The Cast of Characters

Characters often fill certain archetypal roles that drive the story.

• The protagonist is the central character whose actions and reactions drive the plot and who the audience emotionally bonds to.
• The antagonist opposes the protagonist’s goals, creating obstacles and conflict.
• A sidekick is a loyal friend who accompanies the protagonist and provides support, comic relief, or a counterpoint.
• The mentor is an often older, wiser figure who guides the protagonist by providing motivation, wisdom, training, or spiritual reinforcement.

These core roles of protagonist, antagonist, sidekick, and mentor are common across many stories and genres. Although the sidekick and mentor are associated with the protagonist, there’s nothing stopping you from having an antagonist with their own sidekicks and mentors. But it’s important that each character serve their purpose. Some characters may change their roles during the story. That’s an important part of conflict.

You want to avoid too many characters as a bloated cast will dilute the story. Always ask yourself: is this character necessary?

The Cast of Characters in Dracula

A story may have many of each role as we’ll see in Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1897). As an epistolary novel, it tells the story via first-person diary entries, letters, phonograph recordings, and newspaper clippings.

Jonathan Harker (protagonist)

Jonathan Harker is a young English solicitor who is sent to Transylvania to finalize the London real estate purchase for a certain Count Dracula. Harker serves as the first narrator of the novel, documenting his journey to Dracula’s castle and his eventual imprisonment there. Harker is intelligent and rational, providing a grounded perspective as he encounters the supernatural horrors of Dracula’s world.

Harker plays a crucial role in the novel as his experiences at Dracula’s castle set the events of the story in motion. His journal entries reveal the true nature of Dracula and his intentions to spread his vampiric curse to England. Harker’s ordeal also draws his fiancée Mina and her friend Lucy into the conflict with the Count, setting up the main struggle of the novel’s protagonists against Dracula. Harker represents what is good in the world, compassionate, courageous. As a protagonist his role is the opposite of Dracula’s.

Count Dracula (antagonist)

Count Dracula is a vampire who has lived for centuries, sustaining himself by feeding on the blood of the living. Dracula is a tall, aristocratic figure with pale skin, pointed teeth, and superhuman strength. Despite being a monster, he is intelligent, cunning, and cultured.

Dracula plays the role of the primary antagonist and the driving negative force behind the story. His decision to purchase a residence in London sets the stage for his intended conquest of England, spreading his vampiric curse throughout the land. Dracula’s actions, including his attacks on Lucy Westenra and his pursuit of Mina Harker, propel the story forward and pit him against the group of protagonists determined to stop him. He is the embodiment of the supernatural threat that the characters must confront and overcome.

Mina Murray / Mina Harker (protagonist)

Mina Murray, later Mina Harker after marrying Jonathan, is one of the main protagonists in the novel. She is an intelligent, compassionate, and level-headed young woman who plays a crucial role in the fight against Count Dracula. Mina is depicted as a modern Victorian woman, well-educated and capable of handling challenging situations with courage and determination.

Mina’s role in the novel is multifaceted. Initially, she’s introduced as a best friend to Lucy who does her best to help as Lucy is slowly attacked by Dracula. Called away, Mina serves as a source of support for her fiancé Jonathan after his traumatic experiences at Dracula’s castle. After Lucy’s death, Mina becomes directly involved in the conflict when Dracula targets her and begins turning her into a vampire. This event galvanizes the other characters to hunt down and destroy Dracula. Mina’s telepathic connection to Dracula, through her ingestion of his blood, proves crucial in tracking his movements and leading the group to Dracula’s downfall. Mina is a force for good throughout the novel, even when she has been cursed by drinking Dracula’s blood.

Lucy Westenra (sidekick, antagonist)

Lucy Westenra is the best friend of Mina Murray and is pursued by three potential suitors: Dr. John Seward, Quincey Morris, and Arthur Holmwood (later Lord Godalming.) Lucy represents the archetypal Victorian ideal of femininity as a virtuous and pure-hearted woman.

Lucy’s role in the novel is primarily that of the first victim of Dracula. Despite being engaged to Arthur Holmwood, Lucy becomes the target of Dracula’s seduction and is slowly drained of her life force as he turns her into a vampire. As she becomes undead, feeding off the blood of children, her friends and loved ones realize the threat posed by Dracula and band together to stop him. If it weren’t for Lucy, the team that defeats Dracula wouldn’t have come together. Lucy’s fate foreshadows an even bigger conflict when Dracula sets his sights (fangs?) on Mina.

Dr. John Seward (protagonist, sidekick)

Seward is a physician and the administrator of a lunatic asylum in London next door to Dracula’s new home. Seward is a rational scientist who initially struggles to accept the existence of vampires.

Seward plays a major role as both a narrator and a key ally in the fight against Dracula. His phonograph diary entries provide insight into the events unfolding at the asylum, including the strange behavior of one of his patients, Renfield, who is revealed to be under Dracula’s influence. A significant amount of point-of-view is devoted to Seward, making him more than just a sidekick. Seward’s medical expertise and logical approach are invaluable to the group, but he must eventually confront the limitations of his scientific worldview and embrace the reality of the supernatural threat they face. His willingness to adapt and collaborate with figures like Abraham Van Helsing is crucial in their ultimate victory over Dracula.

Quincey Morris (sidekick)

Quincey Morris is a Texan, rugged, adventurous, and courageous, representing the spirit of the American west. Morris is one of the potential suitors vying for Lucy Westenra, along with his long-time friends Dr. Seward and Arthur Holmwood.

Quincey plays the role of ally in the group’s fight against Dracula. His bravery, physical strength, and expertise with guns makes him a formidable adversary against the vampire. Morris’s unwavering determination and willingness to take action, even in the face of the supernatural, provide a contrast to the cerebral approaches of Dr. Seward and Professor Abraham Van Helsing. Morris sacrifices his own life to help destroy Dracula. Morris is the perfect sidekick, there to support his friends with no concern for his own safety.

Arthur Holmwood (sidekick)

Arthur Holmwood, later Lord Godalming, is a wealthy English nobleman who is engaged to Lucy Westenra early in the novel. He is a responsible, upstanding member of the upper class, with a strong sense of duty and a desire to protect his loved ones.

Holmwood plays a role of those who fight against Dracula. After his fiancée Lucy becomes a vampire, Holmwood is consumed by revenge against the Count. He joins forces with Dr. Seward, Quincey Morris, the Harkers, and Abraham Van Helsing, providing emotional, physical and financial backing. Like Morris, Arthur isn’t given point-of-view except for a few telegrams, but he fulfills the role as a sidekick by being loyal to the team even when he doesn’t believe Lucy has become undead.

Professor Abraham Van Helsing (mentor)

Professor Abraham Van Helsing is a Dutch doctor and a renowned philosopher who becomes the leader and guiding force in the fight against Count Dracula. He is an elderly man with a vast knowledge of various disciplines, including medicine, folklore, and the occult.

Van Helsing plays an important role as the mentor and driving force behind the group’s efforts to stop Dracula. Van Helsing is the first to recognize the true nature of the threat posed by Dracula and takes it upon himself to educate and guide the other characters in their battle against the vampire. His extensive knowledge and experience with supernatural phenomena make him invaluable in understanding the weaknesses of the Count. Van Helsing’s compassion for the afflicted characters like Lucy and Mina, motivates the others to confront the seemingly unstoppable Dracula. He serves as the voice of reason, the power of scientific inquiry and rationality in combating the irrational and supernatural forces represented by Dracula.

Generally speaking, the role of the mentor isn’t that of the all-knowing character that simply guides the protagonist. Indeed, most mentors are failed protagonists: if they had been successful against antagonistic forces earlier in their life, the protagonist wouldn’t have it so hard.

Renfield (antagonist, sidekick)

Renfield is a patient at the lunatic asylum overseen by Dr. John Seward. He is a man with a seemingly harmless mania for consuming living creatures, from flies to spiders to birds (he’d like a kitten, too).

Renfield plays two roles in the story. First, he serves as a harbinger of the coming darkness, with his strange behavior and obsession with consuming small life foreshadowing the arrival of Dracula and the vampire’s consumption of human blood and souls. Second, Renfield has come under Dracula’s thrall, acting as the vampire’s agent and providing him with a means of entry into the asylum and ultimately access to Mina. One can think of Renfield as both an antagonist and the sidekick of the main antagonist, Dracula.

Conclusion

The protagonists, Mina and Jonathan Harker, represent the forces of good and reason, struggling against the antagonist, Count Dracula, in a battle between light and darkness. Lucy is a failed sidekick, who ultimately turns antagonist as a vampire. The sidekicks, Dr. Seward, Quincey Morris, and Arthur Holmwood, provide support and camaraderie, highlighting the strength of unity in the face of evil. The mentor, Professor Van Helsing, imparts wisdom and guidance, symbolizing the power of knowledge and rationality in confronting the unknown. Renfield serves as an example against making a deal with the devil.

Character archetypes and the roles they play are essential components of storytelling, serving as a framework that resonates with audiences and ultimately pulls the reader deep into the story. Bram Stoker uses these archetypal roles to build a cast that drives the novel’s horrific plot and explore deeper themes. You’ll notice that if you remove a character, the thread of the novel would be lost. And if Stoker had introduced many more characters, we wouldn’t connect so deeply with these characters.