Arthur Holmwood

Sir Arthur "Art" Holmwood (Later Lord Godalming) is a fictional character of Bram Stoker's novel Dracula.

In the novel

Holmwood is engaged to Lucy Westenra, and is best friends with the other two men who proposed to her on the very same day— Quincey Morris and Doctor John Seward. Holmwood is the one who drives a wooden stake into Lucy after she becomes a vampire and helps hunt Count Dracula. He is the only son of Lord Godalming'^[2] who towards the middle of the story dies to which Arthur then succeeds his father as Lord Godalming. It is through his wealth and fortune that the team are able to be funded in their operation of vanquishing Dracula. He has been depicted aiding the other protagonists of the novel in raiding Dracula's many lairs throughout London as well as aiding in the investigation of locating Dracula's many purchased estates. It is mentioned in the note at the end of the novel, written seven years after Dracula's death, that Holmwood is now married happily.

It is of interest to note that Holmwood and Jonathan Harker exchange personality types depending on whose significant other is being terrorized by the Count. In the beginning, Holmwood is emotional and prone to melancholia while Jonathan attempts to maintain a strong will and recovery after his time in Dracula's castle. After the death of Holmwood's father, Holmwood gains a somewhat stronger will, befitting his new title, while Jonathan is prone to melancholia as his wife is terrorized by the Count.

In other media

Though a major character in the novel, Arthur Holmwood has been omitted from some adaptations of the story. In the 1977 adaptation Count Dracula, he is merged with the character Quincey Morris and renamed Quincey Holmwood. In the 1992 adaptation, Bram Stoker's Dracula, he is portrayed faithfully to his counterpart in the novel. In the 2006 adaptation Dracula, Holmwood is a more important character than he is in the novel and is portrayed much more negatively, aiding Dracula's travels to England in the belief that Dracula may be able to cure him of the syphilis that prevents him from consummating his marriage. To date he has been portrayed in films and television by:

• Michael Gough in Dracula (1958).
• Simon Ward in Dracula (1973).
• Richard Barnes (as Quincey Holmwood) in Count Dracula (1977).
• Cary Elwes in Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992).
• Conrad Hornby in Dracula (2002).
• Stephane Leonard in Dracula: Pages from a Virgin's Diary (2002).
• Dan Stevens in Dracula (2006).

In the 1938 Mercury Theatre radio production of Dracula, Holmwood's character was combined with John Seward's and renamed Arthur Seward, who was voiced by Orson Welles who also voiced Dracula in the adaptation. The 2004 film Dracula 3000 features a character named Arthur Holmwood, though it is a futuristic science fiction/horror film and this Holmwood is not intended to be the same person. In the full motion video based game Dracula Unleashed, Holmwood is played by Jay Nickerson.

Miscellaneous

Holmwood and Godalming are both places in Surrey.

References