Despite this, within the “Band of Brothers” each individual member have their own personal weakness, and this again parallels to that of a super hero in a comic book, (an ideal present day hero), how everyone has their own weaknesses, and often all have a universal weakness, eg. Breathing, in a comic world. In this case, the universal weakness of the “Band of the Brothers” is the shared love and protective nature over their women/partners. I believe that the men in the novel feel threatened by Dracula, who is a perfectly attractive, who is physically powerful, and more importantly targeting their women. The men may have felt that this new species may lure their women away from them, since it can be seen that his prey needs some sort of willingness or co-operation for him to act. It is not clear in the novel if Jonathan and Mina have consummated their marriage, since Jonathan was in such a bad state at the time of the wedding, yet later in the play he again shows inadequacies in the bedroom department, and can only watch Mina sucking at the chest of Dracula having been paralysed by the more dominant figure, Dracula. In the novel, personal and universal strengths and weaknesses are present in the “Band of Brothers”. Since all the characters concerned are human, there is no distinct line between the two, perhaps rather they represent individuality of characters.
Due to the group’s enthusiasm, and their keenness to save their beloved from Dracula, they play directly into the hands of Dracula, and this can be seen in London. This shows that the eager and hunger of the man exploits their weakness of not thinking correctly, rushing into things and a little gullibility. Mina is left alone at the house a sitting duck for Dracula to attack, a thoughtless action showing human weakness. However the group show great dedication and understanding to the task in hand as Van Helsing says, “Our toil must be in silence, and our efforts in secret; for in this enlightened age…men believe not even what they see”. This is ironic, because a member of the “Band of Brothers” says, “This is no place for a women”.
Despite the “Band of Brothers” being a group of heroes, Stoker gives his characters different qualities. While Van Helsing may seem to be more in touch with his feminine side, seen at Lucy’s burial, “I grieve my heart out”, he is also the most intelligent, and knowledgeable of the new species, (the vampire). Holmwood/Goldalming share the weakness for women, as they almost fall victim to Lucy’s seductive nature as a vampire. Jonathan Harker suffers drastically to the extent that his hair changes colour due to…Seward presents a modern man, who denies his feelings more than other characters. Showing the new hero, Quincey represents the American, where their heart follows the money etc. as a result I believe that Quincey’s loyalty to the group is questionable, since there are hints throughout the novel that he is a possible companion of Dracula. Although an undeveloped character, perhaps his death is justice done.
At the other end of the spectrum, Stoker represents Dracula as a very Strong, masculine, and seductive figure in the novel. However, despite the fact that he is a vampire, Stoker still gives Dracula the same stereotype characteristics as men from the “Band of Brothers”. Dracula has both strengths and weaknesses, but the only thing to differentiate him from the band, is that he is the only male vampire in the book. Stoker has probably decided to do this because it presents him as more powerful and dominant over the other vampires. Dracula has companions in his mission to reach England, and is not alone.
In the epilogue, Jonathan Harker makes it clear that the status quo, which is before Dracula had any effect on their lives, is restored. Harker has now consummated his marriage, and can be seen as he now has a child, the others are happily married. The fact that the status quo is restored shows that their manhood is no longer dependant on their protective nature over the people they care about, but rather as providers for their families.
I believe that in Stoker has developed his male characters to represent different things, and this can be seen, as there are different personalities within the “Band of Brothers”. However, the characters are brought together because of the simple common need to protect their women, this is emphasised when Dr. Seward calls upon Van Helsing to help him in his exploration for a diagnosis for Lucy’s behaviour.
