Jonathan Harker

Last updated

Jonathan Harker
Dracula character
John Van Eyssen as Jonathan Harker - 1958.jpg
Created by Bram Stoker
Portrayed by Gustav von Wangenheim ( Nosferatu )
David Manners ( Dracula )
Barry Norton ( Dracula )
John Van Eyssen ( Horror of Dracula )
Fred Williams ( Count Dracula )
Murray Brown ( Bram Stoker's Dracula )
Bosco Hogan ( Count Dracula )
Trevor Eve ( Dracula )
Bruno Ganz ( Nosferatu the Vampyre )
Keanu Reeves ( Bram Stoker's Dracula )
Steven Weber ( Dracula: Dead and Loving It )
Rafe Spall ( Dracula )
Corey Landis ( Dracula Reborn )
Unax Ugalde ( Dracula 3D )
Oliver Jackson-Cohen ( Dracula)
John Heffernan ( Dracula )
In-universe information
GenderMale
OccupationSolicitor
Spouse Mina Harker (wife)
ChildrenQuincey Harker (son)
Religion Christian
Nationality English

Jonathan Harker is a fictional character and one of the main protagonists of Bram Stoker's 1897 Gothic horror novel Dracula . An English solicitor, his journey to Transylvania and encounter with the vampire Count Dracula and his Brides at Castle Dracula constitutes the dramatic opening scenes in the novel and most of the film adaptations.

Contents

Stoker appropriated the surname from his friend Joseph Cunningham Harker (1855–1920), a set designer at the Lyceum Theatre in London and father of actor William Gordon Harker (1885–1967) as well as great-grandfather of actress Polly Adams, whose actress-daughters Susannah Harker and Caroline Harker adopted the Harker surname for their stage names. [1]

In the novel

Harker is a recently qualified solicitor from Exeter, who is deputed by his employer, Mr. Hawkins, to act as an estate agent for a foreign client named Count Dracula who wishes to move to London. Harker discovers in Carfax, near Purfleet, Essex, a dwelling which suits the client's requirements and travels to Transylvania by train in order to consult with him about it. [2]

At Bistritz, Harker takes a coach to the Borgo Pass, where at midnight another coach drawn by four black horses, waits to take him to Castle Dracula high in the Carpathian Mountains. [3] At the castle, Harker is greeted by the mysterious and ominous Count Dracula and finalises the property transaction. Soon, however Harker realises he has been made a prisoner by his host, who is revealed as a vampire. Harker also has a dangerous encounter with the three seductive Brides of Dracula, whose designs on him are only thwarted by the intervention of the Count. He promises to give Harker to them after his business deal is concluded and gives them a "wiggling bag" (presumed by Harker to be a human child) to appease them. Dracula leaves for England and abandons Harker in the castle as a meal for his vampire brides, as he promised them. [4]

Harker manages to escape, finding refuge at a convent. He suffers a nervous breakdown after his experiences with the vampires; his fiancée, Mina Murray, comes to nurse him back to health with the nuns' help, and marries him there. He returns home to England and later sees Dracula in London. After learning that Dracula has killed Mina's best friend Lucy Westenra, Harker joins Abraham Van Helsing, John Seward, Arthur Holmwood, and Quincey Morris in a quest to kill the vampire, who has bitten Mina. His clerical skills prove very useful for collecting information and tracking down Dracula's London lairs through paperwork.

He vows to destroy Dracula and, if he can, to send "his soul forever and ever to burning to hell[..]!" even if it be at the cost of his own soul. However, as Mina falls deeper under Dracula's thrall, Harker is unsure of what to do. While he promises her that he will put her out of her misery if she falls completely under Dracula's control, in the privacy of his journal he writes that, if she did become a vampire, he would become one himself just so he could continue to be with her. He ultimately saves her by destroying Dracula, however; at the book's climax, he pries open Dracula's coffin and slashes open Dracula's throat with a kukri knife, while Morris stabs him in the heart with a Bowie knife.

In a postscript note set seven years later, it is revealed that Harker and Mina have a son whom they have named after all four members of the party, but whom they call Quincey, after Morris, who sacrificed his life to help them destroy Dracula. Harker eventually visits Dracula's castle along with his wife and son and their surviving friends to reminisce. As Harker returns home with his family, Van Helsing says that one day Harker's son will learn the whole story.

Portrayals

On screen

Actors portraying Harker include:

Murray Brown as Harker in Dracula (1973) Dracula (1973) - Murray Brown.png
Murray Brown as Harker in Dracula (1973)
Keanu Reeves as Jonathan Harker in Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) Keanu Reeves Jonathan Harker.jpg
Keanu Reeves as Jonathan Harker in Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992)

A few of the adaptions have Harker succumbing to vampirism (either from Dracula or the brides) and having to be killed.
In most adaptations, Harker's role is reduced from that of the novel's hero and the focus (and sympathy) is drawn to other characters, notably Van Helsing or Dracula himself.
While Harker and Mina are the central romance of the novel and Mina shares no other man's affections, she is often portrayed as Dracula's love interest and not as Harker's.
In most adaptations it's usually Van Helsing or some other character, who kills Dracula, while Harker is either already dead by that time, or plays no role (or little role) in killing the vampire.

Video Games

In the PC Games Dracula: Resurrection and Dracula: The Last Sanctuary set after Bram Stoker's Dracula, Keanu Reeves's likeness and appearances were used as the base for Jonathan Harker in the games.

On stage

Related Research Articles

Professor Abraham Van Helsing is a fictional character from the 1897 gothic horror novel Dracula written by Bram Stoker. Van Helsing is a Dutch polymath doctor with a wide range of interests and accomplishments, partly attested by the string of letters that follows his name: "MD, D.Ph., D.Litt., etc.", indicating a wealth of experience, education and expertise. He is a doctor, professor, lawyer, philosopher, scientist, and metaphysician. The character is best known through many adaptations of the story as a vampire slayer, monster hunter and the arch-nemesis of Count Dracula, and the prototypical and the archetypical parapsychologist in subsequent works of paranormal fiction. Some later works tell new stories about Van Helsing, while others, such as Dracula (2020) and I Woke Up a Vampire (2023) have characters that are his descendants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Renfield</span> Fictional character from Bram Stokers Dracula

R. M. Renfield is a fictional character who appears in Bram Stoker's 1897 Gothic horror novel Dracula. He is Count Dracula's deranged, fanatically devoted servant and familiar, helping him in his plan to turn Mina Harker into a vampire in return for a continuous supply of insects to consume and the promise of immortality. Throughout the novel, he resides in an asylum, where he is treated by Dr. John Seward.

<i>Dracula: Dead and Loving It</i> 1995 film by Mel Brooks

Dracula: Dead and Loving It is a 1995 comedy horror film directed by Mel Brooks and starring Leslie Nielsen. It is a spoof of Bram Stoker's novel Dracula and of some of the story's well-known adaptations. Brooks co-authored the screenplay with Steve Haberman and Rudy De Luca. He also appears as Dr. Van Helsing. The film's other stars include Steven Weber, Amy Yasbeck, Peter MacNicol, Harvey Korman, and Anne Bancroft.

<i>Dracula</i> (1979 film) 1979 British horror film directed by John Badham

Dracula is a 1979 gothic horror film directed by John Badham. The film starred Frank Langella in the title role as well as Laurence Olivier, Donald Pleasence and Kate Nelligan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mina Harker</span> Fictional character

Wilhelmina "Mina" Harker is a fictional character and the main female character in Bram Stoker's 1897 Gothic horror novel Dracula.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Quincey Morris</span> Fictional character created by Bram Stoker

Quincey P. Morris is a fictional character in Bram Stoker's 1897 gothic novel Dracula.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brides of Dracula</span> Characters in Bram Stokers 1897 novel Dracula

The Brides of Dracula are fictional characters in Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula. They are three seductive vampire "sisters" who reside with Count Dracula in his castle in Transylvania, where they entice men with their beauty and charm, and then proceed to feed upon them. Dracula provides them with victims to devour, mainly implied to be infants.

<i>Dracula, the Musical</i> 2001 American musical by Frank Wildhorn

Dracula, the Musical is a musical based on the original 1897 Victorian novel by Bram Stoker. The score is by Frank Wildhorn, with lyrics and book by Don Black and Christopher Hampton.

<i>Count Dracula</i> (1970 film) 1970 film by Jesús Franco

Count Dracula is a 1970 horror film directed and co-written by Jesús Franco, based on the novel Dracula by Bram Stoker. It stars Christopher Lee as Dracula, Herbert Lom as Van Helsing, and Klaus Kinski as Renfield, along with Fred Williams, Maria Rohm, Soledad Miranda, Paul Muller, and Jack Taylor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Seward</span> Fictional character appearing in Bram Stokers Dracula

John "Jack" Seward, M.D. is a fictional character appearing in Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula.

<i>Dracula: Pages from a Virgins Diary</i> 2002 Canadian film

Dracula: Pages from a Virgin's Diary is a 2002 horror film directed by Guy Maddin, budgeted at $1.7 million and produced for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) as a dance film documenting a performance by the Royal Winnipeg Ballet adapting Bram Stoker's novel Dracula. Maddin elected to shoot the dance film in a fashion uncommon for such films, through close-ups and using jump cuts. Maddin also stayed close to the source material of Stoker's novel, emphasizing the xenophobia in the reactions of the main characters to Dracula.

"Dracula" is a video-taped television play adaptation of Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula, part of the series Mystery and Imagination. Denholm Elliott played Count Dracula with Susan George as Lucy Weston.

<i>Count Dracula</i> (1977 film) 1977 British TV series or programme

Count Dracula is a British television adaptation of the 1897 novel Dracula by Bram Stoker. Produced by the BBC, it first aired on BBC 2 on 22 December 1977. It is among the more faithful of the many adaptations of the original book. Directed by Philip Saville from a screenplay by Gerald Savory, it stars Louis Jourdan as Count Dracula and Frank Finlay as Professor Van Helsing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Count Dracula</span> Title character of Bram Stokers 1897 gothic horror novel Dracula

Count Dracula is the title character of Bram Stoker's 1897 gothic horror novel Dracula. He is considered the prototypical and archetypal vampire in subsequent works of fiction. Aspects of the character are believed by some to have been inspired by the 15th-century Wallachian prince Vlad the Impaler, who was also known as Vlad Dracula, and by Sir Henry Irving, an actor for whom Stoker was a personal assistant.

<i>Bram Stokers Dracula</i> (1974 film) 1973 television movie directed by Dan Curtis

Dracula, also known as Bram Stoker's Dracula and Dan Curtis' Dracula, is a 1974 British made-for-television gothic horror film and adaptation of Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula. It was written by Richard Matheson and directed by Dark Shadows creator Dan Curtis, with Jack Palance in the title role. It was the second collaboration for Curtis and Palance after the 1968 TV film The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

Dracula is a television adaptation of Bram Stoker's 1897 novel, Dracula, produced by Granada Television for WGBH Boston and BBC Wales in 2006. It was written by Stewart Harcourt and directed by Bill Eagles.

<i>Dracula</i> (1924 play) 1924 stage play

Dracula is a stage play written by the Irish actor and playwright Hamilton Deane in 1924, then revised by the American writer John L. Balderston in 1927. It was the first authorized adaptation of Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula. After touring in England, the original version of the play appeared at London's Little Theatre in July 1927, where it was seen by the American producer Horace Liveright. Liveright asked Balderston to revise the play for a Broadway production that opened at the Fulton Theatre in October 1927. This production starred Bela Lugosi in his first major English-speaking role.

Dracula is an adaptation, first published in 1996, by American playwright Steven Dietz of Bram Stoker's 1897 novel by the same name. Though it has never run on Broadway, the author lists it among his most financially successful works, and it is frequently performed near Halloween in regional and community theaters. Closely following the plot of the novel, the play chronicles Count Dracula's journey to England, his stalking of two young women, and his pursuit and eventual defeat by the heroines' suitors and their associates.

<i>Dracula: A Chamber Musical</i> Musical

Dracula: A Chamber Musical is a 1997 Canadian musical adaptation of Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula. The book and lyrics are by Richard Ouzounian and the music and orchestration are by Marek Norman. After premiering at the Neptune Theatre in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 1997, Dracula in 1999 became the first Canadian musical to be staged at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival.

Hrabě Drakula is a Czechoslovakian 1971 black and white TV film adaptation of Bram Stoker's original novel Dracula.

References

  1. Stoker, Bram; Eighteen-Bisang, Robert; Miller, Elizabeth Russell (2008). Bram Stoker's Notes for Dracula. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. p. 280. ISBN   978-0786434107.
  2. Dracula Chapter 2
  3. Dracula Chapter 1
  4. Dracula Chapter 3
  5. Mulkern, Patrick. "Dracula by Northern Ballet". Radio Times . Retrieved 17 November 2022.