Ship Sunday: Dracula/Jonathan
For Public Do-May, we’re highlighting Harkular, the slash ship featuring Count Dracula and Jonathan Harker from Bram Stoker’s Gothic novel Dracula. Fans of the pairing are drawn to the strong homoerotic subtexts of their early interactions, especially Dracula’s obsession and possessiveness over Jonathan upon meeting him.
Jonathan’s imprisonment at Dracula’s castle has inspired many darkfics with dub-con or non-con elements such as somnophilia. Many fics also have a dreamlike and hallucinatory atmosphere in which Jonathan struggles to distinguish between dreams and reality due to Dracula’s psychological manipulation.
Fanworks that feature a more consensual relationship between the two tend to have themes of sexual repression and internalized homophobia, with Dracula tapping into Jonathan's repressed queer desires.
Are you a fan of Harkular? Head over to Fanlore and consider adding more to the page!
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