#Jonathan Coachman

[mostbelovednjpwtournament]

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[littletroubledgrrrl]

[origami-trust]

Dracula, June 29th: "The Count stood up, and said, with a sweet courtesy which made me rub my eyes, it seemed so real:"

"...I was to be given to the wolves, and at my own instigation. There was a diabolical wickedness in the idea great enough for the Count..."

I really enjoy these lines in staking home what a despicable figure the Count is, one who really delights in the misery he causes. Even now, even still, he's trying (and succeeding!) to make Jonathan doubt what he's experiencing. And Jonathan senses the fatal danger he's about to be in - because it's of the variety that the Count would think is amusing.

[offonaherosjourney]

Why did no one tell me that Dracula was a fucking COMEDY.

The book opens up with Jonathan experiencing a paprika overload. Dracula pretends to be the coachman and drives Jonathan around in circles until he decides he's established enough of a dramatic atmosphere. By day three in the castle Jonathan has picked up that there are no servants and Dracula is secretly doing all the chores, including driving him there. The first time Jonathan tries to shave, the count barges into the room, yeets his mirror out the window, refuses to elaborate and leaves. Jonathan also notices that he is a prisoner in the castle but doesn't dare to bring it up, which... is a mood, but also hilarious. A week into his stay he sees his employer/kidnapper crawling facedown out a wall

[wiliecoyotegenius]

Stop constantly writing post-Dracula novels about how the Harkers cheat on each other and divorce and Seward turns into Jack the Ripper and everyone but Dracula was the Real Monster Actually and start writing ones where Jonathan reunites with the crucifix lady and the coachman and they dine together with Mina and their little boy.

[thegoatsongs]

I'm sure others have pointed it out already, but in the May 5th entry, the "The dead travel fast" quote is from the German ballad Lenore. In which the lovesick heroine, Lenore, rides with -unbeknownst to her- Death.

He is in disguise and tricks her into riding with him to her grave (instead of her marriage bed as promised).

A lot like Dracula disguising himself as a coachman to lead Jonathan to his doom. Dracula himself grins widely upon hearing the quote.

And Lenore's fiance is called Wilhelm. Jonathan's is called Wilhelmina aka Mina.

[draculasweedsmokinggirlfriend]

Dracula changing from his Coachman Cosplay ready to greet Jonathan at the door:

[lasarusbird]

Dracula plays a very smart game by calling the coachman (someone he totally didn't imitate) foolish and undermining all the peasants who he KNOWS had tried to save Jonathan and warned him as subtly as they could.

He's trying to reassure Jonathan the the people are all fools and that he should trust him, his generous host, only.

[gilgamushroom]

Oh I can already tell I'm going to be so normal about Ben Galpin's Jonathan Harker. The way he intones Jonathan trying to rationalize everything and not give in to fear is just heartbreaking.

It's day one, this man has only now REACHED the castle, and he's already questioning his own perception of reality. Were the coachman's eyes red? No, that's ridiculous, must have been a trick of the light. We seem to be driving in circles... no, but that can't be, why would we be? Oh, oh we are. Well there must be a reason. The coachman and Count Dracula are eerily similar... but don't be stupid, that makes no sense. And he's right! It doesn't! The sheer amount of times he goes “oh, silly me, it must be my own fault that I'm seeing and thinking all these things” and you can tell he's trying so hard to make himself believe it just breaks me.

I'm very happy we seem to be embracing more the “Jonathan Harker is not really naive he's just very anxious and needs this job” approach but also? Jonathan Harker refuses to acknowledge the warning signs because the only two possible explanations are “it's my own fault I'm seeing things” or “I am alone in an isolated area of a foreign country with a man who is not only stronger than me but supernaturally so, is not human and means me harm, and to try to escape him would mean certain death” and the second one is not only far less likely but uh. Leaves him with no choice but to break down in fear. His “naiveté” is not him ignoring his survival instinct, it IS his survival instinct.

(And Dracula KNOWS this, and he KNOWS his facade is easy to see through. But what is Jonathan going to do? So so early in the novel, and Dracula is already playing with his food)

[sunburstsandmoonshadows]

With a second read of Jonathan's journey to Dracula's castle, more and more I find myself admiring the locals he meets along the way.

They've clearly been under the oppressive threat of Dracula for a long time--all of them show true fear in the face of him. He's paramount to the Devil itself to them, going off the words Jonathan translates. And that's totally understandable, considering he steals their children for his "brides" to eat, never mind what other things he may be subjecting them to.

With that context, it would be very easy for them to leave Jonathan to his fate. They could tell themselves there's nothing to be done for him already. They could be glad that he's Dracula's choice, even, if that chances a reprieve for them.

But many of them chose compassion over fear.

Every step of Jonathan's last leg to Dracula's castle has someone reaching out to prevent the tragedy in front of them.

The woman in the hotel begs him to leave, please leave, for your safety, and when he refuses she freely gives up what might be a precious belonging in the hope it will save him.

The people at the bench of the hotel try to bless him from evil.

A man in the coach points out a beautiful view of the mountain during the ride, perhaps wishing to give Jonathan one last moment of wonder before he vanishes into the horrors of the castle.

The coachman drives his horses to their limit in the desperate hope that he can make Jonathan miss the awaiting coach, and the other passengers do not begrudge him this risky move but instead urge him to go faster, faster!

Very little of helps, in the end. They cannot prevent the start of this tragedy. There's a very good chance they knew that themselves.

But by god were they willing to try.

[thanks-for-the-crabapples]

You're a young solicitor's clerk. No wait. You are a solicitor. And you're on your first big trip. Things are going well enough, though the strangers you meet are acting strangely. Your journey is beautiful and leads you to a vast castle. Your host is kind, yet odd. He is pale and ice cold, and you never see him eat. You realize he's deceiving you. He has no servants, only himself. He is your coachman, your maid, your chef. He is your captor. All the doors you try are locked. There is no where to escape. You are a rat in a trap. Your captor commands wolves, grips with ungodly strength, is attracted to your blood, and has no reflection. You fear you are the only living soul in this place. A blessed stranger gave you her crucifix. You are filled with strength when you touch it. It and your wit are your only chance at survival. Your only chance at returning home to her, your Mina.

You are six days into this yet unknown six month hell. And your name is Jonathan Harker.

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[immediatebreakfast]

One of the things that it's always interesting to see in a gothic noble is what the villain, or the antagonist represents in the narrative as a whole.

The Gothic is a romantic literary response to the historical, sociological, and political contexts of the the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century. It's a look through the ruin, the passionate, the bigoted, the decaying, and the irrational rationality.

It's an explanation as to why it's crucial to the narrative of why Dracula is a count, why Jonathan is an inexperienced worker, and why there is so much emphasis on the locals.

"Because your peasant is at heart a coward and a fool! Those flames only appear on one night; and on that night no man of this land will, if he can help it, stir without his doors. And, dear sir, even if he did he would not know what to do. Why, even the peasant that you tell me of who marked the place of the flame would not know where to look in daylight even for his own work. Even you would not, I dare be sworn, be able to find these places again?"

How much contempt, and underlining hatred can one fit in a single paragraph that bordelines on a monologue? Dracula truly holds true resentment towards the locals of Transylvania for daring to try, and defend themselves against him.

He doesn't call them locals, citizens, not even commoners, but peasants. A word that not only signals the kind of social hierarchy that Dracula benefits the most (notice how he also included Jonathan in the social class at the end), but also why he is shown so angry despite Jonathan asking a simple question.

The locals of Transylvania had commited the worst crime in the eyes of the Count, the peasants dared to revolt against their "master" in order to keep themselves alive instead of baring their necks for the slaughter. Even with all of the fear that Dracula has sowed in the heart of the locals, to the point that they obey all of his orders, it's still not enough for him. That fear it's not enough for Dracula because it lacks the concrete submission of his old days as an actual noble class.

The locals of Transylvania fear him for his power and his wealth, but they lack the class mentality that would truly put them under Dracula, and that is eating the Count alive. He calls them fools while they fill their streets with protection wards and put rosaries around their necks, he calls them cowards while we have read how everyone around Jonathan risked the Count's wrath to protect him.

We Transylvanian nobles love not to think that our bones may lie amongst the common dead. 

The Count hates the old innkeepers, the coachman, and the passengers for daring to rebel against him, even if he is still the unliving cause of their suffering.

Hell, it's heavily implied that all of that is still not enough to fully stop Dracula, and yet he is still so angry. There is nothing that the aristocratic nobility hates more than the mere vision of how the people they deem beneath them act together to stop their abuse.

[vickyvicarious]

I stood in silence where I was, for I did not know what to do. Of bell or knocker there was no sign; through these frowning walls and dark window openings it was not likely that my voice could penetrate. The time I waited seemed endless, and I felt doubts and fears crowding upon me.

After dropping him in front of the castle, Dracula leaves Jonathan just standing out there for what seems to be a long time. It's a terrifying scene for him, poor kid. And, I can't help wondering... was it just his fear making it seem so long, while really it was just enough time to put away the horses and take off the fake beard. Or... was it maybe long enough to do that and also cook a chicken?

The Count himself came forward and took off the cover of a dish, and I fell to at once on an excellent roast chicken. This, with some cheese and a salad and a bottle of old Tokay, of which I had two glasses, was my supper.

Jonathan doesn't say that the food is cold. Dracula lets him go 'make his toilet' but says to come back whenever, and Jonathan says he's hasty about it, and that the table is already set when he returns. So I have to assume Dracula spent that time just setting the food out quickly. (The plates and such seem to have already been set out beforehand.)

It's... man, the behind the scenes of Dracula for today is actually really funny. He has to put on his coachman disguise, chase down Jonathan's coach an hour early, then drive around for hours delaying/confusing him about where to go. When they get back he leaves Jonathan outside while he runs to put the horses away, take off his disguise, and get dinner ready. Then he greets him and carries his bags in, tells him to take a minute to get ready, and runs to bring out the food while he's gone. Only then can he relax and engage him in conversation for the rest of the night.

[clearcatastrophe]

Ok, everyone is talking about the incredible sound design in Re: Dracula, as they should.

BUT ALSO

It’s the combination of the sound design AND incredible voice acting that brings it to this level of just. Complete immersion. During the scenes where Jonathan is in the calèche and is describing what he sees, the variation in tone and the emotion dripping from his words, paired with the noises surrounding the calèche and the wolves and even the “coachman”’s voice commanding the wolves sounding far away just makes it that much scarier, as if we’re in Jonathan’s mind reliving those events as he puts his pen to the page. I adore that so, so much.

[harkercore]

Every Eastern European villager, inkeeper, coachman, clerk, nun, upon meeting Jonathan