Count Dracula’s extensive monologue in Chapter 3 tells the story about a man and family whose glory days have long passed. Dracula’s monologue has the primary purpose of solidifying his strength in the eyes of his visitor, utilizing the great history his bloodline has, however it allows a closer listening audience to uncover that he is none other than a man who laments the loss of power his bloodline has faced over the years.
Dracula first bolsters his bloodline by comparing it to a lion, declaring he has the “right to be proud” as his blood contains the blood of many “brave races who fought as the lion fights, for lordship” (Dracula 42). The metaphor of a lion serves as a tool to make his visitor know his place, that he is in a “lion’s” kingdom. Additionally, the Count also indirectly states that he is simply on a higher class than his visitor, stating “we Transylvanian nobles love not to think that our bones may lie amongst the common dead” (Dracula 35). The Count emphasizes that he is no commoner and that his bloodline is simply superior to his visitor and others.
However, the great stories the Count presents are diminished by his own retelling, as he tells of his bloodlines power in the past tense. Dracula states his family “[was] a conquering race” and that they “were proud,” the past tense allows the audience surmise that his bloodline has greatly diminished in power as the past tense states they are no longer a conquering race and no longer proud. The Count laments that “the warlike days are over,” as it was in that time that his bloodline was the greatest in power.
