I Hate the Ending of ‘Dracula’ — A rant
April 1, 2022 | Dara Marie | @thornfield_lane
Dracula (1897) is among the most famous gothic novels ever written. Thanks to Stoker’s fabulous writing (along with a little help from Hollywood and pop culture), vampire lore will never go out of style. It was a treat to read when I finally got around to it.
The novel is written entirely in letters, diary entries, and other documents such as newspaper headlines and ship logs. These span multiple characters, giving you a range of perspectives. It makes the reader feel like a detective investigating a case study–a perfect gothic ambiance. While this is steadily becoming a popular narrative style as seen in Nothing but the Truth (1991), Almost like Being in Love (2004), and The Guernsey Literary and Potato-Peel Pie Society (2007), it was exceptional for its time. Imagining reading it when it was first published, I can easily see why it was such a sensation.
All in all, I enjoyed it. The characters are endearing, the plot chilling, and the tone perfect… At least that is what I thought until I reached the last four pages.
I hate the last four pages of Dracula.
Look, there are some stories—most, I would argue—that you go into hoping for a happy ending; let the characters have sunshine and roses in their happily ever after magical fairyland. A classicly dark, gothic novel about a blood-sucking, centuries-old vampire is not one of them.
Allow me to bring you up to speed:
After our group of quirky, unlikely heroes have destroyed the count’s protection in England and got him on the run back to Transylvania, I was gearing up for an explosive ending. Leading up to the last chapter, I was convinced they weren’t going to beat Dracula to his castle, one of the protagonists was going to turn into his immortal bride, and it would end on a cliffhanger about whether they defeated him or not. I was so convinced, I put off finishing it for several days. When I finally found the courage and read it, I said, “Wow. Mine was better.”
Dracula, I love you. But your ending is terrible.
It’s so anticlimactic.
For one, it’s rushed. It seems like the characters spend such a long time coming to conclusions, making plans, and working up to the climax that when it finally comes, it’s done in an instant without much of a fight. They didn’t even get another chance to physically fight Dracula. The whole book can feel slow: why in the world is that the moment to speed up?
In my college fiction writing class this semester, we read a fabulous essay by Anthony Doerr entitled, “The Sword of Damocles.” (If you’re a writer, I highly suggest you read it. Doerr is my idol and he makes so many great points here.) In it, he discusses how suspenseful moments should linger. They should be carried out and slow. Tension should be focused on since it’s what the plot has been building to.
Stoker clearly didn’t follow that tactic because Dracula is stabbed in one sentence and his body disintegrates in the next. The narration spends a moment on Texan character Quincey’s death, then jumps ahead seven years as if nothing happened. Within the blink of an eye, you’re reading about how the remaining characters are all bosom friends and two of them have a son.
It feels too easy. Too perfect. Too romanticized. Too weak after such a long journey. It seriously irks me.
While I have felt this way since I read it, I will say I have recently found some grace for Stoker.
After rereading the novel several months ago, I did some research to include in my impending podcast. I read about some of Stoker’s influences including Irish folklore, historical events, and his own childhood battles with illness. I also learned that the novel was originally much longer than what was published. Not only was it longer, it was darker and grittier. His London publishers, however, refused to print it like that. A string of murders had plagued the city’s streets and they didn’t believe such a horrifying story would sit well with audiences. So, they forced him to cut back.
From a fragmented manuscript found years later, it is now believed the famous opening chapter of Jonathon traveling to castle Dracula wasn’t the original beginning. It occurred at least one hundred pages into the novel. It is also believed the last several chapters were cut back from their first drafts. There was supposed to be a longer sequence during which they confronted Dracula and his castle was destroyed by a volcanic eruption.
Don’t ask me how that’s supposed to work: I have no idea because some money-grabbing editors cut it out!
I understand that the editors were trying to take their audience into account. But I’m livid only fragments of this original manuscript were found and we will never get to see the full thing. Would I still hate the ending? Maybe. Would it be better than the current ending? The world will never know. All I can say for sure is that Dracula’s ending leaves me unsatisfied. I guess I’ll just go fantasize my own ending.
What do you think of the ending of Dracula? Had you heard of the missing pages? I'd love to hear from you! You can connect with me through thornfield.lane@gmail.com or on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and Twitter: @thornfield_lane. 