Cultural Studies: Cinema and Society
WS 03/04

A DEVIL SICK OF SIN
Images of Death and Paralysis in Murnau’s Nosferatu

by

Jens Georg Rymes

handed in 1/20/2004
(American English)

Table of Contents

1 Introduction 3

2 Inside, Outside 4

3 Death and Disease 5

4 Invisibility 7

5 Ubiquity 8

6 Paralysis 10

7 Conclusion 12

8 Sources 13

1 Introduction

In adapting Stoker′s Dracula, Murnau has made quite a few changes to the original plot. Some of them were made due to economic and practical reasons, such as moving the setting and locations to Germany, some of them in order to avoid charges of copyright infringement, such as changing the characters′ names, as Murnau was not authorised to make an adaptation.

However, Murnau doesn′t simply copy Dracula. Stoker′s novel about the intrusion of an alien evil into English society is transformed into a story mirroring the fears that prevailed in Germany in the late 1910′s. Screenwriter Henrik Galeen and director Murnau were obviously influenced by the impressions that both World War I and the influenza pandemic had left. The war had left large areas in Central Europe in ruins and had triggered many political changes. Often, the new-founded Weimar Republic was seen as weak and incapable of acting. Moreover, the outbreak of the Spanish Flu in 1918 proved no less devastating, ranking "with the plague of Justinian and the Black Death as one of the three most destructive human epidemics.¹" Assisted by large troop movements and disastrous hygienic conditions after the armistice, the disease spread across the globe within less than three months. Physicians and scientist were helpless. There was no immunization available: the influenza virus could not be isolated and positively identified as the pathogene until 1932. In fact, even today there are no means of preventing another influenza epidemic².

Murnau begins with a caption that presents the movie as a record of an epidemic: "Aufzeichnung über das große Sterben in Wisborg." The vampire is not the party animal that Lugosi impersonated; instead, Murnau draws on a tradition that associates vampires with unexpected or inexplicable death.³ His creature feeds on a society which is defenseless against him, either because its members are too weakened or too terrified to take action. Thus, though set almost one hundred years in the past, Nosferatu presents an actualisation of Dracula.
I would like to point out a few evident parallels between the composition of Nosferatu and the situation of the time the film was made, as it presents itself historically. I will concentrate on a few striking themes of the movie, namely the emphasis on an omnipresent threat of untimely death and the sense of helplessness, paralysis, and decay connected with it.

2 Inside, Outside

In order to give an outline of the peculiar character of Count Orlok, I will show some of the differences to Stoker′s conception of the vampire. When Todd Browning′s vampire appears at the concert to introduce himself to his new neighbors, he is given a warm reception. Lucy, especially, is intrigued by his suave elegance. Obviously, Dracula can move in England′s high society with ease. Even his antagonist, Dr. Van Helsing, needs quite some time and combinational skill to find out about the Count′s true nature.

Count Orlok′s presence, however, would not be acceptable at any matinée. From his first appearance on, when he emerges out of a dark archway, he is characterised by repulsive otherness. Hutter shies away from the vampire′s gaunt figure when he encounters him, but his greed and ambition win over any caution.
Whereas Browning generates a sense of dramatic irony by presenting a vampire who can assimilate into society and be welcomed as ′one of us,′ Murnau shows a blood-sucker who is equally appalling to both film characters and audience. Count Orlok′s appearance, with his elongated incisors and pointed ears, resembles a rat. His mask-like, empty stare and stiff motions add to the disgusting impression. Moreover, he hardly communicates with anybody. Much unlike Browning′s Dracula who is quite talkative, Orlok speaks strikingly little, even for a figure in a silent movie. His gestures are equally rudimentary, limited to a few stiff moves such as the abrupt bow when he greets Hutter. Murnau thus makes a point of depicting the Count as an outsider, as something completely inhuman.

[....]

1 Potter, C.W. “A history of influenza”. Journal of Applied Microbiology 31. 2001: 575.

2 cf. ibid., 572.

3 cf. Becker, Markus. “Echte Vampire trinken kein Blut”. Spiegel Online.
<http://www.spiegel.de/wissenschaft/mensch/0,1518,273835,00.html>.