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Motifs
Definition of Oxymoron
An oxymoron is a figure of speech in which two contradictory terms or ideas are intentionally paired in order to make a point—particularly to reveal a deeper or hidden truth... read full definition
An oxymoron is a figure of speech in which two contradictory terms or ideas are intentionally paired in order to make a point—particularly to reveal... read full definition
An oxymoron is a figure of speech in which two contradictory terms or ideas are intentionally paired in order to... read full definition
Closing Note
Explanation and Analysis—Vampire Baptism:
In Chapter 27, while Mina and Van Helsing are chasing after Dracula on horseback, Mina begins to succumb to the dangerous vampire blood in her veins, forced upon her by the Count himself. Worried for her safety, Van Helsing uses a curious oxymoron to describe Mina's condition:
Madam Mina still sleep and sleep; and though I did have hunger and appeased it, I could not waken her - even for food. I began to fear that the fatal spell of the place was upon her, tainted as she is with the Vampire baptism.
This is a prime example of an oxymoron, the words "vampire" and "baptism" being diametrically opposed. Throughout the novel, vampires represent a kind of supernatural evil often attributed to Satan. On the opposite end of Dracula's moral spectrum lies Christianity, with God counteracting and warding off the forces of evil. Only "holy" or Christian objects are able to ward off vampires, who are characterized as evil and of the Devil. Baptism, as a holy ceremony that identifies recipients with Christ, should therefore repulse vampires; yet Van Helsing describes Mina's condition as a "Vampire baptism." Dracula "baptized" Mina in his blood by forcing her to drink it, but this was neither a voluntary nor a holy process—hence the oxymoron. By the moral standards of this novel, holy baptism is the antithesis of what Dracula does to Mina.
Related Themes:
