Sugar with Your Flies?

Welcome to Celebrate Poe - Episode 366 - Would You Like Some Sugar with Your Flies - In this episode, I would like to zero in for a look at my favorite character in Dracula - Renfield.

Now while Dracula operates in the shadows, Renfield's behavior acts as an overt "index" of the vampire's presence, making him a more visible and erratic counterpart to Dracula's subtle menace. Dracula's motivations and actions are complex and calculated, while Renfield's madness reduces him to more primal and straightforward desires - in other words eating mice and insects.

Thank you for experiencing Celebrate Poe.

Transcript

Welcome to Celebrate Poe - Episode 366 - Would You Like Some Sugar with Your Flies - In this episode, I would like to zero in for a look at my favorite character in Dracula - Renfield.

Now while Dracula operates in the shadows, Renfield's behavior acts as an overt "index" of the vampire's presence, making him a more visible and erratic counterpart to Dracula's subtle menace. Dracula's motivations and actions are complex and calculated, while Renfield's madness reduces him to more primal and straightforward desires, such as a consuming life force - in other words eating mice and insects.

Actually, Renfield's obsession with consuming living things in Bram Stoker's "Dracula" carries several symbolic meanings:

Many critics believe that Renfield's consumption of living creatures represents his desperate attempt to gain power and control in a world that feels chaotic and overwhelming. This symbolizes the human desire for dominance and the lengths to which one might go to achieve it.

The act of consuming living beings, especially as Renfield progresses to larger creatures, symbolizes the corruption of the human soul and the descent into moral decay.

Critics have pointed out that Renfield's systematic consumption of flies, spiders, birds, and his desire for cats represents a perverted attempt to climb the Great Chain of Being.

Renfield's behavior symbolizes the thin line between genius and insanity, reflecting the novel's exploration of rationality versus madness in Victorian society. Renfield's obsession symbolically foreshadows Dracula's own parasitic nature, serving as a microcosm of the vampire's larger-scale consumption of human life.

And by consuming living creatures, Renfield symbolizes a grotesque inversion of the natural food chain, representing how evil forces can distort the natural order of things.

Renfield's physical consumption of life can even be seen as a symbol of spiritual emptiness and the human search for meaning and fulfillment.

Renfield's relationship with Dracula illustrates profound themes of manipulation and dependency, showcasing a complex dynamic that blends fear, worship, and psychological control. Renfield acknowledges Dracula as his superior, referring to him as "the Master," indicating a deeply ingrained sense of subservience. This relationship is characterized by a warped devotion, where Renfield's humanity clashes with his allegiance to Dracula, creating internal turmoil.

The manipulation aspect is evident in how Dracula exploits Renfield's desire for immortality. Renfield becomes fixated on absorbing vital energy, believing that devotion to Dracula will grant him everlasting life. This promise of eternal existence serves as a powerful tool for Dracula to maintain control over Renfield, showcasing the vampire's ability to prey on human vulnerabilities.

Dependency is a central theme in their relationship, manifesting as a form of codependency. Renfield's mental instability is directly linked to his contact with Dracula, suggesting a toxic reliance on the vampire's influence. This dependency is reciprocal t, as Dracula uses Renfield as a connection to the human world and as a means to further his plans.

The relationship also explores themes of narcissism and gaslighting. Dracula manipulates Renfield by claiming to be his only friend and the only one who cares about him, even as he exploits him. This manipulation is so profound that it drives Renfield to madness, highlighting the destructive nature of their bond.

Ultimately, Renfield's relationship with Dracula serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of blind devotion and the pursuit of immortality at the cost of one's humanity. It illustrates how manipulation and dependency can create a toxic dynamic that ultimately leads to destruction, with Renfield meeting his demise at the hands of the very master he served.

Dracula uses Renfield as a psychic connection to England, possibly reaching out to his mind from afar and driving him mad in the process. This allows Dracula to establish a foothold in the country before his physical arrival.

The vampire promises Renfield immortality in exchange for his worship, offering an endless supply of insects and rats to consume. This false promise of everlasting life keeps Renfield loyal and subservient to Dracula.

Dracula also manipulates Renfield's mental state, causing him to alternate between periods of calm and violent outbursts. This erratic behavior serves as a distraction for the other characters, keeping them focused on Renfield rather than suspecting Dracula's presence.

When Renfield attempts to warn others about Dracula's plans, the vampire violently attacks him, demonstrating his willingness to discard his servant when he is no longer useful.

Ultimately, Dracula's exploitation of Renfield's devotion serves to advance his own goals while keeping the other characters in the dark about his true nature and intentions.

Renfield's madness plays a crucial role in his devotion to Dracula, serving as both a catalyst and a manifestation of his allegiance to the vampire. His mental state makes him particularly susceptible to Dracula's influence and provides a unique lens through which the reader can understand the vampire's power.

Renfield's obsession with consuming life force, demonstrated by his habit of eating flies and other small creatures, aligns closely with Dracula's own need for blood. This shared fixation on "life" creates a psychological bridge between Renfield and Dracula, allowing the vampire to exploit Renfield's madness and establish control over him.

Renfield's madness leads him to view Dracula as his master, calling out to him and attempting to escape the asylum to reach him. His fixation on the phrase "the blood is the life" mirrors Dracula's own reliance on blood. 

And Renfield's descent into madness and ultimate fate serve as a warning about the dangers of seeking immortality and power through unnatural means.

As I have previously mentioned, Some readers of Dracula are a bit turned off when they realize that the book is written in an epistolary form - as a series of letters.  But take Refield for example - the epistolary format of Dracula significantly enhances the portrayal of Renfield's madness through multiple perspectives and immediate, detailed accounts. Dr. Seward's diary entries provide a clinical, firsthand observation of Renfield's deteriorating mental state. This format allows readers to witness the progression of Renfield's madness over time, as Dr. Seward records his patient's increasingly erratic behavior and obsessions.

The reader learns that Renfield's obsession with Dracula plays a crucial role in the overall narrative, serving multiple functions:
Renfield's erratic behavior and growing madness serve as an early indicator of Dracula's influence, creating suspense and hinting at the vampire's power before he is fully revealed. His actions act as a "ticking time bomb," showcasing an escalating timeline of vampiric contamination.

Through Renfield's interactions with Dr. Seward and his deteriorating mental state, readers gain insight into the nature of vampirism and Dracula's abilities without directly encountering the Count.

Renfield's struggle between his devotion to Dracula and his remaining humanity creates dramatic tension. This internal conflict culminates in his attempt to warn Mina Harker and his final confrontation with Dracula.

Renfield's character allows for the exploration of themes such as the dangers of blind devotion, the corrupting nature of the promise of immortality, and the struggle between one's base desires and moral conscience.

Renfield's connection to Dracula is apparent to readers long before the protagonists realize it, creating suspense as they slowly uncover the truth.


As the plot progresses, Renfield's erratic behavior and obsession with consuming life serve as early indicators of Dracula's presence and powers. His actions create suspense and dramatic irony, as readers understand the connection to Dracula before the protagonists do.

Renfield's connection to Dracula allows the vampire hunters to gather crucial information about their enemy. His eventual confession to Dr. Seward and his colleagues reveals Dracula's relationship with Mina Harker, advancing the plot and the heroes' understanding of the threat they face.

Renfield's internal struggle between his devotion to Dracula and his human conscience adds depth to the story. His attempts to warn and protect Mina Harker demonstrate that even those under Dracula's sway can resist, highlighting the themes of good versus evil and free will.

Renfield's warnings and eventual death at Dracula's hands spur the vampire hunters into action, intensifying their efforts to save Mina and defeat Dracula.

And by serving as both a victim and an unwilling accomplice to Dracula, Renfield's character provides a unique perspective on the vampire's influence and the battle between humanity and the supernatural forces of the novel.

Now Renfield's mental state in Bram Stoker's "Dracula" undergoes a complex evolution throughout the novel, reflecting both his psychiatric condition and the influence of Count Dracula. Renfield initially appears as a patient in Dr. Seward's asylum, exhibiting behaviors consistent with what was then called "dementia praecox," now known as schizophrenia. And as the novel progresses, Renfield's condition worsens. He develops an obsession with consuming living creatures, starting with flies and spiders, and escalating to birds. Olfactory hallucinations emerge, with Renfield sniffing about "as a dog does when setting”. Auditory hallucinations follow, with Renfield talking to himself and believing he's communicating with his “Master". He then begins to believe that he is a servant to a powerful master (Dracula), expecting rewards for his devotion.

But despite his deteriorating mental state, Renfield experiences periods of apparent rationality. He is able to engage in coherent conversations with Mina Harker and the group of men pursuing Dracula. And his memory for historical facts remains intact. Towards the end of the novel, Renfield experiences a crucial shift and comes to recognize the malicious control that Dracula has over him. During a medical procedure, Renfield warns Dr. Seward and others about the danger Mina is in, demonstrating a moment of clarity and concern for others.

I’d like to end this episode with an entry in Dr. Seward’s Diary regarding Renfield.  Note that having various entries regarding the novel’s characters from different viewpoints at different times is a great way to tell a story.

Dr. Seward’s Diary.

1 October.—I am puzzled afresh about Renfield. His moods change so rapidly that I find it difficult to keep touch of them, and as they always mean something more than his own well-being, they form a more than interesting study. This morning, when I went to see him after his repulse of Van Helsing, his manner was that of a man commanding destiny. He did not really care for any of the things of mere earth; he was in the clouds and looked down on all the weaknesses and wants of us poor mortals. I thought I would improve the occasion and learn something, so I asked him:—

“What about the flies these times?” He smiled on me in quite a superior sort of way.

“The fly, my dear sir, has one striking feature; its wings are typical of the aërial powers of the psychic faculties. The ancients did well when they typified the soul as a butterfly!”

I thought I would push his analogy to its utmost logically, so I said quickly:—

“Oh, it is a soul you are after now, is it?” His madness foiled his reason, and a puzzled look spread over his face as, shaking his head with a decision which I had but seldom seen in him, he said:—

“Oh, no, oh no! I want no souls. Life is all I want.” Here he brightened up; “I am pretty indifferent about it at present. Life is all right; I have all I want.

“Then you command life; you are a god, I suppose?” He smiled with an ineffably benign superiority.

“Oh no! Far be it from me to claim to myself the attributes of the Deity. I am not even concerned in His especially spiritual doings.

“So you don’t care about life and you don’t want souls. Why not?” I put my question quickly and somewhat sternly, on purpose to disconcert him. The effort succeeded; for an instant he unconsciously relapsed into his old servile manner, bent low before me, and actually fawned upon me as he replied:—

“I don’t want any souls, indeed, indeed! I don’t. I couldn’t use them if I had them; they would be no manner of use to me. I couldn’t eat them or——” He suddenly stopped and the old cunning look spread over his face, like a wind-sweep on the surface of the water. “And doctor, as to life, what is it after all? When you’ve got all you require, and you know that you will never want, that is all. I have friends—good friends—like you, Dr. Seward”; this was said with a leer of inexpressible cunning. “I know that I shall never lack the means of life!”

I think that through the cloudiness of his insanity he saw some antagonism in me, for he at once fell back on the last refuge of such as he—a dogged silence. After a short time I saw that for the present it was useless to speak to him. He was sulky, and so I came away.

Later in the day he sent for me. Ordinarily I would not have come without special reason, but just at present I am so interested in him that I would gladly make an effort.

I found him sitting out in the middle of the floor on his stool, a pose which is generally indicative of some mental energy on his part. When I came in, he said at once, as though the question had been waiting on his lips:—

“What about souls?” It was evident then that my surmise had been correct. Unconscious cerebration was doing its work, even with the lunatic. I determined to have the matter out. “What about them yourself?” I asked. He did not reply for a moment but looked all round him, and up and down, as though he expected to find some inspiration for an answer.

“I don’t want any souls!” he said in a feeble, apologetic way. The matter seemed preying on his mind, and so I determined to use it—to “be cruel only to be kind.” So I said:—

“You like life, and you want life?”

“Oh yes! but that is all right; you needn’t worry about that!”

“But,” I asked, “how are we to get the life without getting the soul also?” This seemed to puzzle him, so I followed it up:—

“A nice time you’ll have some time when you’re flying out there, with the souls of thousands of flies and spiders and birds and cats buzzing and twittering and miauing all round you. You’ve got their lives, you know, and you must put up with their souls!” Something seemed to affect his imagination, for he put his fingers to his ears and shut his eyes, screwing them up tightly just as a small boy does when his face is being soaped. There was something pathetic in it that touched me; it also gave me a lesson, for it seemed that before me was a child—only a child, though the features were worn, and the stubble on the jaws was white. It was evident that he was undergoing some process of mental disturbance, and, knowing how his past moods had interpreted things seemingly foreign to himself, I thought I would enter into his mind as well as I could and go with him. The first step was to restore confidence, so I asked him, speaking pretty loud so that he would hear me through his closed ears:—

“Would you like some sugar to get your flies round again?” He seemed to wake up all at once, and shook his head. With a laugh he replied:—

“Not much! flies are poor things, after all!” After a pause he added, “But I don’t want their souls buzzing round me, all the same.”

“Or spiders?” I went on.

What’s the use of spiders? There isn’t anything in them to eat or”—he stopped suddenly, as though reminded of a forbidden topic.

“So, so!” I thought to myself, “this is the second time he has suddenly stopped at the word ‘drink’; what does it mean?” Renfield seemed himself aware of having made a lapse, for he hurried on, as though to distract my attention from it:—

“I don’t take any stock at all in such matters. ‘Rats and mice and such small deer,’ as Shakespeare has it, ‘chicken-feed of the larder’ they might be called. I’m past all that sort of nonsense. You might as well ask a man to eat molecules with a pair of chop-sticks.
“I see,” I said. “You want big things that you can make your teeth meet in? How would you like to breakfast on elephant?”

“What ridiculous nonsense you are talking!” He was getting too wide awake, so I thought I would press him hard. “I wonder,” I said reflectively, “what an elephant’s soul is like!”

The effect I desired was obtained, for he at once fell from his high-horse and became a child again.

Join Celebrate Poe for Episode 367 The blood is the life!

Sources include: Coy Hall - The Horrors of History: Vampires,Vampires: A Handbook of History & Lore of the Undead by Agnes Hollyhock, Vampire Forensics: Uncovering the Origins of an Enduring Legend by Mark Collins Jenkins, and In Search of Dracula: The History of Dracula and Vampires by Radu Florescu and Raymond T. McNally, and Dracula by Bram Stoker.

Thank you for listening to Celebrate Poe.