Renfield, R. N.
Renfield, R. N.
(pop culture)R. N. Renfield was one of the major characters in Bram Stoker‘s novel Dracula (1897). At the beginning of the novel, Renfield was confined to the lunatic asylum managed by Dr. John Seward. Apart from demonstrating a set of unusual symptoms, no history of or specific reason for his confinement was given. When first described, Seward praised Renfield for his love of animals, however, he revised his opinion somewhat after Renfield ate them in order to absorb their life. Seward then coined a new term to describe him: zoophagous, or life-eating.
Renfield’s symptoms took a radical turn just at the time Dracula made the move from Whitby to London. Renfield announced to his attendant, “I don’t want to talk to you: you don’t count now; the Master is at hand.” Seward initially interpreted his words as the sign of a religious mania. The next day he made the first of several attempts to escape and headed toward Carfax, where Dracula had deposited his boxes of earth. Captured, he was returned to the asylum, but escaped again several days later.
Seward’s attention was diverted from Renfield for several weeks as he treated Lucy Westenra. However, one evening Renfield escaped and broke into the doctor’s study. He attacked Seward with a knife, and dropped to the floor to lick up the drops of blood that had fallen from the cut. Again several weeks passed during which time Lucy died and it was determined that she was a vampire. Almost forgotten again in the concern for Lucy, Renfield called Seward to come to his cell. He spoke sanely to Seward and the men who accompanied him, Dr. Abraham Van Helsing, Quincey P. Morris, and Arthur Holmwood. Later that day Seward and Renfield had a long conversation, and Seward determined that Dracula had been with him. The following day, it was found that Renfield had been attacked in his cell. Seward and Van Helsing attended him, and Renfield described Dracula’s attack. He mentioned Mina Murray‘s (now Harker) name as he lay dying. From his words, Van Helsing determined that Mina was under attack, and the men left Renfield to save her. They broke into her bedroom just in time as she and Dracula were sharing each other’s blood.
The character of Renfield, the mad man—one of the most vivid and interesting in the novel—has been given quite varied treatment in the several stage and screen adaptations, though most often he was used to promote atmosphere or as comic relief. Dwight Frye was especially remembered for his frantic portrayal of Renfield in Universal Pictures’ Dracula (1931).
The presence of Renfield, however, vividly portrayed the intense evil represented by the vampire. Supernatural explanations vie, even in the modern secular world, with scientific “psychological” explanations that have no need to appeal to either the sacred or preternatural. In the end, even Dr. Seward agreed that the psychological explanations were inadequate, and he joined Van Helsing on the crusade to destroy the vampire.
Renfield has become the subject of several works designed as comments and sequels on Dracula. Kyle Garrett (pseudonym of Gary Reed) led the way in 1994 with a three issue comic book series about Renfield that told the story of Dracula from Renfield’s perspective. Both Tim Lucas in The Book of Renfield (2005) and Barbara Hambly in Renfield: Slave of Dracula (2006) have imagined a more sympathetic Renfield as the victim of Dracula who did what he could to fend off the over-powering vampire.
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