Blog Post #2

In chapter three of Dracula, the Count tells the story of how his race came to be. He opens his speech with, “We Szekelys have a right to be proud, for in our veins flows the blood of many brave races who fought as the lion fights, for lordship” (Stoker 28). Dracula speaks with a sense of feeling superiority because of what his race went through. He makes sure that Harker, who is his audience when he does his speech, understands the importance of his race to Transylvania.

Dracula’s role as a speaker is to establish his superiority and nobility to Harker. He reiterates this by rhetorically asking, “Who was it but one of my own race who as Voivode crossed the Danube and beat the Turk on his own ground?” (Stoker 28). Dracula recounts this detail of how his race came to be from two superior races. As shown by this, he feels that he himself is higher than any other race.

As Dracula tells his speech, Harker is fascinated by his story. Harker explains how “Whenever he spoke of his house he always said, “we,” and spoke almost in the plural, like a king speaking” (Stoker 28). Harker’s comparison of Dracula speaking like a king shows how Dracula thinks of himself. He makes sure to put himself on a pedestal so it correlates to his recounting of his story. This also demonstrates that Dracula succeeded in what he wanted Harker to understand about him.