Popular Culture Review 30.1 • Winter 2019
“ The Horla ,” Dracula ’ s Older French Cousin
by Daniel Ferreras Savoye
ABSTRACT
Although both Guy de Maupassant ’ s “ Le Horla ” and Bram Stoker ’ s Dracula have benefited from a great deal of scholarly attention , their striking similarities in terms of form and content have been so far ignored by the critics . The comparative analysis of both texts not only sheds new light upon the influence Maupassant ’ s short story assuredly had on Stoker ’ s novel , but illustrates as well fundamental mechanisms of the fantastic mode , such as familiarization and scientization , which allow us to better define it against the ever-elusive notion of gothic literature .
Keywords : The fantastic , Maupassant , Stoker , “ The Horla ,” Dracula , vampire , gothic
“ Le Horla ”, el primo mayor de Drácula
RESUMEN
Aunque tanto “ Le Horla ” de Guy de Maupassant como Drácula se han beneficiado de una significativa atención académica , sus marcadas similitudes en cuestión de forma y contenido han sido hasta ahora ignoradas por los críticos . El análisis comparativo de ambos textos no solo arroja una nueva luz sobre la influencia que el relato de Maupassant tuvo en la novela de Stoker , sino que también ilustra mecanismos fundamentales del modo fantástico , como la familiarización
1 doi : 10.18278 / pcr . 30.1.2