Alina Shrestha
The movie and the novel Dracula focused on different representation of colors. Both the novel and the movie had dark shades of color that represented darkness, night and evil. They also portrayed bright shades of colors that represented angel, and good characters. The two main colors focused on the book were red, and white, the movie replaced the color white with green and focused on red and green color. The color red was portrayed as evil while white and green were portrayed as good and pure. I think Stoker used these colors to describe and differentiate the characters from good vs evil and for the readers to differentiate between them.
The movie and the novel had lots of emphasis on the color red. The color was used to describe female vampires, “red lips” and “red eyes” were used repeatedly. I think the eyes and lips were described as a sexual representation for females. Overall, the color red represented evil throughout the novel and the movie. Since the novel was written in Victorian Era, the women were expected to behave a certain way, so the use of such vibrant color was considered morally and socially wrong. The vampire women are heavily associated with the color, like when Lucy turned into a vampire as it symbolizes evil. The Dracula himself was seen to have red clothing, his red cape. We also see from the movie that the color red or darker color was used to set an evil setting for the Dracula. He was also shown to wear dark colored suit when he met with Mina, his castle had a dark setting and he was stronger and healthier during the night. We know that he was evil during the night as he was more powerful, but we know that he was weak and powerless during the day does this mean he was less evil during the day?
The colors white and green represented good in the novel and the movie. In the movie Lucy was seen to be wearing lots of green clothing but in the book, she was described as wearing white to represent pure and good. The color white represents purity and chastity. The colors were ideal representation of desired women, “angel of the house”. These women were ideal type for men, these “angels” were submissive to men or their husband. They stayed at home and did house chores and fulfilled duties of the men. The colors Stocker used to describe the angel of the house by using white color to describe their purity helped visualize the “angel” or good characters from evil. Lucy, before she transformed into a vampire she was described as wearing white gowns with red lips. This could also be the transition from good to evil, from human to a vampire. I believe using red and white color to describe Lucy was to foreshadow and to show the transition from purity to evil. We know that Lucy was an expressive woman and was not an ideal Victorian woman which I believe lead to her transformation.
Overall, the colors helped me visualize and distinguish good vs evil. Red and darkness aligns perfectly and have common themes throughout the book and the movie which foreshadows evil. While the white colors represented pureness and light which radiated from the characters.
I think that the colors played a very important part in both the novel and the movie. I found it interesting that red was the most dominant throughout even though we know that the men, although sexist, and Mina were both good and pure characters. I also think that it was intended for the reader to have a visual representation of the differences between the evil and good characters, personally it makes it easier for me to separate the people in the book. After reading this novel and having to focus on the theme of color, now when I am reading or watching movies, I am seeing how the colors represent the characters and their personalities through how the director or author wants the reader to perceive the character.
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