Who is Van Helsing in Bram Stoker's 1897 Dracula? Learn about Abraham Van Helsing's character traits, his background and his critical role in the story.
Updated: 11/21/2023
Van Helsing in Dracula | Character Analysis & Description
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is Abraham Van Helsing a vampire?
Dr. Abraham Van Helsing is not a vampire. He is a scientist, a doctor of medicine, and a philosopher. These combined aspects have brought him vast knowledge of such creatures as the vampire.
Who was Van Helsing in the Dracula story?
Dr. Abraham Van Helsing is a Dutch medical doctor and philosopher whose vast knowledge of modern and folk medicine makes him the natural leader in the effort to destroy Dracula. He alone can grasp the range of fronts on which the vampire must be attacked.
Is Abraham Van Helsing immortal?
While Van Helsing has a commanding air, exudes a sort of character strength, and takes his place as the natural leader, he is not immortal.
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ShowBram Stoker was an Irish writer who wrote the gothic novel Dracula in 1897.
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The story takes place first in a castle in Transylvania and then leaves Romania for Victorian England in the 1890s. Dracula depicts a struggle between good and evil. Dracula is a vampire that comes to England for his target, Mina Harker. Along the way, one of his victims is Lucy Westenra. The good side in the struggle against evil includes Mina and her husband, the lawyer John Harker, Quincey Morris, a Texan who dies in the struggle, Dr. Seward, who runs a psychiatric hospital, and Renfield, a patient there.
All of these are led by Dr. Abraham Van Helsing, who understands modern medicine but also folk medicine, superstition, and the occult. Van Helsing is the key figure in opposition to Dracula and the only one capable of defeating him.
Mina Harker, the main female character in the book, feels that "he is good and kind and of a noble nature." She describes him as robust and well-proportioned, with "poise" of his head indicating "thought and power." His features are a "hard, square chin," a large mouth, a nose that is "straight," and nostrils that are "quick" and "sensitive". There is a fair amount of description dedicated to the nose. His forehead is broad and straight up, and his reddish hair "falls naturally back and to the sides." He has "big, dark blue eyes set widely apart, and are quick and tender or stern with the man's moods."
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Van Helsing has a commanding presence. His extensive knowledge of science and non-scientific beliefs create an aura of strength. His traits are as follows:
Catholic Background
Van Helsing is an eclectic who relies on medicine, superstitions, fold remedies, and his Catholic background to combat Dracula. Part of Catholicism involves the crucifix and the host. At Lucy's tomb, he rolls the wafer into pieces to place between the door and the frame. When asked what it was, he said "I am closing the tomb so that the UnDead may not enter." Such measures would appear to a British Protestant of the time as Catholic superstition and deception.
He explains what the wafer is to the Anglican/Protestants present: "The Host. I brought it from Amsterdam. I have an Indulgence. It was an answer that appalled the most sceptical of us."
Another reference to Catholic saints comes when the men are going to hunt Dracula, but Van Helsing tells Mina she must stay behind. Her maiden name is Murray, implying Irish background and likely Catholicism. Van Helsing casts her as Mary, the patron saint of travelers. He said to her: "We are men and are able to bear, but you must be our star and our hope, and we shall act all the more free that you are not in the danger, such as we are."
In the final battle, Van Helsing sees himself and his group as 'Knights of the Cross' united against evil.
Respect for Tradition
Part of Van Helsing's respect for tradition involves his Catholicism, which, until the early 1500s, was the traditional religion of not only the continent, but England as well (before England) adopted the Protestant changes and the Church of England). Catholic traditions included objects, statues, and symbols that the newer Protestant creed would dismiss as idolatry.
In addition to his faith, Van Helsing was open-minded and willing to understand and embrace folk medicines, such as garlic, to repel vampires. The fact that he could believe in the existence of vampires was evidence of an accumulation of knowledge not just restricted to the scientific advances of the late 19th century. His use of garlic to protect Lucy, his brandishing of the crucifix, and his use of the host to protect Lucy's tomb are all traditional means of controlling the vampire. These measures are unknown to the other characters, even the former student Dr. Seward, whose ideas are firmly grounded in modern medicine.
Modern Medicine
While Van Helsing is well versed in folk remedies and superstitions, he also demonstrates knowledge of modern Western medicine. It is Van Helsing who notices Lucy's two puncture holes on her neck and her obvious loss of blood. For this he gives her blood transfusions for her condition.
His knowledge of uncommon ailments is noted by Dr. Seward: "I have written to my old friend and master, Professor Van Helsing, of Amsterdam, who knows as much about obscure diseases as any one in the world."
Leadership
Van Helsing is the natural leader of the group trying to save Lucy and rid the world of Dracula. He has read widely in the sciences, literature, and the occult, and has a far broader knowledge to bring to the task than all the rest combined. He is decisive and direct, constantly running all that he senses through the filters of his knowledge in order to act in the most advantageous way. On top of all that, he is older with a powerful aura and bearing about him. He is fearless and the only one who can possibly defeat Dracula. As he tells the others: "The strength of the vampire is that people will not believe in him."
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- Respect for Life: Dr. Van Helsing is the polar opposite of Count Dracula. He is of good character, a strong presence in work and life. Van Helsing is closely connected to life and improving it through discipline, work, and openness to the unknown. His letterhead spells out his broad and extensive qualifications: LETTER, ABRAHAM VAN HELSING, MD, DPh, D. Lit, ETC, ETC, TO DR. SEWARD. Just as Van Helsing pursues knowledge and self-discipline and bettering humanity in his finite period on earth, Dracula is pure self-indulgence and little accountability in his immortality. His world is selfish and cruel, while Van Helsing is quite the opposite, working as a professor to make more students grow into physicians like himself. Van Helsing demonstrates kindness and wisdom with Lucy and Mina without having an ego or agenda to interfere with these generous traits. He looks out for their wellbeing, which is exactly opposite of Dracula's selfish intentions.
- Wisdom: Van Helsing is not rigid in the Victorian thinking of the time. He does not see the limits in women as many would in the 1890s and is able to see Mina as someone unique and valuable: "Ah, that wonderful Madam Mina! She has man's brain, a brain that a man should have were he much gifted, and a woman's heart. The good God fashioned her for a purpose, believe me, when He made that so good combination."
- Outsider: Van Helsing is Dutch and a Roman Catholic, both of which make him an outsider to the others in the story who are mostly English and Protestant. He is also set apart from the rest by his age. His knowledge puts him beyond the others in his gathering of people to hunt down Dracula. Even his speech sets him apart, and his phrasing and clumsy attempts to use idiomatic language can sometimes be a source of comic relief.
- Comic Relief : Van Helsing's language is phrased oddly for comic effect, though not deliberately on his part. When he discovers that Dracula had purchased a house next to Dr. Seward's house, he is regretful that they did not know before to possibly intercept him and save Lucy. When he tries to dismiss the point and move on with the English idiom about crying over spilt milk, he gives it his own linguistic slant: "The milk that is spilt cries not out afterwards." When they group is discussing the approach to Dracula's castle, Quincy suggests a low-profile carriage and horses, a level-headed notion, to which Van Helsing replies: "His head is what you call in plane with the horizon."
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Dr. Abraham Van Helsing in Dracula is a unique character that undergoes little if any change, entering the story as a figure of hope and leaving it having confirmed this truth. His traits include:
- Catholic Background
- Respect for Tradition
- Knowledge of Modern Medicine
- Natural Leadership
His background that he brings to the story and the fight against Dracula is also unique:
- His background as a Catholic makes him an outsider.
- His broad education in literature, science, the occult, and modern medicine set him apart from the others.
His role in the story is a function of these traits and abilities:
- Knows about superstition and folk remedies
- Thinks on multiple levels and disciplines
- Brings decisiveness and intellectual openness to the hunt for Dracula
He is the only one who can defeat Dracula.
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Video Transcript
Van Helsing in Dracula
Abraham Van Helsing from Bram Stoker's Dracula is a character you can really sink your teeth into (no pun intended!). He is an eccentric old Dutch professor, doctor, scientist, philosopher, and man of faith.
He first arrives on the scene when Lucy starts acting strangely and her jilted suitor, Dr. Seward, doesn't know what to make of it. He calls on his former teacher, Van Helsing, who arrives and properly diagnoses Lucy as a vampire victim. Let's learn more about this character.
Helsing as an Outsider
Much of the action in Dracula takes place in England, and Van Helsing stands out as an outsider among the other characters. One of the ways Stoker emphasizes his foreignness is through his speech.
Van Helsing's attempts at English provide some of the comic relief in a very dark novel. His attempts at idiomatic language are highly entertaining. For example, when trying to describe a character as ''level-headed,'' Van Helsing says ''his head is what you call in plane with the horizon.'' Similarly, he butchers the adage about not crying over spilled milk by saying, ''The milk that is spilt cries not out afterwards.''
Van Helsing's Catholic faith is another aspect that sets him apart from the other Protestant, British characters. He uses the venerated host from the Catholic Eucharist to guard against vampires at several points in the novel.
These include sealing Lucy's tomb with the host, and using it to draw a holy circle around himself and Mina when the vampire sisters threaten. Van Helsing implies that he has been given permission to use the sacred host in this way from some top-ranking official in the extremely powerful Roman Catholic Church.
Respect for Tradition
Van Helsing's Catholicism also ties him to a very old-world, established tradition. We also see his respect for ancient customs in his belief in superstition and folk remedies. This is a guy who uses garlic to try to help a sick girl.
Dr. Seward can't figure out what ails Lucy because he can't see past the limits of modern science. It takes Van Helsing, with his open-minded belief in more mysterious ways, to realize what has happened to her. He knows that it's difficult for most people in what he calls the ''scientific, matter-of-fact nineteenth century'' to accept the existence of vampires.
It's not so difficult for Van Helsing, however. He has foreign ties to ancient traditions, rooted in superstition and mystery. Without Van Helsing's knowledge and willingness to go beyond the modern and rational, the group would never have even understood what they were up against.
Use of Modern Ways, Too
For all his respect for tradition, Van Helsing also recognizes the importance of scientific advances. He embraces modern medicine in some ways, particularly in his use of blood transfusions to try to save Lucy. Lucy undergoes three successful transfusions under Van Helsing's expert eye. In performing these, Van Helsing proves his competence as a doctor well-acquainted with current procedures.
Late in the novel, Van Helsing again proves his openness to modern advancements by using the technology of a phonograph to record a voice message for Jonathan Harker.
Leadership
Ultimately, the fight with Dracula boils down to a good old duel of good and evil. Helsing's vast experience and knowledge make him the natural leader of the group that forms to kill Count Dracula. He comes off as the most righteous in a group of upstanding men. He puts the battle in clear religious terms, seeing himself and his group as ''Knights of the Cross.''
By the end of the novel, the particularities of his Roman Catholic faith do not matter as much; he and his comrades are united as Christians. They are in a fight with ancient evil and their enemy clearly recoils from their faith, as seen in his not-so-calm reactions to Crucifixes.
In his moral goodness, faith, wisdom, and kindness, Van Helsing stands as the strongest adversary to Count Dracula. He is the natural leader for the quest that ultimately proves successful as the group brings an end to the evil Count back in his castle in Transylvania. Thanks to Van Helsing, good lives to see another day (in this novel, at least)!
Lesson Summary
Abraham Van Helsing is an important character in Bram Stoker's Dracula, arguably the most important in the fight against the monster. Van Helsing is Dutch, and his foreignness reveals itself in his difficulty with the English language and his Roman Catholic faith.
Van Helsing is also notable for his ability to straddle the line between old and new. He has great respect for traditions, or ancient customs of the old world, including superstitions and folk remedies. Because of this, he is able to see what his more modern counterparts can't: that Lucy's problems aren't a typical ailment, but rooted to the ancient evil of Vampirism. However, Van Helsing is also up-to-date on modern medical practices such as blood transfusions.
His wisdom and experience make him a natural leader of the group of vampire hunters. Ultimately, Van Helsing proves to be the most obvious adversary for Count Dracula, in all his moral goodness and faith. Thanks to his leadership and wisdom, the novel ends with Dracula's vanquishing, and the triumph of good over evil.
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Van Helsing in Dracula | Character Analysis & Description
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