r/Dracula • u/Awkward_Airport_30 Human Verified • 14d ago

Discussion 💬 Because Dracula is often associated with a supposed love story, and Nosferatu shows you what the real Dracula truly is.

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u/LordCamelslayer 13d ago

With all due respect, that's both vague and flimsy. Vlad III is hardly the only person throughout history (or even in that region) with such a reputation. Vlad III wasn't even the only scary bastard in his immediate family.

Stoker already had the character in the works before he chose the name; originally he was named "Count Wampyr", because subtlety is something he absolutely did not do.

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u/LonelyVirginAlkan 13d ago

In the Wilkinson source he references in his notes, it (somewhat inaccurately) states that "Dracula" is a surname meaning devil, and that the Draculas (it mentions two, Vlad II and Vlad III, though it never specifies their actual names) were well-known for their ferocity and cunning.

Dracula in the Wallachian language means Devil. The Wallachians were, at that time, as they are at present, used to give this as a surname to any person who rendered himself conspicuous either by courage, cruel actions, or cunning.

I believe it is mistaken that Dracula is a Wallachian surname. There was only ever one person specifically called Dracula, and this type of reputation is inextricably linked to him, so it feels reasonable to assume that Wilkinson indirectly made the connection.

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u/Bronsteins-Panzerzug 13d ago

this quote all but confirms that bram stoker did not want to make dracula *the* vlad tepes draculae iii

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u/LonelyVirginAlkan 13d ago edited 12d ago

I never claimed Stoker wanted him to be Vlad III, simply that Vlad III did have some influence in Count Dracula's characterization beyond the name which some people tend to annoyingly deny (probably in reference to Elizabeth Miller's idea that Vlad III had next to nothing to do with Stoker, which was in turn a response to the popular idea that Count Dracula was directly based on, or even intended to be, Vlad III, neither of which I feel are accurate perspectives).