In the novel Dracula, by Bram Stoker, Renfield is a patient at Dr. Sewards lunatic asylum.

Described as a zoophagous patient having a primal need to consume life, he is revealed to have been visited by Dracula, and is an important part of his plan; the events surrounding his death at Draculas mark the beginning of the vampires demise. Renfield, as a participant in Draculas distinctly otherworldly sphere, must reconcile Draculas wishes with the conventions of the Victorian world, leading to his supposed insanity and shedding light on the conception of sanity in the human sphere.

Even before Draculas arrival, Renfields state of mind is oddly close to societal norms for an inmate in a lunatic asylum. When he is first admitted to the facility, Dr. Seward is mystified by his case, thinking him so quaint in his ideas, and so unlike a normal lunatic that he questioned him more fully than [he] had ever done (61); we soon learn that Renfield desires to absorb as many lives as he can in a cumulative way (71). Though Renfield here is described as a homicidal maniac (71), the method to his madness is quite logical, and in fact indicates a higher reasoning process. The only basis on which to judge him as insane is in his unconventional goal of literally consuming life, even human life, as Dr. Seward posits. This, however, is perilously close to the social desires of humans, who thrive on being surrounded by life and figuratively feeding off the life-force of their fellow humans. Thus the characterization of Renfield as insane is inherently superficial in nature, in that it is based off of the social intolerance of his actions, and not the underlying mental causes of those actions.

After Draculas arrival in England, Renfield begins to exhibit characteristics indicative of Draculas influence over him, confounding Dr. Seward and revealing the fallibility of humans in dealing with the supernatural. Seward notes Renfields sudden change in behavior and diagnoses a religious mania (96), remarking that he will soon think that he himself is God (96) and he believes he is in a Real Presence (98). However, he attributes Renfields actions to religious delusion, using biblical dogmas such as the loaves and fishes parable; after Renfields religious mania seems to subside, he even goes as far as to posit a celestial explanation: Can it be that there is a malign influence of the sun at periods which affects only certain natures as at times the moon does others? (110) These inadequate explanations are prompted by Sewards lack of acceptance of the supernatural, which is partly a product of the societal norms of the Victorian era. The only thing close to the supernatural that is socially acceptable is religion; thus he offers biblical comparison. When he sees that these comparisons have fallen short, he turns to the heavens, the emblem of the supernatural prior to the Renaissance; he offers up an absurdly farfetched hypothesis that belongs not to science, but to astrology. His circumlocutory search reveals an underlying inability to comprehend the supernatural, seriously hampering his search for the source of Renfields insanity.

However, although Dracula exerts significant influence on Renfields states of mind, he still maintains a degree of self-control over his own thoughts, especially when he interacts with others in the human sphere. When he is visited by Lord Godalming, Mr. Morris, and Van Helsing, his speech is impeccable; he recalls the late Lord Godalming, predicts the admittance of Alaska and Hawaii in the mid-twentieth century, and praises the intellectual capabilities of Van Helsing and Seward. Even his doctor was under the conviction, despite my knowledge of the mans character and history, that his reason had been restored (216), though soon Renfield shows signs of his insanity again in his desire to go at once (216). The humans he interacts with conceive of his sanity as the degree to which his thoughts and words match with their predetermined societal constraints; his learned, academic speech conforms to their social norms, but his urgent pleas for help do not. He is termed a sane and learned lunatic (224) by Seward, and a clever lunatic (255) by Van Helsing, but the lunacy that others see in him is largely a result of his servile relationship with Dracula; he is being exploited by a supernatural force, but other humans perceive his behavior as a dysfunction of his mind. His urgent pleas for help also show significant self-control in this moment; the influence Dracula has on him is reduced to preventing him from explaining his pleas. The human conception of sanity is therefore fundamentally social, and is not conflated with actual self-control, demonstrating both the importance of the social and the inadequacy of a social definition of sanity in accounting for supernatural phenomena.

Renfield also seems to regain much of his sanity in his interactions with Mina. He again uses intellectual jargon, talking elemental philosophy with the manner of a polished gentleman (206) and throwing around Latin phrases such as non caus and ignoratio elenchi. Even when faced with questions on sanity, he addressed himself to the question with the impartiality of the completest sanity (206), discussing his previously held beliefs and behaviors as if they were things of the ancient past. However, the most telling part of this exchange is his warnings to Mina not to stay: I pray God I may never see your sweet face again. May He bless and keep you! (207). Though this may astonish Dr. Seward, it is a demonstration of Renfields sympathy for Mina; he is in fact being protective of Mina, attempting to keep her away from Draculas reach. In addition, he feels remorse for allowing Dracula to come in, visiting her and expressing his best wishes. These feelings of sympathy further show that he is executing Draculas wishes unwillingly, and that when he regains sanity, he has all the powers of a sane man, including the capability for emotions such as sympathy and remorse, and the ability to reason, even about ones own madness.

This sympathy for Mina empowers Renfield to fight Dracula in an ultimately unsuccessful show of chivalry, resulting in his own death. At first, he is tempted by Draculas offer of Rats, rats, rats! Hundreds, thousands, millions of them, and every one a life; and dogs to eat them, and cats too (244), and lets him in. When he realizes that Dracula was using him as a means to an end, that end being the victimization of Mina, who was like tea after the teapot had been watered (245), he decides to confront Dracula, sustaining fatal injuries but living to tell his story. This is an extreme gesture of chivalry; for the sake of saving Mina from Dracula, he risks his own life. The fact that his sympathy towards Mina can negate his loyalty to Dracula and his primal need to consume life is an exceptional affirmation of his humanity, as well as a rejection of the supernatural forces that have governed his life. Though his fight is unsuccessful, he gains at least partial redemption in the eyes of the vampire hunters in that he is finally seen as a valuable source who is not limited by insanity; the information he provides aids his demise, albeit posthumously. He becomes not the insane lunatic, but the poor man who dies of wounds sustained in his fight for freedom from the creature who has taken his sanity hostage. This reinforces the image of sanity as fundamentally social, as the perception of ones sanity may change as new facts are uncovered and situations shift.

This conception of sanity sheds light also on the perception of Dracula by the humans. Prior to the discovery of his vampiric identity, and even afterwards, he is often seen as clever. This implies a less socially proper type of intelligence, as opposed to the more socially acceptable knowledge of Dr. Seward. However, the socially higher reasoning of Dr. Seward is unable to comprehend the new phenomenon of Dracula, or explain Renfields maladies, while Dracula is able to outwit the humans and would have survived if not for luck (and Renfield). Renfields intelligence does not quite fit cleanly on this scale; his underlying intelligence is perfectly proper, but on the surface, it is clouded by his mental illness and contact with Dracula, and is thus socially suspicious at the least. Due to his status, he is looked down upon and even studied by Dr. Seward, but oftentimes shows a higher level of reasoning when he is sane, and is able to understand events and predict them even before they occur. Thus there seems to be an inverse relationship between social propriety and actual intelligence.