Why do you think Stoker chose to tell the story of Dracula as a series of journal entries and letters from multiple points of view? How did this structure affect your reading of the novel?

In the beginning of the novel, we see Jonathan Harker traveling east to meet Count Dracula at his Transylvanian estate. What are Harker’s impressions during his journey, and how did they shape your own first impressions as a reader?

Discuss the roles of Lucy Westenra and Mina Harker in the novel. How are the two women similar, and how are they different? To what extent does the story rely on both women to move the plot forward? 

What other depictions of women appear in the novel, and how do they compare to Lucy and Mina?

To what extent do you think Dracula’s interactions with his victims carry a sexual undertone, and how are these encounters portrayed in the novel? How do these moments reflect Victorian anxieties about sexuality, power, and control?

Compare the male characters in the novel. How are they similar, and how are they different? What do they tell us about Stoker’s view of manliness? 

We never get to read Dracula’s perspective in the novel. Why do you think Stoker chose to deny him a voice, and what do you imagine he might say if he could tell his side of the story?

The novel maintains a constant tension between superstition and science. Do you think Stoker favors one over the other, or does he find a way to reconcile these seemingly opposing worldviews? 

It is said that horror fiction often reflects the social anxieties of its time. In this context, what social fears or anxieties do you think Dracula represents, and how are they expressed through the characters, setting, or plot?

Do you think Dracula is a religious novel? What is the significance of the role played by holy objects in warding off the vampire’s damnation?

What did you expect before picking up this book? How were your expectations met or missed?

Although the novel was published in 1897, the character of Dracula remains one of the most famous in literature. What do you think accounts for his enduring fame and appeal?

Dracula came out in the year of Queen Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee, when England celebrated itself as the world’s most powerful empire. Can you identify any ways this historical context might have influenced Stoker’s writing?