Does anybody know who Professor Abraham Van Helsing is?

Answer 1

Professor Abraham Van Helsing is a fictional character in the novel Dracula (1897) by Bram Stoker. He is a Dutch doctor, of advanced age and a wide range of interests and accomplishments, partly attested by the string of letters that follows his name: "M.D., D.Ph., D.Litt., etc., etc.", but is best known as a vampire hunter.

Dracula

In the novel, Van Helsing is called in by his former student, Dr. Seward (his later friendly relationship with Seward was based in part upon an unknown event in which Van Helsing suffered a grievous wound and Seward saved his life by sucking out the gangrene), to assist with the mysterious illness of Lucy Westenra. It is Van Helsing who first realises that Lucy is the victim of a vampire, and Van Helsing who guides Dr. Seward and his friends in their efforts first to save Lucy and then to end the vampire's threat once and for all.

According to some short and obscure lines of the novel (most readers don't remember them), he had a son (whom he said bore a resemblance to Arthur Holmwood) who died under unrevealed circumstances (presumably his resemblance to Holmwood means that he was at least a young adult). He also had a wife who went insane but who, as a devout Catholic (albeit one with odd ideas about how to use the Host), he cannot divorce. The obvious guess here is that his son was killed by vampires or demons or something of the like and his wife went insane as a result, but this is mere conjecture. The fact that he protected Mina Harker via some sort of ritual circle around her also suggests that he has some familiarity with magic or Catholic exorcism rites. All of these remarks come from the annotions of Leonard Wolf.

Van Helsing is unique in the fact that he is one of the few charcters in the novel that is given a full physical description in one place. In chapter 14, Mina describes him as:

"a man of medium weight, strongly built, with his shoulders set back over a broad, deep chest and a neck well balanced on the trunk as the head is on the neck. The poise of the head strikes me at once as indicative of thought and power. The head is noble, well-sized, broad, and large behind the ears. The face, clean-shaven, shows a hard, square chin, a large resolute, mobile mouth, a good-sized nose, rather straight, but with quick, sensitive nostrils, that seem to broaden as the big bushy brows come down and the mouth tightens. The forehead is broad and fine, rising at first almost straight and then sloping back above two bumps or ridges wide apart, such a forehead that the reddish hair cannot possibly tumble over it, but falls naturally back and to the sides. Big, dark blue eyes are set widely apart, and are quick and tender or stern with the man's moods."
Adaptations of the novel have tended to play up Van Helsing's role as the vampire expert, sometimes to the extent that this is depicted as his major occupation. In the novel, however, Dr. Seward is unaware of this side of his old friend (and furthermore, has no suspicion that vampires really exist, let alone that one is involved in the case), and requests Van Helsing's assistance simply because Lucy's affliction has him baffled and Van Helsing "knows as much about obscure diseases as any one in the world".

Van Helsing is described by his former student thus:

He is a seemingly arbitrary man, this is because he knows what he is talking about better than any one else. He is a philosopher and a metaphysician, and one of the most advanced scientists of his day, and he has, I believe, an absolutely open mind. This, with an iron nerve, a temper of the ice-brook, and indomitable resolution, self-command, and toleration exalted from virtues to blessings, and the kindliest and truest heart that beats, these form his equipment for the noble work that he is doing for mankind, work both in theory and practice, for his views are as wide as his all-embracing sympathy. [Dracula, ch.9]
It is strange to notice some interesting linguistic facts about Van Helsing's way of talking in the novel. He generally speaks English approximatively, redundantly, filling it with biblical allusions -while Dracula is also a foreigner, but speaking English without accent. But when he is in agitation, he suddenly begins to speak correctly. When Van Helsing is upset, he begins speaking German: "Gott im Himmel!" It is possible that Bram Stoker thought it was Dutch, but the correct Dutch would be "God in de hemel!"

Character source

There are several possible sources for the character of Van Helsing as described by Bram Stoker. German historian Max Muller is one possible suggestion, as an early draft of Dracula features a version of Van Helsing called Max Windshoeffel. Another is Theodore Roosevelt's uncle, Robert Roosevelt, who was a popular author, of Dutch descent, a scientist, and broadly matched Stoker's description in image and character. He was also a member of Stoker's "clique", which included Oscar Wilde and fellow Long Islander Walt Whitman. Arminius Vambery, a Hungarian professor who helped Stoker with his research into vampirism, is also a likely source for at least part of the character of Van Helsing.

A possible fictional source is a similar vampire-hunting paranormal expert, Dr. Hesselius, who appears in J. Sheridan Le Fanu's seminal 1869 vampire story Carmilla, as well as other supernatural tales by the same author.

Answer 2

He is a character in Bram Stoker's novel "Dracula." Dr. Van Helsing was well known for his knowledge of the supernatural and demonic forces. He was part of a group of men who tried to destroy Dracula. There was a movie that came out a few years ago called Van Helsing that told of his life as a young man hunting down demons. You should also check out the video game based on the movie.

Answer 3

Vampire hunter, anthropology professor

Answer 4

He's is the vampire hunter in the book "Dracula"

Answer 5

He's the fictional vampire hunter in "Dracula."

Answer 6

The guy who "staked" Dracula.

Answer 7

Not personally

Answer 8

This is bad

Answer 9

I am not. But certainly he is also not a God.

Answer 10

yes, and so do you