I’ve decided to analyze the definition of viral in Chapter 1 and 2 of Dracula as venom, insinuating a connotation of something like a venomous snake. In recent times we have seen “snake” being used in reference to a personality of someone who is “venomous,” someone who tends to betray people after getting close.
In chapter 1, we can see viral being used more in a venomous connotation in action but more of a literal sense as the path of a wagon is described as “serpentine” (Dracula pg11) and also referring to as having a “snakelike vertebra” (Dracula pg12). Such analogy to a snake likely could carry the connotation that the person in the cart is like a snake and could potentially be “venomous” or dangerous in the future.
Additionally, as the narrator is feeling a “paralysis of fear” (Dracula pg19) in face of the wolves, another callback to a venomous snake is made, in this case insinuating that the appearance of the wolves have “poisoned” the narrator with fear. Through such analogies throughout chapter 1 and 2 the audience can surmise that something insidious is brewing. The tone of the passage also tends to be quite bleak following the negative connotation that paralysis and fear has.
As such, we can perceive that the Count may have evil intentions and could strike at any moment against the narrator. The Count can be likened to the snake who could betray and “poison” the narrator at a latter date.
