One of the most horrific and explicit scenes in the novel, one that seems quite clearly to depict a sexually suggestive relationship between Mina and Dracula, although of course only blood is being exchanged, and the two are not having sex.
Related Quotes with Explanations. Van Helsing pushes some of the holy host at Dracula , who is aghast at the sight and escapes through the window, where the group cannot pursue him. Morris and Arthur hear screaming they appear to be residing in the asylum as well, while Dracula is being hunted and say that someone has burnt one of the copies of all the documents related to Dracula—Van Helsing announces to Arthur that this was Dracula himself, and tells them what has happened to Mina , who has awakened in a groggy state, along with Harker.
It is important to note that, during Dracula's attack on Mina, Harker was lying nearly unawares, powerless to do anything to stop it. This seems as important to Dracula as the actual attack—the idea that the men surrounding him, the men attempting to thwart him, are not powerful enough to protect the women in their lives.
Dracula hopes that Harker will feel that Dracula, now, is Mina's true consort. This, perhaps, answers the question of why Dracula attacks women—because his assault on women is also an assault on the men who love them of course, the Victorian sexism inherent in such a belief, that the men would be unmanned by having their women sexually assaulted, is a different story. Harker , while waking up, realizes what has happened and demands an explanation of what took place from Seward and Van Helsing , who attempt to calm him down.
Mina , realizing that she has drunk Dracula's blood , fears that she has been "contaminated," and that she is now unclean, and unfit even to kiss her husband. Seward and Van Helsing and Harker promise that this isn't so, and say they are determined to help her and to protect her.
Mina recognizes at once that her blood link with Dracula will probably have terrible consequences. Not only has Dracula drunk her blood, meaning that Mina is on the path to becoming a vampire, but Mina has drunk Dracula's. Since no character in the novel has yet done this, the consequences of this terrible act cannot yet be known. Van Helsing then asks Mina to recount exactly what she experienced—in a dream, she felt a white mist enveloping her, and saw, on waking in the dream, that Dracula was bending to suck her blood —she was powerless to stop him, and then Dracula forced her to drink his own, in some kind of reciprocal ritual designed to unite them spiritually.
Who was the last to give Lucy blood? In the novel. Nicu Glasschroder Pundit. Why does the wolf smash through the glass of Lucy's window? To allow Dracula to enter the room and get to Lucy.
After her mother's death, Lucy discovers that the servants have been drugged. She is afraid to go out because of the howling of the wolf. Bouamama Helmess Pundit. What is Renfield's reaction when some men remove several heavy boxes from Carfax? Describe Renfield's reaction when some men remove several heavy boxes from Carfax. When Renfield first sees the men getting the boxes , he begins cursing at them. The men simply ignore the madman.
Eventually, Renfield escapes from his room again and attacks the two men. Wade Lepadatu Teacher. Why does Jonathan give Mina his journal? Jonathan gives Mina his journal , because he believes that marriage is a bond between two people, which includes secrets. Mina ends up sealing the diary with wax and will only open it for Jonathan or someone else's sake. Rositsa Schlagin Supporter. Why does Van Helsing want Mina? Van Helsing asking her if he may discuss Lucy's illness with her.
This is the first time that Mina has met Van Helsing , and she gives him Jonathan's journal, which she has finished transcribing.
He then forced her to drink the blood from a wound he made in his chest. Now, the reasons for Renfield's request for release are clear, as is the cause of his anxiety about consuming souls. He has provided the invitation Dracula needed to enter the asylum, and Mina has consequently been violated. Dracula's attack against Mina has obvious sexual overtones: he forces her to drink from a wound on his bare chest, and speaks with glee about being rewarded for his exertions.
When he promises that she will be "flesh of my flesh" and "blood of my blood," his language suggests both sexual union and the sacrament of the Eucharist. Both things are perversely distorted by the vampire, who becomes an evil counterpart to Mina's husband and her God.
This attack fits the pattern of the old Gothic themes: Gothic novels often feature decadent aristocracy preying on vulnerable women of the lower classes. Remember that Mina was an orphan, and by her own words she had a very humble upbringing. She has now been horribly violated. In drinking his blood, Mina has been polluted by the vampire. Her cherished purity is at risk. From Jonathan Harker's journal, the October 3rd entry.
The group plans their attack. All of the houses must be raided in one day, with all of the boxes sterilized and made unfit for Dracula's habitation. First, they will raid and destroy the lair at Carfax. Then, all of the men should go to the house in Picadilly, where the two doctors and Jonathan will remain while Quincey and Arthur go to the houses in Walworth and Mile End. Before they leave, Van Helsing protects Mina's room with communion wafers, but when he lays one on her forehead, the Host burns her, leaving a terrible scar.
She has been polluted by Dracula, and holy objects now harm her. The men go to Carfax and place a communion wafer in each box. They then move on to Picadilly, where Arthur and Quincey secure a locksmith to help them break into the house.
After a thorough search, they conclude that only eight of the nine expected boxes are there. They find keys to the other two houses, and Arthur and Quincey rush off to destroy the lairs there. The mark on Mina's forehead drives home the urgency of their quest.
Mina will grow more and more like a vampire with time, unless the men find Dracula and destroy him. The battle will be not just for Mina's life, but for her soul. The group has great success on this day, sterilizing all but one of the boxes, but the missing box is all of the space that Dracula needs to survive. Includes the October 3rd entry of Dr. While waiting for Quincey and Arthur to return, Van Helsing tries to use wise words and compassionate advice to sooth an increasingly angry and wild Harker.
The three men receive an ugent message from Mina: Dracula, in human form it is daytime, and he is without his powers has left Carfax and is headed their way. A half hour later, Quincey and Arthur return and report that they have sterilized the twelve boxes at the other two houses.
Van Helsing reasons that Dracula has not been expecting them to move so quickly, and that he left Carfax to go to other houses in London. Once he sees those lairs have been rendered useless, he will come to them in Picadilly. The Count enters the house, and although he is now only a mortal man, he is still exceptionally strong and quick.
He manages to evade all of them, and escapes through a window. The men are unable to track him, and they must return home in disappointment. In Jonathan Harker's journal, early on the morning of the 4th of October, he records how Mina asked him to call Van Helsing in order to hypnotize her. Under hypnosis, Mina is able to enter into the spirit of Dracula, and she becomes aware of flapping sails, the lapping of water, and the creaking of an anchor chain.
Van Helsing concludes that Dracula is on board a ship that is now ready to sail. He now understands why Dracula so desperately tried to retrieve the gold coins — he needed ready cash to pay for his passage out of the country. Once again, they all renew their pledge to follow Dracula and destroy him. The two central incidents of these chapters involve Mina's encounter with Dracula and her coming under his evil influence.
Second, these chapters are also concerned with the discovery and "sterilization" of the fifty boxes of earth which Dracula brought with him. Since we earlier heard that a vampire can only enter an establishment if invited, we are at first surprised that he has been able to enter Mina's room, and we are inclined to wonder if she invited him in. It is now clear why Stoker has been using the patient in the novel and also why all the principal characters are visitors in Seward's house.
Later, Van Helsing uses the fate of Renfield to prove that Dracula is expanding his sphere of influence and is using innocent people to accomplish his aims — therefore, Dracula must be searched out and destroyed. It becomes clear in these chapters that Dracula has some kind of mind control over his victims — that is, he can induce them to open windows, for example, in order to let him enter the home.
Evidently Stoker was interested in hypnosis or "animal magnetism," since Van Helsing, through hypnotizing Mina, is able to learn of Dracula's whereabouts. Dracula, too, can hypnotize and, indeed, he is an individual of great personal magnetism. It is in these chapters that we learn that Stoker was, in fact, creating a gothic villain which would be similar to many gothic villains in earlier literature.
Among other things, Count Dracula is a member of the corrupt aristocracy. It is important for the reader to understand the dramatic and philosophical importance of the villain's aristocratic heritage; if Dracula were a peasant, the story would hardly be as dramatic.
Previous Chapters Next Chapters Removing book from your Reading List will also remove any bookmarked pages associated with this title.
Are you sure you want to remove bookConfirmation and any corresponding bookmarks?
0コメント