Editing Dracula (section)

=== Epistolary structure ===
''Dracula'' is an [[epistolary novel]].{{Sfn|Beville|2011|p=64}} Compared to other elements of the novel, critic David Seed writes that its epistolary structure has been neglected in analyses.{{Sfn|Seed|1985|p=61}} Critics note Stoker's decision to structure the novel this way may relate to a 19th-century trend of publishing diaries and travelogue accounts,{{Sfn|Miller|2005a|p=38}} especially with Harker's account of the journey to Transylvania.{{Sfn|Seed|1985|p=64}} Seed writes that Harker's initial four chapters function as a "miniaturised-[[pastiche]]-Gothic novel"—replacing Radcliffe's use of the [[Apennine Mountains]] in ''[[The Mysteries of Udolpho]]'' (1794) with the [[Carpathian Mountains]] of [[Transylvania]]{{Sfn|Seed|1985|p=69}}—and places this within the Gothic tradition of [[intertextuality]].{{Sfn|Seed|1985|pp=68–69}}

David Seed argues that the structure only provides a narrative voice to Dracula's opponents,{{Sfn|Seed|1985|p=68}} while Miller writes that the "collaborative narration" reinforces the idea that Dracula must be defeated by the combined effort of his opponents.{{Sfn|Miller|2005a|p=38}} Allison Case says Seed views that Dracula's absence generates tension by offering only "tantalizing glimpses" of his activities,{{Sfn|Seed|1985|p=68}} while literary critic [[Franco Moretti]] writes that it highlights the power struggle between the vampire and his hunters.{{Sfn|Moretti|1982|p=77}} Similarly, Allison Case views the structure as representing a power struggle between Mina and the male protagonists for "narrative mastery".{{Sfn|Case|1993|p=224}} Seed notes that the narrative's style distances the reader from its plot. Dracula's journey on the ''Demeter'' is captured by the captain on the [[Logbook (nautical)|logbook]], then "translated by the Russian consul, transcribed by a local journalist, and finally pasted by Mina into her journal".{{Sfn|Seed|1985|p=70}}