The true fear of Count Dracula
When Van Helsing explains what truly scares Count Dracula in the 2020 TV-series, she says it's something that explains all his "smaller" fears or restrictions:
- fear of the cross
- fear of the Sun
- sleeping on his origin land soil
- entering private property without an invitation
His biggest fear seems to be fear of death and that's why he keeps on sucking that girl's blood, because "she seems to be not afraid of death"
The thing is, I can accept that the cross represents the commitment of Jesus to die, the soil representing his eternal rest underground and the Sun that we believe it will kill him scares him...
But how does this bigger fear explain why he can't enter without an invitation?
Note: as seen the Sun is not really harmful for him. It's part of the folklore that even he believed to the point of immense fear.
Could be similar with the invitation. Either way, that he absorbs the myths is not just the one explanation that Van Helsing wanted to find as one unique truth.
Best Answer
Although I think it's somewhat shoddy writing, I think it's clear that
Dracula is, at his heart, an ancient warlord who is desperate for the one thing everyone else in his bloodline attained but that he can’t have, which is the honor of a hero’s grave. [1]
There is no honor, nor is there anything heroic, with entering a house uninvited.
I think this is a little bit of a stretch, trying to make age-old folklore fit into a tidy box, but clearly it's about honor and heroism.
[1] https://tv.avclub.com/dracula-s-bonkers-finale-both-keeps-it-simple-and-absur-1840834235
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How is fear presented in Dracula?
Fear of helplessness, fear of being hunted, fear of no safe space or trust, and so forth. The character of Count Dracula strongly outlines the genius of Bram Stoker's Dracula, giving the reader a clear example of what could be considered the scariest thing; other than death itself.How does Stoker create fear in Dracula?
Stoker builds an atmosphere of fear by introducing that which is unknown to Victorians \u2013 people were completely terrified by things they couldn't understand.What does Count Dracula represent?
Dracula represents the Victorian fear of societal progress using symbolism of a medical, religious, legal, and sexual nature, as well as explores early ideas of feminism and scientific thought, all of which are still applicable to the anxieties of our time.True Fear Forsaken Souls Part 1 (Act 1)
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Answer 2
But how does this bigger fear explain why he can't enter without an invitation?
It doesn't necessarily. The inability for Dracula to enter a home uninvited is a superstition that he falsely believed in just like all the other superstitions.
Numerous times throughout the first season both Agatha and Dr. Zoe Van Helsing pick fun at Dracula for not being able to control his desires, for being a complete slave to immediate gratification/instincts (like a beast). First with Agatha's blood at the gates of the nunnery in S01E01, then with Dracula feeding on all the passengers so quickly in S01E02, and then again in S01E03 when Zoe and Dracula are at Dracula's penthouse talking about Lucy.
A beast [dog] enters a home only when invited, and if the beast attempts to enter unwelcomed then it's subject to being disciplined. The fears/superstitions that Dr. Zoe Van Helsing mentioned at the end of S01E03 were described as, "The Rules of the Beast", and for hundreds of years Dracula blindly followed them all. It was only after Dr. Zoe confronted him about it (by pulling the curtains down and showing him otherwise) that he was able to realize the truth, overcome the superstitions, and then face his fears / death (i.e., become something more than just a beast).
That's how it ties in with everything.
P.S. "The Rules of the Beast" is also the title of the first episode.
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