Dracula and Home Rule: History, Horror and A Dream of Reconciliation, a lecture by Fintan O’Toole

Fintan O’Toole delivers the annual Robert Fagles Memorial Lecture, Dracula and Home Rule: History, Horror and A Dream of Reconciliation. Bram Stoker’s Dracula may not be the greatest of Irish novels but it is certainly the one that has had the most influence on global popular culture. The novel is set in Transylvania and in England. Ireland is not mentioned and none of the characters is Irish. But in this lecture O’Toole suggests that Stoker, as a supporter of the contemporary cause of Home Rule for Ireland is, among other things, trying to create a myth in which the recurring divisions of Irish history, the undead antagonisms between Protestant and Catholic are finally laid to rest. In the face of a greater evil, Stoker’s characters must bring Catholic and Protestant, peasant and aristocrat, tradition and modernity, together. The stake through Dracula’s heart is also an imaginary end of Irish history. Introduced by Jane Cox, Director of the Program in Theater & Music Theater. Presented by the Fund for Irish Studies and Lewis Center for the Arts at Princeton University.
Admission: Free and open to the public; no tickets required.
Accessibility: The Stewart Film Theater is an accessible venue. Guests in need of access accommodations are invited to contact the Lewis Center at least one week in advance at LewisCenter@princeton.edu