"I am not a madman, I am a sensible man who fights for his soul", this quote from Bram Stoker - Dracula, illustrates and prefigures that at the In the Victorian era, a quest for meaning was seen by the majority of society as "madness", but the characters Stoker used are depicted as "sane", suggesting Stoker's encouragement of a quest for meaning and purpose in the Victorian era of increasing uncertainty. Along with Stoker, Charles Dickens and Lord Alfred Tennyson also address the individual's quest for meaning and purpose, specifically linking this idea to themes of capitalism, class and gender inequality, corruption, freedom and of oppression; which I will use to compare and contrast writers, closely analyzing the defining points of individual choices within a Victorian society that was considered dysfunctional due to its rapid development. Throughout the Victorian era, it was not only increasing industrialization that impacted society, but also the continued expansion of literature, where it made its mark and importance within Victorian society. I will explore throughout the essay how the Victorian era was used as a visual metaphor for the characters' uncertain world and the impact they created in the novel. “Vampire” – the term itself sums up Dracula’s quest for meaning and purpose. As a vampire, Dracula possesses many peculiar and inexplicable abilities and supernatural powers. Dracula's most bizarre ability is that he does not contain a "reflection" of himself in the "mirror", his body does not actually exist. Dracula also has the ability to transform into a "bat" or any form he needs, therefore he does not have a fixed, stable identity. The Gothic form represented by Stoker...... middle of paper ...... used by Stoker, Dickens and Tennyson as a means of raising the main issues not only in the fictional world of Dracula, from The Lady to shallot and Stephen. Blackpool but our own realistic world. The main entity that all three characters share is that they all died searching for purpose and meaning in life. These deaths tell us not only how, as human beings, we are driven by our mindset to claim a sense of individuality and belonging, but also that discontent can distort and destroy a person's life. individual. As readers, we are able to interpret these deaths in a dynamic way that tells us more about the dysfunctions of our society's past than about the fictional character themselves; Benefiting future generations to come, by teaching them valuable life learning lessons. Works Cited Dracula - Bram Stoker Hard Times - Charles Dickens Selected Poems - Alfred Tennyson