“ The Horla ,” Dracula ’ s Older French Cousin
or even Mina ’ s romantic matters , which soon fade into the background , Dracula concentrates upon the investigation of its main protagonists , in particular Dr . Seward and professor Van Helsing�both men of science�as they search first for possible explanations and then for the means to destroy the vampire in a very lucid , scientific fashion . Similarly , the narrator of “ The Horla ” experiments in a highly rational manner with the different liquids he leaves on his nightstand in order to determine if they are indeed being drunk by the invisible creature during the night ; in one instance , he wraps up the bottles of water and milk with white muslin and rubs his lips , his beard , and his hands with black-lead before going to sleep , as to demonstrate to himself that he is neither sleepwalking nor going mad .
Since the narrative tension on which the fantastic mode relies is most of all epistemological , it naturally plays upon the limitations of sciences within sciences themselves , which tend to be represented in their more enigmatic modalities , raising more questions than providing solutions , as to challenge our very means of apprehending the world . Just as the narrator of “ The Horla ” started by questioning our perception and understanding of what surrounds us , Dr . Seward and Professor Van Helsing often discuss the validity of human perception and understanding of reality , and underline their fundamental flaws by presenting apparently unexplainable yet verified facts :
Can you tell me how the Indian fakir can make himself to die and have been buried , and his grave sealed and corn sowed on it , and the corn reaped and be cut and sown and reaped and cut again , and then men come and take away the unbroken seal and that there lie the Indian fakir , not dead , but
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