John Seward

Dr. John Seward is a fictional character appearing in Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula. Seward is the administrator of an insane asylum not far from Count Dracula's first English home, Carfax Abbey. Throughout the novel, Seward conducts ambitious interviews with one of his patients, Renfield, in order to understand better the nature of life-consuming psychosis. As a psychiatrist, Seward enjoys using the most up-to-date equipment, including using ... more

Dr. John Seward is a fictional character appearing in Bram Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula. Seward is the administrator of an insane asylum not far from Count Dracula's first English home, Carfax Abbey. Throughout the novel, Seward conducts ambitious interviews with one of his patients, Renfield, in order to understand better the nature of life-consuming psychosis. As a psychiatrist, Seward enjoys using the most up-to-date equipment, including using a recording phonograph to record his interviews with his patients and his own notes. Several chapters of the novel consist of transcriptions of Seward's phonograph recordings. He is best friends with Quincey Morris and Arthur Holmwood. All three propose to Lucy Westenra the same day. Although Lucy turns down Seward's marriage proposal, his love for her remains, and he dedicates himself to her care when she suddenly takes ill. He calls in his mentor, Abraham Van Helsing, to help him with her illness, and he helps Seward to realize that Lucy has... less