What was Dracula's importance to the Victorian era?

In his 1897 novel, Stoker reflected on some of the scientific advances and new inventions of the time by having his characters employ these innovations throughout the story: Mina’s typewriter, the phonograph Dr. Seward uses to record his journal, and the blood transfusion given to the hapless Lucy by Dr. Van Helsing are but a few examples. Even the novel’s epistolary structure, its exposition unfolding via letters, notes, and, in Seward’s case, recorded material, hearkens...

In his 1897 novel, Stoker reflected on some of the scientific advances and new inventions of the time by having his characters employ these innovations throughout the story: Mina’s typewriter, the phonograph Dr. Seward uses to record his journal, and the blood transfusion given to the hapless Lucy by Dr. Van Helsing are but a few examples. Even the novel’s epistolary structure, its exposition unfolding via letters, notes, and, in Seward’s case, recorded material, hearkens to a scientific process or methodology. These, as well as the characters who use them in their attempts to understand—and, ultimately, conquer—the unknown provide an interesting juxtaposition to the Count, a physical manifestation of the supernatural, equal parts regional folklore and superstition.

The novel also epitomizes the Victorian Era in the manner in which Stoker chooses to comment upon the social mores and attitudes of the day, particularly the roles of women in society in the contrasting personalities of the liberal-minded Lucy and her best friend, the more traditional and conservative Mina. Through the Count’s intrusive blood-lust and its effects upon unsuspecting victims, Stoker also demonstrates the fear that permeated Victorian society where the dangers of sexual promiscuity were concerned. Dracula’s character can also be seen as an embodiment of the racist beliefs some held at the time about the threat posed to conventional society by immigrants.