Dracula by Bram Stoker

Everyone has heard of “Dracula” before, but few know Jonathan Harker, Mina Murray, Lucy Westenra or Dr. Van Helsing. Nevertheless, these characters play an important role in understanding our vigorous, hair-raising and blood-drinking monster.

About the novel

When the horror novel was published in 1897, one can only imagine what an impact it must have had on the readers of the late nineteenth century. It probably wasn’t the first time that they read or heard about Vampires, because there have been many books and studies on the vampire cultus before. However, Stoker was one of the first to create a story this authentic and reasonably credible.

Dracula isn’t destroyed by sunlight, as many other stories and movies narrate, nor does he come to England in the name of love. The story doesn’t even take place in the Gothic period (although the book can be placed in the genre of gothic novels). Instead, the story begins Wednesday, the third of May 1893 (only four years before the novel was published). By leaving out most of the the exaggerated superstitions and making the story a contemporary one, where there’s scientific innovation ( at least for that time), Stoker gives the credibility of the story a huge boost, making it a spine-chilling, nerve wracking narrative.

Narrative Writing Style

The novel is written as a series of documents including letters from one character to another, diary entries and telegrams. We call this from of narrating epistolary.

The point of view shifts continually among the first person perspectives of multiple characters. This makes the story even more interesting, because the reader is aware of every character’s thougths and actions, and knows thus more than one single character. This complicated style of writing requires frequent variety of tenses. ( Records of thoughts and feelings in diary entrees demand a present tense, whereas certain incidents written down by characters afterwards call for a past tense. )

Main Characters

Dracula may be the main subject, but he is not the main character. There are 6 protagonists: Jonathan Harker, a trustworthy, brave solicitor form London, Mina Murray, his intelligent mistress and later on his wife, Dr. John Seward, a sceptical, far from superstitious ( he is the last character to believe in the vampire cult) though loyal doctor, and Dr. Van Helsing, my favourite character. His expertise and cleverness regarding Vampires and how to defeat them is inspiring. Furthermore, his communication skills are outstanding.

A Brief Summary & Eileen’s perspective

The courageous Jonathan Harker travels to the fearsome Transylvania on business.

He is supposed to help a count named Dracula to buy a house in London. The count’s sharp teeth, snowy-white skin and menacing eyes scare Jonathan and when the latter tries to leave, he notices that he has become a prisoner. The supernatural aspects of the Count ( he has no reflection in the mirror and he never eats nor drinks ) cause Jonathan to understand that Dracula is no human. When the prisoner decides to go and explore the castle, he finds only locked doors and dusty corridors, but when he finally reaches an open door, he meets three peculiar, but beautiful women. One of them tries to kiss him on his throat, and he, totally hypnotized by the beauty and voice of the women, does not resist. ‘Luckily’ Dracula intrudes and takes him back to his own room. In the meanwhile, odd things happen: Jonathan sees Dracula climbing walls and sleeping in a box filled with earth in a dark and dusty room. Just when Jonathan realizes that the Count wants to kill him and suck his blood, he manages to escape the castle and ends up in a hospital nearby. His lover Mina comes to visit him and they decide to marry there and leave the terrible past behind.

However, one night, Mina’s best friend, Lucy Westenra, falls back in her old habit of sleepwalking and Mina goes looking for her. She finds her friend sitting on a bench in a graveyard and distinguishes a tall figur in the dark night, standing by her friend’s side. By the time she reaches her, the figure is gone and Lucy has two small red marks on her throat. Lucy falls ill and Mina consults two doctors, Dr. Seward and Dr. Van Helsing.

They try several blood transfusions to compensate the lack of blood in Lucy’s body, but she dies anyway. After her death, multiple little children disappear and are later found on the graveyard, being weak and having the same red marks as Lucy had. The intelligent Dr. Van Helsing studied the vampire cult and recognizes what is going on. He has a hard time convincing Dr. Seward and Mina that the children, as well as Lucy, were bitten by a vampire, but eventually, they believe it. And so Dr. Van Helsing, Dr. Seward, Mina, Jonathan (being recovered from the hospital), Lucy’s spouce Arthur (often referred to as Lord Godalming) and the brave former lover of Lucy, Quincey go to Lucy’s grave at night and see her in her Vampire form, sucking the blood from a child. Lucy truly was a vampire, and she was feeding on the children’s blood. The assembly returns to the graveyard the following morning. They stab Lucy in the heart and stuff her mouth with garlic whilst she is asleep. That way Lucy will be no more Un-Dead ( Vampire form), but instead she will be able to rest peacefully.

Now, as much as I loved the novel and admire Stoker’s style of writing, I believe the story loses appeal hereafter. Apart from certain frightening pieces, whom are of great importance to the story and which I will mention below, all the chapters following the killing of Lucy, merely work up to the plot. Much preparation is needed for the expedition to kill the Count, and this takes up a lot of time, which, to me, made the story too long-winded. All the detours in which little happens and the sudden and extreme end, made the following part of the story less exciting to me.

According to lore, Vampires need the earth of their home country to be able to survive. That’s why the group expects to find multiple boxes filled with earth somewhere in London. They try to find them, but it is an arduoes work. Some time later, Mina gets bitten by the count. This is the most horrifying part of the entire story. The poor girl is forced to drink Dracula’s blood while the Vampire drinks hers. The two now share some kind of connection in which they can read each others minds and the group uses this connection to read the Count’s thoughts by hypnotising Mina. This is how they eventually find the boxes. They ‘purify’ them with garlic and crucifixes, but when there’s only one box left, which is protected by the Count’s gypsies, Jonathan Harker and Quincey fight them and they finally destroy the Count. During the fight, Quincey gets badly injured. He dies shortly after.

Quotes & Eileen’s interpretation

“There are darknesses in life, and there are lights. You are one of the lights.” • Dr. Van Helsing thinks Mina is a wonderful, strong woman. The latter collected and typed out all the diaries, letters and newspapers concerning their experiences with Count Dracula, so that it would be easier for the men to find his weaknesses.

“ Once again...welcome to my house. Come freely. Go safely; and leave something of the happiness you bring.” • Count Dracula welcomes Jonathan Harker into his castle.

“There is reason that all things are as they are...” • The Count explains Jonathan that the locked doors are so for a reason. He continues: “...and did you see with my eyes and know with my knowledge, you would perhaps better understand.”

“I want you to believe...to believe in things that you cannot.” • Dr. Van Helsing is trying to convince the others that Vampires are real.

“How blessed are some people, whose lives have no fears, no dreads; to whom sleep is a blessing that comes nightly, and brings nothing but sweet dreams.” • Lucy suffers from a lack of sleep, due to nightmares of baths and vampires. This was a sign for

Dr. Van Helsing that she was becoming a vampire herself. In a contemporary context, one might say we must be thankful for our blessed and tranquil lives, full of wealth and happiness.

“There was a deliberate voluptuousness that was both thrilling and repulsive. And as she arched her neck she actually licked her lips like an animal till I could see in the moonlight the moisture. Then lapped the white, sharp teeth. Lower and lower went her head. I closed my eyes in a languorous ecstasy and waited. ” • Jonathan Harker meets the three beautiful Vampires in Dracula’s castle.

“Euthanasia is an excellent and comforting word! I am grateful to whoever invented it.” • Bram Stoker argued ( in 1897 ) that those who suffer a great deal must be allowed to find

peace and rest.

“..if she be sad in the foes that beset her, at least she be happy in the friends that love her” • Dr. Van Helsing exclaims that Lucy has gone through a lot, but whe will always be dear to her friends

“You are nearest and dearest and all the world to me; our souls are knit into one, for all life and all time” • Arthur, Mina’s spouse, declares his love for her.

VOCABULARY LIST

ominous adjective giving the worrying impression that something bad is going to happen; threateningly inauspicious

loathe verb feel intense dislike or disgust for

anaemic adjective anaemic; adjective: anemic suffering from anaemia. lacking in colour, spirit, or vitality

arbitrary

adjective

based on random choice or personal whim, rather than any reason or system

indomitable adjective impossible to subdue or defeat

wreath Noun: wreath; plural noun: wreaths an arrangement of flowers, leaves, or stems fastened in a ring and used for decoration or for laying on a grave

unshed adjective (of tears) welling in a person's eyes but not falling on their cheeks

decanter noun a stoppered glass container into which wine or spirit is decanted

sherry noun a fortified wine originally and mainly from southern Spain.

laudanum noun an alcoholic solution containing morphine, prepared from opium and formerly used as a narcotic painkiller

relapse verb (of a sick or injured person) deteriorate after a period of improvement.

noun a deterioration in someone's state of health after a temporary improvement.

acrid adjective unpleasantly bitter or pungent

stertorous adjective (of breathing) noisy and laboured. "the breathing was becoming less stertorous"

subcutaneous adjective ANATOMY•MEDICINE

situated or applied under the skin

"subcutaneous fat"

foe noun LITERARY•FORMAL an enemy or opponent

frantic

adjective

distraught with fear, anxiety, or other emotion. "she was frantic with worry"

phonograph noun BRITISH an early form of gramophone using cylinders and able to record as well as reproduce sound NORTH AMERICAN

a record player

comatose adjective relating to or in a state of coma. "she had been comatose for seven months"

rally verb 1. (of troops) come together again in order to continue fighting after a defeat or dispersion. 2. recover or cause to recover in health, spirits, or poise

gout noun 1. a disease in which defective metabolism of uric acid causes arthritis, especially in the smaller bones of the feet, deposition of chalk-stones, and episodes of acute pain.

2. LITERARY: a drop or spot of something. "gouts of blood erupted from the wound"

ordeal noun a very unpleasant and prolonged experience. "the ordeal of having to give evidence" synonyms: painful/unpleasant experience,

contingency

noun a future event or circumstance which is possible but cannot be predicted with certainty. "a detailed contract which attempts to provide for all possible contingencies"

congeal verb become semi-solid, especially on cooling. "the blood had congealed into blobs" synonyms: coagulate, clot, cake, set, solidify, harden, thicken, stiffen, dry, gel, concentrate;

juggle verb 1. continuously toss into the air and catch (a number of objects) so as to keep at least one in

the air while handling the others. "Charles juggled five tangerines, his hands a frantic blur"

2. cope with by adroitly balancing (several activities). "she works full time, juggling her career with raising children"

3. organize (information or figures) in order to give a particular impression. "the average first-time buyer spends many hours juggling figures as they try to budget for their first home" synonym: misrepresent

debauch verb 1. destroy or debase the moral purity of; corrupt "he has debauched the morals of the people and endeavoured to corrupt parliament" 2. DATED seduce (a woman). "he debauches the doctor's teenage daughter" synonyms: corrupt,

subdued adjective 1. (of a person or their manner) quiet and rather reflective or depressed "I felt strangely subdued as I drove home" synonym: sombre

voluptuous adjective (of a woman) curvaceous and sexually attractive. synonyms: curvaceous, shapely, opulent,

wail noun

1. a prolonged high-pitched cry of pain, grief, or anger. "Christopher let out a wail" synonyms:howl, bawl, yowl, keening

verb 1. utter a wail. "Tina ran off wailing" synonyms:howl, weep, cry, sob, moan

woe noun great sorrow or distress "the Everton tale of woe continued" synonyms: misery, sorrow, distress

Thanks for reading everyone, see you soon!