#dracula meta

[iamnmbr3]

I do think it's really interesting that Dracula genuinely seems to enjoy talking to Jonathan Harker. Yes, partly he's trying to learn valuable information from him about English society, customs and laws etc. And yes he wants to practice his English with a native speaker - though clearly Jonathan was not his only source of English lessons. But it goes beyond that. Like when he's talking about the history of his family (well, actually events he mostly lived through but obviously he can't admit that) he gets really animated and just seems excited to have someone to monologue to. After all, he doesn't have that many people to talk to. I don't think in general his meals get much of a chance for a chat. Who knows how long it's been since he's really interacted with anyone (aside from the other vampires in the castle).

It's not a wholesome interaction of course. Part of the enjoyment he gets from their interactions is derived from the way he toys with Jonathan. But it does definitely go beyond simple necessity. He really goes out of his way to spend time with Jonathan, often speaking with him all night - i.e. the whole time that he gets to be awake. And he also goes out of his way to protect him from the vampire women in the castle, even after he's outlived his usefulness. And he becomes increasingly possessive of him - "this man belongs to me" and "tonight is mine" are certainly telling. It seems that initially Jonathan was just going to be fed to the vampire women right away, but then Dracula changed his mind and decided he got first dibs, something that wasn't initially in the cards.

I think this possessive fascination with Jonathan and the way he comes to find their interactions genuinely enjoyable are why Jonathan gets to stay alive so long. Even going poking around in Dracula's crypt the first time isn't enough to get him immediately killed that night. I wonder if in his own way he also was drawn to the "quiet dignity" that Mina mentions is one of her favorite features about Jonathan. Even in the face of fear and despair he stubbornly clings on. Dracula probably finds this makes Jonathan more entertaining and exciting to toy with than most victims, and may also feel a grudging sense of respect for him (although he still views him as an inferior).

[vickyvicarious]

Hi I came across a post of yours about Dracula and documentation. Which for some reason made me wonder about the final preservation of the documents they were writing in real time up until their ultimate goal was achieved. We here in the epilogue 7 years later that everything they produced is still preserved and will see the light of day again when the Harkers' child grows up enough to read them.

So I wonder if this would have been an easy decision to make... or if there would be a struggle. On one hand they have learned bitterly that they must share everything and keep no secrets from each other. On the other hand, the boy is born after they have achieved the reason they had documented everything. Would there have been a temptation to burn it all and protect innocent eyes? Someone completely ignorant reading such a horrific true story will be completely altered in their worldview and be terrified, would it be in character for them to want to destroy or bury it all?

Oh, this is a good question. It is possible it could vary by the survivors... but in the end I do think they would all want to keep it. Here's my justifications (first individual, then overall):

Van Helsing would want the record for educational/reference purposes, in addition to his stated desire for young Quincey Harker to better understand his mother and those who were devoted to her. In the epilogue everyone acknowledges that these could hardly serve as proof after the originals were destroyed, and Van Helsing himself claims "we ask none to believe us!" Still, I can't help but feel that after all he went through to try and gather knowledge about vampires and how to stop them, there's no way he would want to ever completely destroy or permanently bury such a source of knowledge. I think he wouldn't be able to help wondering whether if there had been an organized, relatively trustworthy-seeming account (as it sounds like by and large he got his information scattered in different stories and legends and folklore/wisdom) for him to consult, perhaps Lucy might have lived. The time he had to spend away from his patient learning what to do in the first place opened up so many opportunities for Dracula to get past them - as he did, almost every time. He may never expect (and certainly doesn't want) such a situation to arise again, but I don't think he in good conscience could get rid of this record, just in case it could eventually benefit someone down the line.

Jack Seward lost all his phonograph cylinders when Dracula burned the original records. Of course, the fact that he kept them totally unorganized suggests that he rarely if ever went back to them anyway, but even so large sections of the text were comprised of him pouring out his heart to his diary. I feel like a part of him would want to hold on to that record in some way, particularly his memories of Lucy during that time. A lot of them were agonizing, but they also grew so much closer while he was caring for her. And if you headcanon him becoming a better doctor or leaving the asylum after the events of the book, then the memories of Renfield (and his treatment of him) would serve as a strong catalyst there too. A negative inspiration not to allow himself to develop such unhealthy dynamics with his patients again, perhaps. I personally find that very nice to think about in fanfic and such but it's admittedly not a growth shown anywhere in the book so that's way more speculative. All that said though, I think he would probably care the least of the lot and would be most likely to defer to others if they wanted to keep or destroy the records.

Arthur Holmwood would be the one I think is most tempted to destroy the records, or hide them forever. Even though he hardly wrote a thing, he bared himself emotionally a lot in these records, and they contain the deaths of 3-4 of his loved ones (depending on how much you think he cared about Mrs. Westenra; we do hear at one point that they got along well but it's possible that was more schmoozing his girlfriend's mom than deep genuine affection), as well as the most traumatizing moment of his life - staking Lucy. I can see him not wanting it gone though because of that moment, though. I tend to imagine that he might feel some amount of guilt/distress about Lucy's final end, at least in the odd nightmare. While he surely remembers the peace on her face afterwards and his conviction that she was saved just as well as the rest, if he ever did have any lingering worries the ability to come back to the record would be a reassurance that she truly was saved at the end.

Jonathan Harker is someone I think would strongly want to preserve the record, and to share it with his son despite knowing the fear it would inflict. Frankly, even just for himself alone, I feel like the memory of his period of brain fever would be pretty terrifying. He lived through so much uncertainty about what was real or not, and his diary and the later corroboration of it is what allowed him to gain his confidence in his past and self and sanity again. He mentions in the epilogue that even on their trip to Transylvania "It was almost impossible to believe that the things which we had seen with our own eyes and heard with our own ears were living truths. Every trace of all that had been was blotted out." He would not want to blot out whatever traces remain. And that's only considering himself - I think he would never want to forget or erase in any way what Mina went through. He would keep it all to honor her alone, without a doubt. And as for Quincey, I think Jonathan's words on his wedding day about believing there should be "no secret, no concealment" between husband and wife would extend to his child too. At least insofar as major life- and perspective-changing events, which this certainly was. Even if there was no reason for it to ever come up again, by not telling Quincey eventually he and Mina would always be hiding such a large part of their past, and I don't think that would sit well with him. (Plus, for Quincey to fully know how incredible his mother is and all she's been through.)

Mina Harker is the one person whose opinion would be respected the most on this matter. I think if she ever wanted the records gone, then regardless of any objections, the others would all bow to her on the matter. But Mina has all along been the number one record-keeper. Almost all the originals are lost, but in a way, not to her. Because she typed this all out herself, much of it in the very thick of events. I wonder if these 'secondhand' records feel more real to her because as she reads them over she can relive typing them up as well. Regardless if that is so or not, I don't think Mina would ever want to hide anything again - especially given how tormented she felt with guilt. She blamed herself for Lucy's death, knew Quincey died for her sake, and knowing her probably felt at least a bit upset with herself for not opening Jonathan's journal sooner even though she was respecting his wishes in both her waiting and when she did read it. The record of Lucy's last months alive (both with her, and after they separated) aren't something she could ever give up. The time when she thought she'd lost Jonathan only to gain him back again - the weeks she was losing herself and was convinced it was only a matter of time until she fully became a monster. The knowledge of what it is to be Dracula. Even those small conversations with Mr. Swales, and the too-late understanding of what happened to him. I don't think Mina would ever want to erase these, because doing so would feel like choosing to forget them, and they owe it for her to remember. And I think she would want to share it pretty strongly too, for much the same reasons as I mentioned above for Jonathan. (Less so 'knowing how badass I am' but more not concealing such a large part of herself from her son.)

In sum:

The epilogue makes it clear, or at least heavily implies, that none of the team have ever gone back to reread the records in those seven intervening years before the final compilation/end note. And indeed, I don't think any of them would really ever want to do so. (In a way, that makes it easier to say there was less struggle, because they didn't really address the issue until years later, and just locked the papers away and healed in other ways. When they came back they were able to look back at them 'without despair' as per epilogue. If they had discussed this sooner it may have been more of a struggle.) But I think they individually would all have decently compelling reasons to want to keep the option open. They all admit that the large lack of original documents is not conducive to people believing. Perhaps it's not very effective even for themselves, especially as more time passes and those memories seem even more distant/unreal compared to their lives now... but still, it's far better than nothing. And just knowing that if they ever feel the need, they can revisit the past is not something I think they would easily give up.

And that's all not even mentioning the one common reason I think they all would definitely share (in addition to just the general hard-won knowledge of the importance of not keeping secrets that you mentioned which is a major theme and not something to be lightly discarded), and that's a memorial. The record has to be kept to honor those lost, as well as the one nearly so. Lucy meant so much to so many, and the horrible loss of her is what finally brought these people together. Mina's endangerment, too, bound them together, and Quincey's sacrifice to ensure their final victory. It was all so meaningful, and so deeply intertwined with this traumatizing past, that there really isn't any way to properly honor them without making this past known. For Quincey Harker to ever understand the meaning of the name(s) he's been given, then he has to read this record someday. He has to know in order to feel the appropriate gratitude and love for those people he can never meet - and they would most certainly want him to do so, he who shares his birthday with Quincey's death and of whom Mina, Jonathan says, has "the secret belief that some of our brave friend's spirit has passed into him."

And let's be honest: the Harkers' opinions matter most on this. At least so far as the epilogue goes, it doesn't seem like anyone else has children or people they feel the need to pass the tale down to. But even if they never do (whether that means never having kids/partners they want to tell it to aka the 'Jack and Arthur are happily married to each other' take or just assuming they don't want to open that can of worms with people who were never involved) that doesn't matter. Because Mina and Jonathan do. Their kid is named after this group of people, and their entire lives were individually and collectively changed irrevocably, and if they want their kid to know then that's it. That's the answer.

And sure, his worldview will be altered to include terrifying monsters... but he will know the reality of the world they live in. He will know who has fought and even died to allow him to do so. And he will know that whatever terrifying monsters are out there... his parents defeated them together. And they will always keep him safe.

[fanishjuli]

for three years I've been hearing about the Lucy Westerna polyship with her three husbands but now that I'm finally listening to re: dracula I have to point out that, by October most of these people could easily be into eachother if the way they talk/write about each other is any indication. like yes all of them worship the ground beneath Mina's feet but also they keep being sweet about the other guys as well

[skeletonsloverockcandy]

The thing that kills me about the Oct 11th entry with Mina insisting that should she turn into a vampire, she wants the others to kill her, is not just that Jonathan does not promise to do that, but that the way we hear Seward describe the scene—Quincy promising first, Jonathan brokenly asking if he has to and hesitating, the way we know about Jonathan’s private holy vow to Mina in his journal—is that I wonder if Jonathan is drawing his line in the sand.

He’s already made up his mind about what he will do if Mina turns, and now with Mina making the suitor squad promise to kill her, I wonder if now his fear and intention has subtly shifted.

You can almost hear it in that scene as Seward is describing Jonathan’s body language, but as soon as Quincy steps up to make his vow, I can almost sense the shift radiating off Jonathan.

He now has to contend with not only Dracula, but if it comes down to it, also against everyone else there, because he cannot allow Mina to come to harm, by any hand, especially not his own.

I think he was re-evaluating his priorities and loyalties. Yes, he is friends with all these people and loves them and wants them to work together to defeat Dracula and save Mina, but now he has resolved to the fact that there is a possibility of a last stand of “us” (him and Mina) vs. “them” (suitor squad), even if it’s not what Mina wants, he would do anything to keep her safe.

And if you follow the subtext that Jonathan was bit too, he knows he’s on limited time as well at this point, if he even remembers being bit, but regardless would let Mina turn him if he didn’t remember. He knows killing her would not save him like she thinks it would, besides the fact that doing so would destroy him. He would rather be rest assured in the damnation of his own soul than have it utterly destroyed in the act of ending Mina’s life. I don’t think he could go on, and I think he would find it useless regardless, because he would rather die than kill Mina.

And he would rather harm everyone else than let anymore harm come to Mina, even if that means he has to cut down those nearest to him if it means saving her.

When he promised to himself to let himself become undead with her, he’s not only damning himself and Mina, but the whole of London and beyond. And if he’s willing to let the world burn for Mina, I’m willing to bet he’d let his friends burn too.

He now has an ulterior motive and while everyone else will be keeping a close eye on Mina, he will be keeping a close eye on everyone else, because he can no longer trust them not to follow through on their promise to her.

He doesn’t promise.

He won’t kill her.

And you’ll have to go through him if you want to try.

[freuleinanna]

one thing I suddenly got very not-normal about is how mina is, of course, praised for her gentle heart, but her resolute mind also, and she is called gallant, and she is often described with words / emotion that the novel usually saves for men – to the point when van helsing says:

Ah, that wonderful Madam Mina! She has man's brain, a brain that a man should have were he much gifted, and a woman's heart.

and I was thinking how this was gradually introduced, but then actually, no

she has been our dear mina forever, but her full name is masculine in roots: wilhelmina. a female derivative of wilhelm (wilhelm, or william, the conquerer is the first who jumps to mind). and you know what the name means? resolute protection. she has always been there, a quiet warrior, a true protector, even when she herself was being protected – and she never asked her men to protect her. they just collectively decided to, and it was bittersweet and wholesome, but mina was anxious for action too. she, in fact, kept working her best to protect her mancrowd in the meantime. she was giving instructions, using imperatives right and left, strategizing like a war general.

it's just so dear to me that wonderful madam mina is there, but there is also hiding in her that feral side, commanding respect on a whole other level, that makes men count her equal. my feral wilhelmina is the best.

[peachesanmemes]

I saw your DD graph asking for other ideas, so... if you still have any desire to do further Dracula graphs I'd be curious to see how the word count per character breaks down (not how much they speak but how much they write. Adding all their diary entries together, etc.). Obviously Mina wins by default from having typed up the whole novel but outside of that detail, how much did each person author?

Thank you so much for this ask! What an interesting data set this one is! Lots of unexpected information.

So first off, if you just want to visualize the author breakdown, ta-dahhhh!

Seward was staunchly in the lead, talking his head off and burning through those wax recording drums like no ones business. Poor Mina for having to transcribe it all. In total his words made up 39.3% of Dracula. Nearly 40%!

Seward unsurprisingly had the most individual entries overall at 47, and had the longest streak for being the narrator in an entry at 10 days (09/02 - 09/11) with Mina following right behind at 9 days (08/10 - 08/19)

Mina surprisingly was 3rd overall both in word count and number of entries. She wasn't even in the top 3 for most words in a day which is as follows.

1 - Seward October 3rd - 9942 words

2 - Seward September 29th - 7206 words

3 - Jonathan October 3rd - 5944 words

Van Helsing only had 9 entries total but still came in number 4 for word count, in front of Lucy. It's interesting to note that the amount a person writes doesn't correlate to the amount of time they are being written about/appear. Which is why Arthur and Quincey don't even beat out the newspaper clippings for words, lol.

There are lots of authors we only hear from a single time, like Sister Agatha. So I've decided to make a small fry pie as well. (Authors under ~500 words)

The captain of the Demeter and Van Helsing both had more days written than Lucy! Though I didn't break up number of entries, like when the log of the Demeter had 3 or 4 on one day or Lucy wrote a letter and in her diary.

If there is any data I haven't presented here that you're interested in feel free to tag me or shoot me an ask like this lovely person did!

[another-chaotic-bisexual-vampire]

"Right over the town is the ruin of Whitby Abbey, which was sacked by the Danes, and which is the scene of part of 'Marmion,' where the girl was built up in the wall."

there's a beautiful sort of irony that, in 1897, Mina was excited to visit the ruins of Whitby Abbey, not for the historic church itself, but because it was in her fave gothic novel, Marmion... ... and now, over a hundred years later, tourists from around the world visit Whitby Abbey, not for the historic church itself, but because it was in their fave gothic novel Dracula

[thecarnivorousmuffinmeta]

Dracula (1897 novel) thoughts?

I've read it once, but it was many years ago now, so not sure how much this still apply if I read it again today.

I liked it, I thought it was an excellent horror novel, and tellingly it was genre defining and one of the first of its kind. Dracula served as the inspiration for books, movies, and plays for over a century, but also because of that... there's things we have in modern fiction that just weren't there in Dracula.

In particular, I thought the first half starring Jonathon was far and away the best part. It's tense, terrifying, we have a great buildup of mystery with things like the terrified villagers, Count Dracula being the world's biggest creep, Jonathon's increasing desperation then escape attempts, the "WHAT THE FUCK" brides, and the whole thing is riveting.

Then we get to the second half which I'll call the Scooby Gang half. It still has some great stuff, such as Reinfeld being turned into a thrall, Lucy's ridiculous life that very quickly becomes her being a victim/bride of Dracula, Mina's slow wasting away and being much smarter than all the other characters but it doesn't mean shit, but we also get to suffer through Van Hellsing, Harker, and the gang being the world's most ridiculous detectives trying to figure out how the devil they're going to kill Dracula.

It's not bad, but that part does noticeably drag compared to earlier parts of the novel, and leads us to a death of Dracula that's a little... anticlimactic.

But it is a good novel and telling that it's been the inspiration for so many things.

[starling27]

Unconscious cerebration has finally done its work; a coherent aromantic reading of Dracula just came to me, fully formed, as I washed my face.

I was thinking about the Harkers, obviously, in the wake of October 3rd and seeing @see-arcane's meta about what it means to unconditionally love a proto-vampire circulating. I was thinking about the ways in which the Harkers' marriage is already unconventional, in so many of the same ways in which Jonathan's resolution about the "holiest love" is. They are, forever, "too" focused on their own happiness, over the expectations off their society. They married too close to each other in age, with little consideration for social climbing, with little consideration for gender norms, with Jonathan lying half-dead still recuperating from deep madness. They are prepared to make the unconventional work, if that's what it takes to be together.

But, you might say, "what has this to do with aromanticism? That all sounds deeply romantic to me!" And to that I say, does it, necessarily? I will admit, I am relying deeply on my own biases to make this call, but where so many romance stories squick me, the Harkers don't. I see their devotion and recognize it as something that can coexist with romance, but does not rely on it. I see them as, above anything else, above knowing each other or valuing each other or even loving each other, needing each other. And a relationship built around that core can grow for any number of reasons.

Fundamentally, Dracula is a predator. He preys on individuals as a means of preying on communities, and when he can manage it, on whole societies. We see, in the way he preys on Lucy, a commitment to undermining society by debasing the very ideal of an English marriage. Hell, as many of us have said, his initial placing of Jonathan in the roll of gothic heroine begins to debase the ideals of English gender roles. Dracula debases these things because he sees that England values them, and assumes that their destruction must be followed by demoralization and apathy towards his control.

But I believe Jonathan and Mina already see the artifice, certainly of the ideals of the "Englishman" and the "Englishwoman," and perhaps of marriage itself. These constructs are not values they hold, but tools they use to allow themselves to build a life together. And if the Count is going to break those tools, what's stopping them from stealing his tools and using them instead?

Society didn't have a place for the way Mina Murray and Jonathan Harker needed each other. This is conjecture, but I find it likely that many tried to use the ideal of the conventional marriage to attempt to separate them. They married each other in a hospital room to commit to needing each other anyway, and in that action gave their relationship propriety. Dracula doesn't want the Harkers together, and so used the threat of vampirism to try to weaken them. But how could that be a threat, when they are both still here?

[pisswizard420]

At least once a month i remember how gently lucy is treated in comparison to the other vampires in dracula. She is a parody of motherhood and the victorian ideal of women having moral purity of being the moral center of the home. Dracula is implied to be a sexual predator his wives are very much shown to be. But then theres lucy, who’s only crime was loving and being loved so much and so dearly. In a story about love at its core and also acknowlesging that leaving women out of eveeyrhing can and will lead to disaster of course lucy would be treated so gently, though. A woman in white who only longs, with that forced seductive urge of a vampire, for her husband.

[iamnmbr3]

If anything I'd say that Mina's depression about being kept in the dark and left alone with her thoughts and unprocessed loss (accusing herself of dooming Lucy) is what creates a blind spot on her getting fed on and made her suspictable to Dracula's thrall, she attributed her symptoms like the dreams and weakness on her sadness, and she even calls herself "a stupid fool" for crying and for not appreciating Jonathan's care. Dracula pretty much took advantage of her vulnerability and the mens' blinding prejudice.

Absolutely. Prejudice and bias and the ways that they lead to harm are also major themes that are explored throughout the novel, which is really striking given when it was written, and something that I wish more critical analysis of the book touched on.

In the beginning, Jonathan disregards the warnings of the local people he meets, due to racial and cultural biases that cause him to view them as inferiors and to therefore dismiss their words and concerns. This puts him at risk from the Count. And it also puts others at risk since he continues to represent the Count's interests.

The warning signs with Mina are missed due to sexism on the part of the male characters which makes them disregard her changes in behavior. Furthermore, the men's decision to exclude Mina from their work puts both her and them at risk, weakens their efforts, and causes them all unhappiness in addition to also leading to her victimization.

Renfield's entirely cogent warnings about the Count and his desperate pleas to be either released or moved to a different facility are ignored and treated with callous condescension because he is viewed and treated differently due to the perception that he is mentally ill. This results in Mina's victimization continuing for longer - something that profoundly affects all the characters - and Renfield's death.

Later, in the newspaper article about Thomas Bilder, the wolf keeper at the zoo, Thomas describes the Count as having red eyes and details some of his unnatural behavior. Quite possibly, due to class bias neither he nor his account are treated very seriously in the article.

Throughout the novel we see characters express and act on prejudices and biases that would have been common and accepted at the time (and sadly still exist today). The amazing thing though is that the novel itself does not validate the characters' views and actions. Instead it highlights in a number of ways how much harm results from these attitudes, not just to the direct subject of the bias, but also to those around them, society, and even the holder of the prejudiced view.

[vickyvicarious]

"He is young and strong; there are kisses for us all."

May 16

"He is so young and strong and of blood so pure that we need not defibrinate it."

September 8

Thinking about this echo, and the way Lucy and the suitors + Van Helsing provide a kind of opposing force to Jonathan and the vampire ladies + Dracula.

In both cases, we have the young, appealing innocent who is soon to be married and has entered a new phase of their life (Jonathan/Lucy). Both have an older foreign man become very interested in them and very fond of them in their own way (Dracula/Van Helsing). Both have three 'admirers' who want to 'love' them (vampire ladies/suitor squad).

Of course, noting this is nothing new. Plenty of people (and I myself) have pointed out these and other parallels between all these individuals. But I want to go a little farther with it today.

A vampire's 'love' is one of corruption and consumption. Jonathan was held captive in Dracula's castle, and forced against his will to adopt a largely nocturnal schedule*; he had to adapt in this and many other ways to his captor's way of life. The vampires had him in their control from the start, and he had to behave in certain ways to please Dracula lest he suffer consequences of his displeasure. Dracula was extremely possessive of Jonathan, right up until he wasn't going to be around anymore, and then he was happy to throw him aside for the others to devour. Despite this 'sharing', he and the vampire women are at odds and dismissive of one another (he spends most of his time shooing them away from Jonathan, they scoff at and mock him), and whatever love may have been there in the past is clearly long gone.

Human love is one of dedication and trust. The suitors (and later Van Helsing) all come to Lucy. Both initially, in visiting her to make their proposals at her house, and then later on coming to her home when she is ill; they come to her side when she is in need, and they drop what they're doing to adapt to her. When Lucy has to turn two suitors down, she feels awful about not being able to please them all, but each of them emphasizes that they don't hold it against her at all, and they will remain devoted to her friendship. None of them are possessive of her. (Admittedly, Van Helsing does somewhat frequently work to keep Lucy's loved ones apart from her, ushering Arthur away or drugging her to sleep when he's there; but he also invites them to come and help her with their transfusions.) Arthur, the one she has chosen at the exclusion of the other suitors, is notable for being especially welcoming to the others. It is on his behest that both Jack and Quincey arrive to help Lucy in the first place, and he is extremely grateful for and welcoming of their efforts in that vein (pardon the pun):

"Young miss is bad, very bad. She wants blood, and blood she must have or die. My friend John and I have consulted; and we are about to perform what we call transfusion of blood—to transfer from full veins of one to the empty veins which pine for him. John was to give his blood, as he is the more young and strong than me"—here Arthur took my hand and wrung it hard in silence—"but, now you are here, you are more good than us, old or young, who toil much in the world of thought. Our nerves are not so calm and our blood not so bright than yours!"

And this quote brings me to the next detail I find so interesting. In order to finally escape alive, Jonathan turns many of Dracula's tricks against him. Just to name a few, he does things such as: wall-climbing, sneaking around while Dracula is asleep, stealing Dracula's belongings. There are a lot of reversals between them in the last few days, both in Jonathan's explorations and his attack on Dracula. He's 'fighting fire with fire', so to speak, and it works to get him out of the castle. Later on, we see even more of this when he is hunting Dracula down near the end of the book.

He's far from the only person to do such a thing. Dracula himself is very deliberately doing this sort of thing throughout much of the book, from imitating Jonathan in the Castle to innovating ways to work around old vampiric limitations. And Mina is of course a whole example on her own of weaponizing the enemy's own tools against him. But so is this Van Helsing + suitor squad group in a really interesting way. Even Lucy herself, though due to circumstances, she's not the most intentional/active participant in doing so. Let's look back at that quote above again. Van Helsing says that Lucy "wants blood, and blood she must have" - in order to stop her from becoming a supernatural vampire, instead they willingly perform a sort of medical vampirisim. Here we once again see the contrast between modernity and the supernatural, and interestingly, how they overlap to cross purposes.

Dracula takes Lucy's blood away. Van Helsing (by proxy at first) gives it back. Dracula wants Lucy to become a vampire, and drink the blood of those around her. Van Helsing, in giving her transfusions, enables her to drink in their blood in order to prevent her from becoming a vampire. The three vampire women wanting to gang up on Jonathan and drain him of his strength. The three suitors join together to take turns sacrificing their own strength in order to supply Lucy with more when she's in need of it.

Dracula wants her to take, just as he and the vampire women do. In fact, almost everything he does to turn her involves depriving her of things: restful sleep, blood, eventually her mother. But in her friends, Lucy is surrounded by people who love her and give freely, and this saves her (at least temporarily). They all work together and love one another in a way deeply at odds with Dracula and other vampires' form of consumptive 'love'.

And so their vampiric actions of transferring blood between bodies are life-saving instead of life-taking. Jack and Van Helsing even remember a version which is all the more a mimic of vampiric body language and leans way into the vampire-as-disease metaphor, with the reference to the time Jack sucked "from [Van Helsing's] wound so swiftly the poison of the gangrene" - it's got the mouth on skin, the sucking, but it's taking away illness rather than infecting someone. It also fosters a long-standing dedication and love, which in turn lends itself to the saving of someone else. This too ties in to the way vampiric love isolates, while human love connects.

* Lucy, meanwhile, in fighting against her terrible dreams, often attempts to be awake at night and is unable to do so. A more nocturnal schedule would make her safer, since her sleeping state is where Dracula has the most influence over her.

[skeletonsloverockcandy]

Man, each year I get to it, I love the May 5th entry and what it means. I take something new from it each time. Like last year I noticed the sacrifices and efforts the Driver and the other passengers made to try and save Jonathan, a stranger to them, by showing up early, by giving him gifts, by blessing him, despite the danger that puts them in. Especially when Dracula, as the driver, points it out to the Driver of the first coach, what he was trying to do, and scares him by pointing out what he said (despite it being heard far out of normal earshot and over the sound of horses galloping).

This year though, I notice that, but I see some of the smaller details too. Like how the mountains are full of blooming fruit trees, and how we are so used to the “gothic” aesthetic we almost forget it’s Spring. How Jonathan takes notice and comfort in the view, despite the growing unease he feels because of the people around him. He is trying to distract himself from how scared he’s getting based on their warnings. Warding him from the Evil Eye.

"No, no," he said; "you must not walk here; the dogs are too fierce"; and then he added, with what he evidently meant for grim pleasantry—for he looked round to catch the approving smile of the rest—"and you may have enough of such matters before you go to sleep."

I also take notice of this from the driver, as it’s almost a morbid gallows humor that he clearly knows to expect the wolves, and knowing what happens later, I’m sure the people here have a horrible fear of them, knowing what Dracula can do…and what he does to that poor mother later.

There were dark, rolling clouds overhead, and in the air the heavy, oppressive sense of thunder. It seemed as though the mountain range had separated two atmospheres, and that now we had got into the thunderous one.

We also get here what might be our first indication that the Count can control the weather to an extent.

They were driven by a tall man, with a long brown beard and a great black hat, which seemed to hide his face from us.

All I can imagine is Dracula in a fake beard now lol.

"You are early to-night, my friend." The man stammered in reply:—

"The English Herr was in a hurry," to which the stranger replied:—

"That is why, I suppose, you wished him to go on to Bukovina. You cannot deceive me, my friend; I know too much, and my horses are swift."

But God, this must have been terrifying for the driver and the passengers. What would Dracula do to punish them for trying to escape him? Would he dare make an example in front of the Englishman right now, or would he grant them mercy to say nothing else as Jonathan is unsuspectingly led to his doom, so they think.

"Denn die Todten reiten schnell"— ("For the dead travel fast.")

The strange driver evidently heard the words, for he looked up with a gleaming smile.

It feels like they’re all in on some sick joke that they know the punchline to, but Jonathan doesn’t, so with the dramatic irony, it feels like we the readers are the same peasants, trying to do anything to save or warn Jonathan but it’s already too late.

I also notice how quickly Dracula tries to shift the power dynamic with Jonathan, and have him doubt his sanity so soon, and he’s not even in the castle yet.

He drives him in circles to try and disorient Jonathan and make him feel even more lost, also keeping him out for far later and making Jonathan question if he’s dreaming or if what he’s seeing is real. I’d also bet more than anything that wine he offer Jonathan on the coach that Jonathan didn’t end up taking was drugged. Because it’s far easier to disorient an unconscious passenger in the dark than it is to disorient a conscious passenger. But he still does a pretty darn good job.

Then there’s the blue flames, which Jonathan doesn’t know how to react to as they seem supernatural and he doesn’t know how to rationalize it yet, so he takes it as if he’s dreaming.

This gave me a sort of shock, for I suppose the general superstition about midnight was increased by my recent experiences. I waited with a sick feeling of suspense.

Jonathan also has already felt the fear and nerves associated with the supernatural and superstition after what all of the townsfolk have told him, and later he tries to brush this off and rationalize again, try not to get too scared, but a part of him already realizes something is wrong.

Then a dog began to howl somewhere in a farmhouse far down the road—a long, agonised wailing, as if from fear.

I also want to point this out, as it’s right before the wolves surround the coach, but it’s the second time a “dog” has been mentioned howling in the night, and with this evidence, I bet Dracula uses the wolves as a threat to keep the peasants and townsfolk in line, as he can’t munch down on everyone. But it shows how powerful he is and what a threat he poses. I wonder who the wolves kill in the night.

Also how Jonathan, as an Englishman where there were no more native wolves, can’t even imagine that’s what they were and thinks they are dogs.

And it makes sense now that earlier when Jonathan was getting out his good ol’ polyglot dictionary, how the two words mean the same thing.

"vrolok" and "vlkoslak"—both of which mean the same thing, one being Slovak and the other Servian for something that is either were-wolf or vampire.

As Dracula, as we see later, can transform into a wolf himself, and so there is probably less distinction between the two in this culture than we have tried to establish in the modern day.

Once there appeared a strange optical effect: when he stood between me and the flame he did not obstruct it, for I could see its ghostly flicker all the same.

Ah, I wonder if this is an early indication that Dracula cannot be depicted through traditional means? Like how he can’t be seen in the mirror. Certain lights just, pass through him.

I shouted and beat the side of the calèche, hoping by the noise to scare the wolves from that side, so as to give him a chance of reaching the trap.

We also see Jonathan taking an active and proactive approach, in this manner trying to be helpful and aid his (what he assumes human) driver. With these sorts of actions already, I can see signs of the man who will pick up a shovel to try and do what needs to be done. Who takes a knife and vows action, not hesitating.

He is polite right now, he’s on business. He doesn’t know what’s coming. But regardless, that person is still in him, and he’s capable of taking great action and doing great things for the sake of survival and doing what he thinks is right.

And Dracula commanding the wolves to stop as the driver, and the cloud passing overhead, I feel is like a subtle display of power and threat to Jonathan. He’s still playing pretend, but when Jonathan does figure out he was the coach the whole time, and he plays coy, the Count knows Jonathan will remember this threat, and it feels that much more sinister.

Jonathan still questions and thinks he fell asleep, as he doesn’t see how he’d have missed the approach of the castle otherwise, but I think he was awake because it was dark, and the count was intentionally taking him a winding and confusing path under a lot of fear. Though if he did fall asleep, I’m that much more terrified about how Dracula was driving him about, now secure in the knowledge that Jonathan would be thoroughly isolated and lost.

And the thing that nearly gives Dracula away twice as the driver is the strength of his grip on Jonathan’s hand, also lacing a subtle threat.

through these frowning walls and dark window openings it was not likely that my voice could penetrate.

Well this is just scary knowing how trapped Jonathan becomes later, knowing he wouldn’t be able to hear the outside world, and how the outside world might not be able to hear him, and how he’s already acknowledging that.

The time I waited seemed endless, and I felt doubts and fears crowding upon me. What sort of place had I come to, and among what kind of people? What sort of grim adventure was it on which I had embarked?

He already is expressing doubts and fears, he isn’t ignorant of what situation he might be in, and it’s only later when he tries to rationalize with the count and is given the comforts manipulation of food and sleep, that he tries to dismiss these fears and take the Count at his word.

Was this a customary incident in the life of a solicitor's clerk sent out to explain the purchase of a London estate to a foreigner? Solicitor's clerk! Mina would not like that. Solicitor—for just before leaving London I got word that my examination was successful; and I am now a full-blown solicitor!

Okay, this is just really cute. Mina said You passed the Bar, you Deserve to call yourself a Solicitor Jonathan <3

Also explains a lot that Jonathan is a fresh faced baby lawyer who just passed the bar and needs this assignment. He’s probably hoping that after this pay day he can marry Mina and have enough for them to start making a life together. Also says a lot for Dracula’s strategy to him to get someone young, inexperienced, and unfamiliar with the area, who might be seen as “expendable” so that Jonathan’s sudden “disappearance” might go unremarked by those in charge (though Mina would notice).

I began to rub my eyes and pinch myself to see if I were awake. It all seemed like a horrible nightmare to me, and I expected that I should suddenly awake, and find myself at home, with the dawn struggling in through the windows, as I had now and again felt in the morning after a day of overwork. But my flesh answered the pinching test, and my eyes were not to be deceived. I was indeed awake and among the Carpathians. All I could do now was to be patient, and to wait the coming of the morning.

Again, those early signs of doubt and fear from Jonathan, showing his unease already at the situation. We did not deserve to be clowning on him so much when this book club first started. It’s not his fault he’s not genre aware 😔 I’m sorry Jonathan.

And when Drac does show up to open the door:

"Welcome to my house! Enter freely and of your own will!" He made no motion of stepping to meet me, but stood like a statue, as though his gesture of welcome had fixed him into stone.

I wonder if he’s like that because he needs to be invited into places to be there, so if it’s almost like a supernatural hold of importance for him to offer the same thing. Almost like a subtle joke or curse with the knowledge that after Jonathan enters, he won’t be allowed to leave of his own will

holding out his hand grasped mine with a strength which made me wince, an effect which was not lessened by the fact that it seemed as cold as ice—more like the hand of a dead than a living man.

I also like how all the clues are there, and since Jonathan has written them down and taken note of them, the expression on them must be some of the things he’s piercing together about his own fears as well that he’s afraid to voice aloud or in his journal, because if he voices his suspicions, they might become more real to him.

The strength of the handshake was so much akin to that which I had noticed in the driver, whose face I had not seen, that for a moment I doubted if it were not the same person to whom I was speaking

See? He knows what’s up, he’s just afraid to say it.

I also didn’t pick up that Jonathan’s room is octagonal for some reason. I wonder if there’s any reason for that or symbolism with the 8 sides?

Also the letter from Mr. Hawkin’s feels very ominous in retrospect knowing what’s coming and how Dracula will treat Jonathan:

"I must regret that an attack of gout, from which malady I am a constant sufferer, forbids absolutely any travelling on my part for some time to come; but I am happy to say I can send a sufficient substitute, one in whom I have every possible confidence. He is a young man, full of energy and talent in his own way, and of a very faithful disposition. He is discreet and silent, and has grown into manhood in my service. He shall be ready to attend on you when you will during his stay, and shall take your instructions in all matters."

I feel like Dracula knew to take advantage of that, and also this feels like him basically reading the menu for an ideal victim once his business is said and done, so I get shivers, brrrrr.

Hitherto I had noticed the backs of his hands as they lay on his knees in the firelight, and they had seemed rather white and fine; but seeing them now close to me, I could not but notice that they were rather coarse—broad, with squat fingers. Strange to say, there were hairs in the centre of the palm. The nails were long and fine, and cut to a sharp point. As the Count leaned over me and his hands touched me, I could not repress a shudder. It may have been that his breath was rank, but a horrible feeling of nausea came over me, which, do what I would, I could not conceal.

I also like that while Jonathan is describing Dracula, he notice his hands. And I am also struck with how little it is brought up that he has hair on his palms, and I can see the more wolf-like nature of this vampire mythology. I wonder if Bram Stoker intended for werewolves and vampires to be the same thing in his novel? They are certainly compared and have similar powers and weaknesses, so it’s possible I guess.

Also Dracula has corpse-breath lol. Nasty.

I saw the first dim streak of the coming dawn. There seemed a strange stillness over everything; but as I listened I heard as if from down below in the valley the howling of many wolves.

Ah ha! Also the first foreshadowing we get for the importance of dawn and dusk in the novel, as we know later how important timing becomes for our protagonists, so seeing its affects already make me smile at the recognition of the signs so early.

"Listen to them—the children of the night. What music they make!" Seeing, I suppose, some expression in my face strange to him, he added:—

"Ah, sir, you dwellers in the city cannot enter into the feelings of the hunter."

And ah, an iconic line. Though I just get second hand angry and uncomfortable at Dracula’s insistence that he’s a “hunter” 🤢. God I just hate him haha.

I am all in a sea of wonders. I doubt; I fear; I think strange things, which I dare not confess to my own soul. God keep me, if only for the sake of those dear to me!

And literally Day 1 of being in the castle and Jonathan is already questioning his sanity and piecing things together he’s afraid to even voice in his journal. This is the second time in as many days he has already wished that those around him find this journal and laments should anything bad happen to him. It creates the impression of one who knows they’re walking into danger but must go on anyway.

But I love Jonathan so much, and I definitely really like the May 5th entry, and it does so much work to set up what happens later.

[spacedemodulator]

I love the mention of Ellen Terry in Our Correspondent's account of the Bloofer Lady. For decades she was the leading actress of the Lyceum Theatre that Bram Stoker helped manage, so the shout-out here is incredibly cute.

I think the affectionate vibe of our heroic polycule may be a reflection of how much Stoker loved his company of thespians, and of the special relationships that can form among a community of artists where people may be a bit more free and vulnerable with each other than people in more conventional trades.

@re-dracula

[hoshi-kawaii]

During this pause on Dracula Daily, all I can think about is how the trapped Jonathan must still be pooping and Dracula must be cleaning it up.

Back then you would just go on a pot and the servants had to dump it out. Since Dracula is the one doing all the jobs of the servants, Dracula is dumping Jonathan's bedpan every day.

[another-chaotic-bisexual-vampire]

on a scale of 1 to Feral Dracula-Obsessed Gremlin, how normal are you about Dracula Daily / Re: Dracula? Because I'm currently hovering at: