Performing Dracula: a Critical Examination of a Popular Text in Three Sites of Performance
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses Graduate School 1999 Performing Dracula: a Critical Examination of a Popular Text in Three Sites of Performance. Jonathan Matthew Gray Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses Recommended Citation Gray, Jonathan Matthew, "Performing Dracula: a Critical Examination of a Popular Text in Three Sites of Performance." (1999). LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses. 7042. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses/7042 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. INFORMATION TO USERS This manuscript has been reproduced from the microfilm master. UMI films the text directly from the original or copy submitted. Thus, some thesis and dissertation copies are in typewriter face, while others may be from any type of computer printer. The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleedthrough, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send UMI a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Oversize materials (e.g., maps, drawings, charts) are reproduced by sectioning the original, beginning at the upper left-hand comer and continuing from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. Photographs included in the original manuscript have been reproduced xerographically in this copy. Higher quality 6’ x 9” black and white photographic prints are available for any photographs or illustrations appearing in this copy for an additional charge. Contact UMI directly to order. Bell & Howell Information and Learning 300 North Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 USA 800-521-0600 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. PERFORMING DRACULA: A CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF A POPULAR TEXT IN THREE SITES OF PERFORMANCE A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Department of Speech Communication by Jonathan Matthew Gray BA.., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1987 M.A., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1990 December 1999 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number 9951602 Copyright 1999 by Gray, Jonathan Matthew All rights reserved. __ __________ UMI UMI Microform9951602 Copyright 2000 by Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. Bell & Howell Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ©Copyright 1999 Jonathan Matthew Gray All Rights Reserved ii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Acknowledgments So many people have provided significant aid in the long journey to completing this document that I cannot hope to give sufficient thanks to all who have been involved. I would, therefore, like to first acknowledge all of those good friends and colleagues whom I cannot name individually. Their assistance, even if it remains anonymous, was invaluable. Because I have been writing this dissertation while teaching professionally, it follows that I owe a great deal of gratitude to the two institutions where I have worked. First. I owe a lot o f thanks to Saint Lawrence University for providing much encouragement and support. The First Year Program especially allowed me several opportunities to work out ideas presented in this dissertation in a pedagogical setting. I am also deeply grateful to my extended family and truest role-models at Saint Lawrence University, Kirk Fuoss and Randy Hill, without whose constant reassurances, sharp intellects, and loving interest I would have given up on the project a long time ago. Second, my colleagues and friends at Hofstra University provided much guidance and assistance in the final stages of this process. I would especially like to thank Laurie Wenchell for much needed emotional support and her excellent counseling skills during this last, difficult year. In addition to the support from these institutions, I have been fortunate to have a good network o f colleagues, friends, and family who never fail to blur the distinctions between those categories. Cindy Kistenberg and Patrick Johnson have consistently offered votes of confidence, demonstrating great stamina for maintaining collegial interest in my work. Larry and Julie Cumbo have repeatedly demonstrated iii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. that Louisiana hospitality and friendship are the best in the country. My parents, Charles and Retta Gray, have been exceedingly generous in providing gentle inquiries and quiet encouragement. While it is not unusual for colleagues and friends to become like family, I feel that I am blessed to have caring and loving parents who are also very experienced professional colleagues. Special thanks go to the careful readers on my dissertation committee, especially Andrew King for his initial advice that got this project rolling. Words are insufficient to express my respect and gratitude for my advisor, Michael Bowman, whose commonsense counsel, unflagging assistance, insightful responses, and storehouse of useful information have most shaped this document and my thinking. Finally, this document would not have been completed without the love as well as the shrewd feedback of my partner. Craig Gingrich-Philbrook. When I most wanted to give up on the project, Craig assured me that he would love me whether I finished it or not, but that he knew I could do it. I cannot thank Craig enough for his unswerving support, his incredible insight and especially for believing in me when I failed to believe in myself. iv Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS............................................................................................ iii ABSTRACT................................................................................................................... vii CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION............................................................................. 1 Purpose.........................................................................................................................3 Method.......................................................................................................................... 7 Review of Literature.................................................................................................. 16 Dracuia...................................................................................................................17 (Popular) Culture..................................................................................................24 Text........................................................................................................................28 Performance..........................................................................................................31 Textuality and Performativity..............................................................................38 Conclusions............................................................................................................... 40 Endnotes.................................................................................................................... 42 CHAPTER TWO: DRACULA AS CONSPICUOUS THEATRICAL PERFORMANCE................................................ 45 Theatrical Adaptations of John Polidori’s “The Vampyre”................................... 48 “The Vampyre” .....................................................................................................48 Le Vampire........................................................................................................... 55 The Vampire: Or. The Bride of the Isles............................................................63 Conclusions..........................................................................................................66 Bram Stoker’s Dracuia ..............................................................................................73 Bram Stoker’s Relationship with the English Theater......................................73 Theatrical Characterizations in Dracuia.............................................................76 Conclusions..........................................................................................................83