Discuss the presentation of good and evil in the texts Dracula and Frankenstein

Both Mary Shelley and Bram Stoker ,in their respective texts, fully delineate and explore the dichotomy between good and evil. In Shelley's 1818 text Frankenstein, there is a stark contrast between the supposed 'good' men of science and the 'evil' creature which Victor creates and instantly seeks to deem a villain. In like demeanour, in Stoker's fin de siècle novel Dracula (1897) men of science (Jonathon Harker and his crew) stand in a traditional juxtaposition to the 'evil' Count Dracula. Yet, in both works, it is evident that such a dichotomy is rarely so easy to substantiate. For example, in Dracula, Stoker raises a question of identity in: 'there was no reflection of him in the mirror ... there was no sign of a man in it, except myself'. This is an evident image of a quasi-laconian mirror stage, where Stoker advocates a clear doppelgänger existent between Harker and Dracula. As such, the traditional 'good' and 'evil' divide is futile, and there are clear parallels between the dualism.Shelley identifies similar philosophical concerns in Frankenstein. Through her 'Chinese box' narrative, Shelley forces us to listen to the disenfranchised voices of society (the Creature) and hence evokes sympathy for those so ostracised by their community. Shelley hints that those who oppress the marginalised are equally, if not more, monstrous than the 'evil' demons they so vehemently attack. Overall, then, both writers advocate that the conventional 'good' and 'evil' divide is futile and thus both texts serve as social criticisms that critique their society.