Robert Montague Renfield (or R.M. Renfield) is a fictional character that appears in Bram Stoker's 1897 Gothic horror novel Dracula.[1]
History[]
R.M. Renfield was a resident patient in Dr. John (Jack in some cases) Seward’s asylum and is the only named patient in the novel. Renfield was previously a lawyer who becomes Dracula's henchman after visiting the vampire's palatial lair Castle Dracula. Dracula promises to make him immortal if he follows Dracula's orders. Renfield has a complete mental breakdown after Dracula drinks his blood.
He was diagnosed a "zoophagous maniac" or carnivorous madman, ingesting insects and spiders, believing their life-force would prolong his years. His age in the novel is stated as being 59.
It is also stated when he was being subdued he showed the strength of a tiger, more a wild beast than human. He is also quite crafty and displays a superior intellect when he is not in a melancholy state or a fit of rage. Renfield raves about "the master" and becomes obsessed with eating insects and small mammals in order to gain their "life force"; his goalers write him off as a lunatic. Throughout Renfield's institutionalization, Dracula appears to him in several animal forms to instruct him to engineer Mina Harker to come to him and be his bride. When Mina visits him in the asylum, however, He throws aside his devotion to Dracula and attempts to help the heroes and warns her that Dracula is going to kill her. Enraged, Dracula appears in Renfield's cell and attacks him; Renfield tries in vain to fight the Count, who ultimately breaks Renfield's neck.
Dracula brutally killed Renfield for his eventual betrayal.
Notes[]
Dr. John Seward shares several sets of notes about Renfield, the first set being his initial observations about his patient:
- Renfield’s age according to the novel is 59 years old; this varies depending on the retelling.
- He possesses a “sanguine temperament” meaning that he has a cheerful or positive outlook on life, despite being in harsh circumstances.
- He has great physical strength
- He is “morbidly excitable”
- He goes through “periods of gloom ending in some fixed idea” which is unknown to Seward.
His second set of notes leads him to the conclusion that Renfield wants to become a vampire:
- Renfield refuses to mention “drinking”
- He fears the thought of being burdened with the “soul” of anything
- He has no dread of wanting “life” in the future
- He despises the meaner forms of life altogether, though he dreads being haunted by their souls.
Gallery[]
Credits[]
- 1922: Nosferatu: Alexander Granach
- 1931: Dracula: Dwight Frye
- 1931: Dracula: Pablo Álvarez Rubio
- 1970: Count Dracula (1970 Film): Klaus Kinski
- 1977: Count Dracula (television film): Jack Shepherd
- 1979: Dracula: Tony Haygarth
- 1979: Nosferatu the Vampyre: Roland Topor
- 1979: Love at First Bite: Arte Johnson
- 1992: Bram Stoker's Dracula: Tom Waits
- 1995: Dracula: Dead and Loving It: Peter MacNicol
- 2002: TV miniseries): Brett Forest
- 2005: Dracula (TV series): Manoj Bajpayee
- (2006-2014): Young Dracula (TV series): Simon Ludders
- 2012: Dracula Reborn: Ian Pfister
- 2012: Dracula 3D: Giovanni Franzoni
- 2013: Dracula (TV series): Nonso Anozie
- 2014-2016: Penny Dreadful (TV series): Samuel Barnett
- 2020: Dracula (TV miniseries): Mark Gatiss
- 2022: The Invitation: Sean Pertwee
- 2023: Renfield: Nicholas Hoult
- 2024: Nosferatu: Simon McBurney