From Villain to Hero. The Shifting Social Role of Vampires in Stoker’s "Dracula" and Meyer’s "Twilight."

Abstract

The following thesis explores the evolution of the vampire narrative through an examination of Bram Stoker’s "Dracula" (1897) and Stephenie Meyer’s "Twilight" (2005). The thesis is divided into two parts: a literary analysis and a pedagogical part. The first part of the study will investigate the novels vampires to examine where the similarities end and the differences begin. This will be explored through three important aspects of the vampire: the environment, the appearance and the interaction between the vampire and other characters. Through these three classifications, the thesis will consider the shift in the perception of vampires over time, where the emphasis on terror lessens. This thesis argues that the vampire has made a drastic transformation from villain to hero with the removal of several terrifying aspects from the narrative. The vampire’s transformation into a sympathetic figure that humans can relate to has implications for society. As the thesis suggests, vampires represent our darkest fears and deepest desires. Therefore, this study examines what the changes in the vampire narrative say about readers’ contemporary values. The second part of the study focuses on how to teach the theme of vampires to students in upper secondary school in the English subject. It explores the didactical possibilities of using the results of this study and provides a detailed lesson plan that can easily be replicated by other language teachers. The ultimate goal of the lesson plan is to motivate students to read more literature.