the view I explored further; doors, doors, doors everywhere, and
all locked and bolted. In no place save from the windows in the castle walls
is there an available exit. The castle is a veritable prison, and I am a
prisoner!” (39). As the reader can see, the farther he travels east,
the more broken down civilization becomes and the more control he loses over
his situation. This idea that the uncontrolled savagery of mankind lies in
the East is all part of the philosophy that was shared by many Western Europeans
Stoker makes it clear to the reader that the vampire,
or the practice of mixing races, is demonic and anti-Christian. He does this
by offering perversions of Christianity in the novel. The first of these
occurs with the character of Renfield, a fifty-nine year old madman who comes
under the influence of Dracula. The character of Renfield foreshadows the
social disruption and insanity which will accompany Dracula’s descent
upon England, or, in other words, modern civilization. Before most of the
characters experience the wrath of Dracula, Renfield begins to act wild and
speaks of the arrival of his lord. This is one of the perversions of Christianity
that Stoker employs to show the demonic nature of the vampire. Dr. Seward
notes in his diary, “All he would say was:- ‘I don’t want
to talk to you: you don’t count now; the Master is at hand.’ The
attendant thinks it is some sudden form sudden form of religious mania which
has seized him.” (132). It is here that Renfield acts as a demonic form
of John the Baptist. Just as John the Baptist prepared people for the coming
of Christ, Renfield prepares people for the coming of his lord and master,
Another example of a perversion of Christianity is Lucy
Westenra. After her blood has been drained several times by the Count, she
finally dies on September 20th. An article in the Westminster Gazette dated
During the past two or three days several cases have occurred of young children
straying from home or neglecting to return from their playing on the Heath.
In all these cases the children were too young to give any properly intelligible
account of themselves, but the consensus of their excuses is that they had
been with a ‘bloofer lady.’. . Some of the children, indeed all
who have been missed at night, have been slightly torn or wounded in the
The newspaper article indicates that the first cases of missing children
were reported around September 22nd or 23rd. The reader can infer that the
‘bloofer lady’ is Lucy Westenra, and this would mean that she rose
three days after death. This is a perversion of the Christian Resurrection,
and it reminds the reader of the evil from the East that is spreading westward
The modern, civilized group of people are the only ones
who can stop Dracula from infecting their society. They all have qualities
that show they are participants in the enlightened modern world. Harker is
a rational and well-organized stenographer, Lucy is an assistant schoolmistress,
Seward is a doctor, Morris is from the rapidly growing United States, and
Dr. Van Helsing has an M.D., a Ph.D., and a D. Litt., as well as being an
attorney. All of these civilized characters join together to defeat the demonic
vampire who harks from the primitive lands of the East.
Stoker creates a story that is similar to Le Fanu’s
Carmilla and other gothic fiction in that it uses vampires to represent the
common fear of race-mixing and the uprising of the lower classes throughout
Europe. While Stoker believes that the best solution to this is to suppress
and destroy the violent and demonic energies that many feel threatened by,
Yeats shows a different philosophy in his works.
On Baile’s Strand shows Yeats’ opinion that
the foreign threats should not be simply suppressed or killed by modern society.
In fact, Yeats feels that modern society has its flaws and has the potential
to cause more tragedy than the threats themselves.
There are two characters in the play who represent conflicting
energies. Conchubar is the wise elder and is considered to be superior to
Cuchulain, and he represents obedience, law and enlightenment. Cuchulain
is the ancient war hero who represents the strong, heroic and violent energies
upon which Anglo-Ireland was founded. Cuchulain is a wild individual who
is king over a certain area of land, and Conchubar pays him a visit to try
to convince him to pledge his obedience to his lord and nation. After some
time Cuchulain agrees to recognize Conchubar as his lord and thus subscribes
to the rules of society. One may think that Cuchulain’s pledging allegiance
to Conchubar would be beneficial for him and his lord, as explained by Conchubar
in his attempt to gain Cuchulain’s allegiance. “Will you be bound
into obedience and so make this land safe for them and theirs? You are but
half a king and I but half; I need your might of hand and burning heart,
and you my wisdom” (29). Conchubar’s argument sounds reasonable,
but as the reader finds out, Cuchulain’s pledge leads him into despair.
Unknown to Cuchulain, he has a son whose mother is Aoife,
a fierce warrior and leader of a rival nation. Aoife has trained her son
to kill Cuchulain because she is angry that the boy’s father abandoned
them. The Young Man, Cuchulain’s son, comes to his father and challenges
him. Cuchulain does not want to battle him, because he feels a bond between
them, as he says, “Put up your sword; I am not mocking you. I’d
have you for my friend, but if it’s not because you have a hot heart
and a cold eye, I cannot tell the reason” (34). Despite the Young
Man’s challenge, Cuchulain wants no part of the challenge, at least
not until the boy is older and has more experience. Conchubar, however, reminds
Cuchulain of his pledge, as he says:
He has come hither not in his own name but in Queen Aoife’s, and has
challenged us in challenging the foremost man of us all. . . You think it
does not matter, and that a fancy lighter than the air, a whim of the moment,
has more matter in it. For, having none that shall reign after you, you cannot
think as I do, who would leave a throne too high for insult (35).
Because Conchubar views this challenge as an insult to the kingdom that Cuchulain
has pledged his allegiance to, the heroic warrior is obligated to accept
the challenge and avenge the insult. Even though Cuchulain has a natural
bond with this foreigner, he eventually accepts the challenge and unwittingly
kills his son. He soon learns the identity of the stranger, and as a result
he goes insane and drowns while attacking waves in the ocean. If Cuchulain
had not pledged allegiance to the civilized society, he would have been able
to follow his natural energies and feelings, which would have kept him from
murdering his son and going mad. Through this tragedy Yeats states that by
suppressing or killing the natural instead of facing it or even embracing
it, one can indeed become a member of a civilized society, but this is ultimately
a tragic condition, as the Fool observes while describing Cuchulain’s
death to the Blind Man. “There, he is down! He is up again. He is going
out in the deep water. There is a big wave. It has gone over him. I cannot
see now. He has killed kings and giants, but the waves have mastered him,
the waves have mastered him!” (43).
In The Only Jealousy of Emer, Yeats further expresses
his idea that suppressing or avoiding the demonic is not a way to solve the
problems facing Ireland. He feels that Ireland is trying to lift itself out
of its natural form and create an image of itself as an imaginative modernist
society, but doing so will simply delay the inevitable only lead it into
more despair and violence. Only by facing and experiencing the violent and
demonic forces that threaten it can Ireland emerge triumphantly over such
The play continues from the end of On Baile’s Strand,
and Cuchulain’s body has been retrieved from the water. His wife Emer
and mistress, Eithne Inguba, are sitting at his bedside. Emer is confronted
by the spirit of Bricriu, a demon whom Cuchulain will face in the afterlife.
Bricriu explains that Emer can bring Cuchulain back to life if she renounces
his love forever. At first Emer refuses to do this, but she finally does
renounce his love because she can not bear to let Cuchulain go into the hands
In renouncing his love, Emer loses the only thing she
ever had left, the hope of someday being reunited with her husband. When
Cuchulain is revived, he states that Eithne Inguba is his true love, and
Emer’s life is filled with nothing but sorrow.
If Cuchulain had faced the demons and suffered their wrath,
he would have become a legend that would live on forever, but instead he
is lifted out of the afterlife and lives with false passion toward Eithne
Inguba. Just like this story, Ireland will likewise lose all hope if it avoids
the demonic threats instead of going through and emerging from them. Even
though Cuchulain’s life is restored, he will not become the legend that
he could have, and he will have to face the demons eventually, as Bricriu
says to Emer, “He’ll never sit beside you at the hearth or make
old bones, but die of wounds and toil on some far shore or mountain, a strange
woman beside his mattress” (119). Yeats is saying that Ireland must
eventually face and live through the dark forces that threaten it, and removing
itself from these forces, in addition to simply delaying the inevitable,
The works of these two Irish authors are fine pieces of
fiction that effectively employ the elements of horror and tragedy which
are common in gothic literature, but they also serve as valuable insights
into the philosophies that were shared by many Europeans during these times
of anxiety and change. It is difficult to say which philosophy is superior
to the other. Stoker’s Dracula was published in 1897, while
Yeats’ works were written later, with The Only Jealousy of
Emer written in 1919, giving him the advantage of witnessing the Easter
Rising of 1916. The turmoil of the period was not as simple as modern versus
primitive or good versus evil, and certainly not everyone in Europe shared
their views or anything close to them, thus making it virtually impossible
to judge the superiority of one philosophy over another. While readers may
not agree with either of the authors, these works are still entertaining
and serve as a testament to the power of literature as a platform for social

Название: Untitled Essay Research Paper Sociopolitical Philosophy in
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