A Comparative Analysis of Bram Stoker's Dracula and F.W Murnau's Nosferatu

This article compares Bram Stoker's Dracula and F.W Murnau's Nosferatu. It explores the similarities and differences between the two works of art in terms of the theme of horror, gender roles, and evil. The article also highlights the different techniques used by the authors to build their artistic works.

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Introduction
The novel Dracula by Bram Stoker is among the top classical gothic horror novels that
are widely read in the modern days. Surprisingly, the novel did not appear to be much significant
to the Victorian era readers. The few people who enjoyed it though it was nothing more than a
good adventure story. The novel attained an international iconic status following the production
of various movie adaptations. Critically, the popularity of the novel was not witnessed until the
production of the controversial adaptation under the name Nosferatu. Although this film
adaptation was legally banned, there are some existing copies of the same. Ever since Dracula
has had a remarkable effect on how the image of a vampire is perceived within the folklore
discipline and popular culture. Both Dracula and Nosferatu are popularly debated on following
both their superficial similarities and their differences. While some thematic concerns remain
consistent to both the novel and the film, Nosferatu leaves out some issues in Dracula to explore
totally different ones. Similarly, the styles used in the two artistic works vary. This could be
attributed to the difference in settings as well as the unshared properties between the authors.
Dracula is a 1897 novel by an Irish writer, Bram Stoker which introduced the archetype
gothic character Count Dracula (Stoker). The novel contributed to the establishment of various
conventions in the modern day vampire fantasy (Bailey). Stoker in the novel tells the story
Dracula, a character whose name is the title of the novel and a vampire as well. Dracula makes

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an attempt to flee from Transylvania to England in his mission to feed on new blood and spread
vampirism, undead curse. In England, Dracula ends up in in a battle with a small group of men
and one woman, Mina, led by Professor Helsing. Dracula loses in the battle and dies off.
Nosferatu, on the other hand, is a 1922 horror film adaptation of Stoker’s novel Dracula (The
Charlottesville Times) (Murnau). The film which is directed by F.W Murnau has its main
character and vampire as Count Orlok. Although most of the aspects in the novel are transferred
to the film, there are various areas of differences. For instance, the names of characters change as
well as their roles (Wallis). Following the changes of roles among the characters, their traits also
change resulting in some completely varied themes. Stoker and Murnau use different techniques
to build their artistic works resulting in two superficially related works yet very different from an
in-depth analysis.
The two works of art are primarily gothic and majorly explore the theme of horror with
many mysterious happenings being the main events in the artistic works (Blazeski). The pieces
of art portray a fight between good and evil. The two vampires are pretty undeniably evil. The
vampires feed ion human being blood. They perform mysterious activities like carrying coffins
with them and even entering the coffins while still alive. The other characters gang up to destroy
the vampires. The crew has good intentions to save the society from the vampires. Although the
characters acting for the good side finally wins, the characters had to really sacrifice to ensure
that they conquer the evil of the vampires. Clearly, the two artistic works are typical traditional
works of good versus evil and the audience can predict from the beginning that the good will
ultimately win and the vampires will be defeated. Hence, the suspense in the two is not which
side will win but rather how many souls have to be sacrificed for the achievement of the final
victory.

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Death is a recurring theme in both Dracula and Nosferatu. The two vampires, Count
Orlok, and Count Dracula feed on human blood which pushes them to kill their subjects
(Runyeon). The vampires are said to transport coffins where they rest and bury their victims.
Several characters die in both the novel and the film and the vampires also die. In Dracula,
Lucy’s mother dies first followed by Lucy and later the vampire Dracula. In Nosferatu, the
characters think that a plague has hit the town following numerous deaths. Later on, Count Orlok
dies trying to escape from Ellen’s room.
Although both the novel and the film explore the theme of gender roles, the female
protagonists exhibit different character traits which consequently lead to the change of the theme
of gender roles. In Nosferatu, dominant women are not a threat to the society like in Dracula.
They are instead saviors as exhibited by Ellen. Ellen replaces the women characters from
Dracula, Mina, and Lucy. Ideally, women in the novel Dracula are presented as both intuitive
and smart yet very submissive and physically weak. Contrastingly, the women in the film
Nosferatu despite being smart to warn the male characters based on their intuitions and instincts
on the steps that they should take. In the movie, Ellen is portrayed as more helpful and at times
stronger than her male counterparts. She manages to kill Nosferatu while Jonathan falls on the
victim as he becomes a vampire.
The women in the novel appear to be less active and fall victims of the vampire, Dracula.
Lucy and her mother, Mrs. Westenra die with Lucy being converted into a vampire. Mina is also
attacked by Dracula who feeds her with his blood in order to gain control of her. Although Mina
is freed at the later stages, she still falls a victim of Dracula. Hence, all the women in the novel
hardly influence the decisions of the men unlike in the film. They are rather a threat inhibiting
the success of the men in conquering Dracula.

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The film adaptation of Dracula, Nosferatu evidences dangerous sex which is absent in
the novel. Ellen appears to be the purest character in the film free from sin and perhaps a virgin.
The relationship between her and her husband Hutter is a puppy love and the two do not engage
in the affairs of married couples (O’Brien 36). This is contrasted with Count Orlok’s apparent
bisexuality and dark eroticism. The manner in which he sucks blood from Hutter’s hand is
disturbing due to the sensuality in the action. At the end of Nosferatu, Count Orlok follows Ellen
in her bed. Even though he needs blood, the director hints that he seeks something else apart
from blood. This theme is missing in Dracula as Count Dracula only feeds on the blood from
Mina and there is no suggestion that he needed anything more.
The novel and the movie feature different reflections of evil. In Dracula, the victims of
Count Dracula end up being vampires too. In Nosferatu, Count Orlok determines who becomes a
vampire and who does not become a vampire (Mayne 28). In Dracula, both Lucy and Mina are
converted into vampires. However, Ellen in Nosferatu does not become a vampire but retains her
human nature. This implies that the two artistic works portray different degrees of evil with
Nosferatu having the highest magnitude of evil. This argument could as well be supported by the
different descriptions of the vampires. Count Orlok appears to be more dreadful than Count
Dracula. The vampire in Dracula is unattractive but not much monstrous. Nosferatu’s vampire
depicts Count Dracula’s features much exaggerated into the appearance of a grotesque being
with a large nose. The two works, therefore, represent varied magnitudes of evil.
Primarily, Dracula and Nosferatu are presented in two different forms. While Dracula is
a novel (written in prose form), Nosferatu is an acted play. The two adopt different forms to
present the intended message. Ideally, the novel is more detailed version than the film as a film
narrates a story in a short period (Rigby 201). While a novel appears in chapters, the script of a

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play is divided into acts and scenes. The fact that a play is performed live before an audience
leads to the conclusion that Nosferatu was much superior compared to Dracula. Nosferatu
gained an extensive viewership compared to Dracula primarily due to its form. The film debuted
a decade later after the release of the book. This implies that the film exudes a slightly higher
modern touch compared to the novel. The shooting of the movie was highly influenced by the
Expressionist movement in Germany which makes it more stylized and symbolic compared to
the novel version.
Conclusion
Conclusively, both Nosferatu and Dracula are overall great works of art. Both invoke
almost emotions in the minds of the audience. Dracula, being the masterpiece of Nosferatu gave
life to horror movies as there are numerous adaptations on the same. The changes witnessed in
the film version are not much withdrawn from the novel and hence the original touch of the
artistic work still remains. The changes make the film more adaptive to its setting both in terms
of time and place. Critically, Nosferatu despite its discrepancies with Dracula is still its greatest
adaptation that stays true to the storyline as well as the thematic concerns.

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Bibliography
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