Renfield
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| - | '''R. M. Renfield''' is a [[fictional character]] in the novel ''[[Dracula]]'' by [[Bram Stoker]]. | + | '''R. M. Renfield''' is a [[fictional character]] and an [[antagonist]] of [[Bram Stoker]]'s 1897 Gothic horror novel ''[[Dracula]]''. |
| - | A description of Renfield from Bram Stoker's [[Dracula]]: | + | ==In the novel== |
| + | A description of Renfield from the novel: | ||
| <blockquote> | <blockquote> | ||
| - | R. M. Renfield, aetat 59. Sanguine temperament, great physical strength, morbidly excitable, | + | R. M. Renfield, [[List of Latin phrases: A#aetat|aetat]] 59. [[Four Temperaments#Sanguine|Sanguine]] temperament, great physical strength, morbidly excitable, |
| - | periods of gloom, ending in some fixed idea which I cannot make out. I presume that the | + | periods of gloom, ending in some fixed idea which I cannot make out. I presume that the |
| - | sanguine temperament itself and the disturbing influence end in a mentally-accomplished finish, | + | sanguine temperament itself and the disturbing influence end in a mentally-accomplished finish, |
| - | a possibly dangerous man, probably dangerous if unselfish. In selfish men, caution is as | + | a possibly dangerous man, probably dangerous if unselfish. In selfish men, caution is as |
| - | secure an armour for their foes as for themselves. What I think of on this point is, | + | secure an armour for their foes as for themselves. What I think of on this point is, |
| - | when self is the fixed point the centripetal force is balanced with the centrifugal. | + | when self is the fixed point the centripetal force is balanced with the centrifugal. |
| - | When duty, a cause, etc., is the fixed point, the latter force is paramount, and only | + | When duty, a cause, etc., is the fixed point, the latter force is paramount, and only |
| - | accident of a series of accidents can balance it. - From Dr. [[John Seward]]'s journal | + | accident or a series of accidents can balance it. — From Dr. [[John Seward]]'s journal |
| </blockquote> | </blockquote> | ||
| - | He is an inmate at the [[psychiatric hospital|lunatic asylum]] overseen by Dr. [[John Seward]]. Aged fifty-nine, he suffers from a delusional belief system that leads him to eat living creatures in the hope of obtaining their life-force for himself. Being confined to the asylum, and aware of the foolishness of taking on a full-sized hospital orderly, he starts by consuming flies, then develops a scheme of feeding the flies to spiders, and the spiders to birds, in order to accumulate more and more life. When denied a cat to accommodate the birds, he eats the birds himself. | + | He is an inmate at the [[psychiatric hospital|lunatic asylum]] overseen by Dr. [[John Seward]]. He suffers from [[delusion]]s which compel him to eat living creatures in the hope of obtaining their life-force for himself. He starts by consuming [[fly|flies]], then develops a scheme of feeding the flies to [[spider]]s, and the spiders to [[bird]]s, in order to accumulate more and more life. When denied a [[cat]] to accommodate the birds, he eats the birds himself. He also changes his ideas to accommodate [[Mina Harker]] by quickly eating all flies and stating that it was an old habit. Doctor John Seward diagnoses him as a "zoophagous maniac", or carnivorous mad man. |
| - | During the course of the novel it is discovered, that he is under the influence of [[Count Dracula]]. | + | During the course of the novel, he is revealed to be under the influence of [[Count Dracula]]. The [[vampire]], whose abilities include control over animals such as [[rat]]s, [[bat]]s and spiders, comes to Renfield with an offer: if Renfield worships him, he will provide Renfield with an endless supply of food. |
| - | However, when confronted by [[Mina Harker]], the object of Dracula's obsession, Renfield suffers an attack of [[conscience]] and begs her to flee from his master's grasp. Enraged by this treachery, Dracula infiltrates Renfield's cell (in the form of [[fog]]), and when Renfield lures the Count by assisting his entrance to the asylum, the base of Seward and his fellow [[vampire hunter]]s, Dracula breaks his neck. | + | However, when confronted by Mina Harker, the object of Dracula's obsession, Renfield suffers an attack of [[conscience]] and begs her to flee from his master's grasp. Renfield is consumed by his desire to keep Mina safe, begging Seward and the others to allow him to leave lest he feel guilty for her fate. When he is denied by Seward, Renfield tells the group of vampire hunters that "[he] warned them!" When Dracula returns that night, Renfield is again seized by his conscience. He remembers hearing that madmen have unnatural strength, and so attempts to fight Dracula. Renfield's strength leaves him after looking into Dracula's eyes, and Dracula throws him to the floor, severely injuring him. |
| - | [[Film adaptation]]s of the novel, if they include Renfield, have a tendency to expand his role, making him a twenty-something, more active and long-standing servant of the vampire Count, often depicting his [[zoophagia|zoophagous]] [[mania]] as a result of falling under Dracula's influence, rather than as a pre-existing condition that made him vulnerable to it. [[Tod Browning]]'s 1931 film starring [[Bela Lugosi]] (with [[Dwight Frye]] as Renfield), for example, conflates the character with that of [[Jonathan Harker]], making Renfield the [[real estate]] agent who is sent to [[Transylvania]]. ''[[Nosferatu]]'' presents [[Alexander Granach]] as a Renfield similar to that of the novel, but gives him the name Knock. The K is intended to be pronounced. | + | The vampire hunters enter the room shortly afterward, and through an emergency surgery Van Helsing manages to prolong Renfield's life. Renfield tells his story to the vampire hunters who rush to help Mina, and leave him lying on the floor. He lives for only a few moments more before succumbing to his injuries, dying alone. |
| - | + | ||
| - | In the 1979 film ''[[Dracula (1979 film)|Dracula]]'', Renfield's first name is given as '''Milo''', and he is a laborer who goes to work at Carfax Abbey. | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | In "Bill Cosby Himself", in one of the stories he told, Bill refers to him in the line "sounding like Renfield!" | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | [[Francis Ford Coppola]]'s 1992 film ''[[Bram Stoker's Dracula]]'' expressly states that Renfield (performed by [[Tom Waits]]) was Harker's predecessor as Count Dracula's agent in [[London]]; it is thus implied that this is the reason for his present madness. | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | In [[Mel Brooks]]' 1995 parody ''[[Dracula: Dead and Loving It]]'', Renfield's first name is given as '''Thomas''', and he is portrayed by [[Peter MacNicol]]. | + | |
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| - | == Popular Culture == | + | |
| - | In [[Jim Butcher]]'s series of novels, [[The Dresden Files]], thralls of Black Court vampires are referred to as "Renfields." | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | In ''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer]]'''s "[[Buffy vs. Dracula]]" mythos adaptation, [[Xander Harris|Xander]] served as Dracula's Renfield. | + | |
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R. M. Renfield is a fictional character and an antagonist of Bram Stoker's 1897 Gothic horror novel Dracula.
In the novel
A description of Renfield from the novel:
R. M. Renfield, aetat 59. Sanguine temperament, great physical strength, morbidly excitable, periods of gloom, ending in some fixed idea which I cannot make out. I presume that the sanguine temperament itself and the disturbing influence end in a mentally-accomplished finish, a possibly dangerous man, probably dangerous if unselfish. In selfish men, caution is as secure an armour for their foes as for themselves. What I think of on this point is, when self is the fixed point the centripetal force is balanced with the centrifugal. When duty, a cause, etc., is the fixed point, the latter force is paramount, and only accident or a series of accidents can balance it. — From Dr. John Seward's journal
He is an inmate at the lunatic asylum overseen by Dr. John Seward. He suffers from delusions which compel him to eat living creatures in the hope of obtaining their life-force for himself. He starts by consuming flies, then develops a scheme of feeding the flies to spiders, and the spiders to birds, in order to accumulate more and more life. When denied a cat to accommodate the birds, he eats the birds himself. He also changes his ideas to accommodate Mina Harker by quickly eating all flies and stating that it was an old habit. Doctor John Seward diagnoses him as a "zoophagous maniac", or carnivorous mad man.
During the course of the novel, he is revealed to be under the influence of Count Dracula. The vampire, whose abilities include control over animals such as rats, bats and spiders, comes to Renfield with an offer: if Renfield worships him, he will provide Renfield with an endless supply of food.
However, when confronted by Mina Harker, the object of Dracula's obsession, Renfield suffers an attack of conscience and begs her to flee from his master's grasp. Renfield is consumed by his desire to keep Mina safe, begging Seward and the others to allow him to leave lest he feel guilty for her fate. When he is denied by Seward, Renfield tells the group of vampire hunters that "[he] warned them!" When Dracula returns that night, Renfield is again seized by his conscience. He remembers hearing that madmen have unnatural strength, and so attempts to fight Dracula. Renfield's strength leaves him after looking into Dracula's eyes, and Dracula throws him to the floor, severely injuring him.
The vampire hunters enter the room shortly afterward, and through an emergency surgery Van Helsing manages to prolong Renfield's life. Renfield tells his story to the vampire hunters who rush to help Mina, and leave him lying on the floor. He lives for only a few moments more before succumbing to his injuries, dying alone.
