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Significance Of Dracula

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To what extent was Bram Stoker’s Dracula based on historical figures?

In 1897, Bram Stoker wrote Dracula, the story of a monstrous Transylvanian count who terrorized local villages and fed on the peasants who lived in them. The book is today widely recognized as a historically significant literary work, and its importance has caused many scholars to debate whether Bram Stoker’s main character Dracula was actually inspired by real historical figures.

Many scholars believe that Vlad the 3rd or Vlad the Impaler was the direct inspiration for Count Dracula. Vlad the 3rd was the son of King Vlad the 2nd Dracul and as Prince, was the heir to the Wallachian throne. He was born during the year of 1431 and died during a battle in December 1476. When comparing what history says …show more content…

Interestingly enough, after people discovered these murders she had committed, she was never put on trial, instead she was locked away in her castle till the day she died, which was on August 21, 1614. Like Dracula, Elizabeth was well educated and she was taught to read and write in several different languages, including the language of the peasants. Like Count Dracula, Elizabeth Bathory’s status as a noble person gave her almost complete control over the peasants who lived in the villages she controlled. Elizabeth Bathory was able to bring young girls into her castle by offering food and money ("Elizabeth Bathory" 0:6:17-0:7:00), but when these girls never returned home it wasn’t noticed or cared about by the King because the massive debt the King owed to her and her family("Elizabeth Bathory"

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