Nine: The Beyond
A term coined for our own time is "Cultural War," used by those desperate to defend against the arrival of the future with its tolerance of women's rights, different sexual orientations, the presence of anything other than Protestantism, people of color in general, environmental issues, etc.
The Victorian Age had its own version of this, which I imagine in a vaguely Steampunk alternate timeline would be even more intense. Of course even the original novel mentioned the so-called "New Woman" (of which Mina proved a shining example of, while decrying the whole idea--Stoker was a complex man) and we did see Harker react to a crucifix with an automatic rejection of it as superstition.
Maybe one of the most vivid ways this cultural war enacted itself was the subject of spiritualism--a movement in which Victorians (not just the British--Mary Todd Lincoln was an avid Spiritualist following the death of her sons) dealt with death by pretending it was merely a change of state. Our loved ones are not gone, they claimed, but still with us, albeit invisible and intangible to our mortal senses.
Hence many a seance, many a meeting of those eager to contact the other side, many a charlatan taking advantage of such grief, many a skeptic exposing more than a few of such charlatans. Others, of course, were certainly as sincere as they come--but generally had less spectacular demonstrations. This subject caused a major falling out between friends Arthur Conan Doyle and Harry Houdini.
What fascinates me is how so many of these skeptics (who were proven quite right on many if not most specific occasions) retained their belief in religion. Quite simply, they engaged in "doublethink," the power to believe simultaneously in opposite things. In this case, they believed in the miracles described in the Bible while decrying the mere hint of anything supernatural. Of course those who actually looked into the matter came up with specific reasons--usually having to do with how the world changed once Christ actually walked the Earth. Very few gave it such conscious thought. Others, of course, became de facto or literal atheists. De facto atheists prove more interesting because they still go through all the motions of church going and quoting the Bible, defending religious institutions while not really believing one dot of the theology. I'm reminded of a friend who simultaneously insisted she did not believe in God but had a religion--she was Jewish. Or George Orwell, who not coincidentally coined the word doublethink.
Given Dracula (especially mine) plays out as a tale of the supernatural invading the (for then) super-technological present, one would think this would play out as a major element. Not so in the novel. Simply, Stoker gave the characters a guide through the conundrum--Van Helsing. My own version will focus upon rather than avoid this. Characters like Arthur and Seward in particular will find any hint of the non-rational, the mystical or even the seriously religious disorienting at best. More conflict in general means more drama.
Which is the single biggest reason I'm cutting the character of Van Helsing altogether.
To be continued
Maybe one of the most vivid ways this cultural war enacted itself was the subject of spiritualism--a movement in which Victorians (not just the British--Mary Todd Lincoln was an avid Spiritualist following the death of her sons) dealt with death by pretending it was merely a change of state. Our loved ones are not gone, they claimed, but still with us, albeit invisible and intangible to our mortal senses.
Hence many a seance, many a meeting of those eager to contact the other side, many a charlatan taking advantage of such grief, many a skeptic exposing more than a few of such charlatans. Others, of course, were certainly as sincere as they come--but generally had less spectacular demonstrations. This subject caused a major falling out between friends Arthur Conan Doyle and Harry Houdini.
What fascinates me is how so many of these skeptics (who were proven quite right on many if not most specific occasions) retained their belief in religion. Quite simply, they engaged in "doublethink," the power to believe simultaneously in opposite things. In this case, they believed in the miracles described in the Bible while decrying the mere hint of anything supernatural. Of course those who actually looked into the matter came up with specific reasons--usually having to do with how the world changed once Christ actually walked the Earth. Very few gave it such conscious thought. Others, of course, became de facto or literal atheists. De facto atheists prove more interesting because they still go through all the motions of church going and quoting the Bible, defending religious institutions while not really believing one dot of the theology. I'm reminded of a friend who simultaneously insisted she did not believe in God but had a religion--she was Jewish. Or George Orwell, who not coincidentally coined the word doublethink.
Given Dracula (especially mine) plays out as a tale of the supernatural invading the (for then) super-technological present, one would think this would play out as a major element. Not so in the novel. Simply, Stoker gave the characters a guide through the conundrum--Van Helsing. My own version will focus upon rather than avoid this. Characters like Arthur and Seward in particular will find any hint of the non-rational, the mystical or even the seriously religious disorienting at best. More conflict in general means more drama.
Which is the single biggest reason I'm cutting the character of Van Helsing altogether.
To be continued
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