The Readers Review: Literature from 1714 to 1910 discussion

The Gothic Project - Dracula Week 3: Chapters XI - XV

1) To save Lucy, Van Helsing resorts to blood transfusion. This is common today but was considered an exotic, desperate technique when Stoker wrote. Why do you think Stoker repeatedly uses blood transfusions in the story? How does it relate to the folklore theme that “blood is life”? Also, how does this therapy relate to the theme of science versus the irrational?

2) Regarding garlic, "it is an apotropaic, which means 'a charm that turns away evil." Such charms in folklore typically have some characteristic that likens them to the evil they dispel. Here is a passage from Paul Barber, Vampires, Burial, and Death: Folklore and Reality (Yale UP, 1988): Various substances are deemed effective [in warding off vampires]. One of these – and here, for a change, fiction and folklore come together – is garlic, which may not only be put in the grave [of a suspected vampire] but may also be hung around one’s neck to keep off vampires. In the Folklore Archives at the University of California, Berkeley, I found several accounts of people who as children had been forced to wear garlic around their necks . . . “ (this is a text notation in an edition of Dracula, not one I am using). Why do you think people believed garlic would work?

3) Why does Stoker resort to a newspaper account to describe the escaped wolf? What do you, the reader, know at this point that readers of that newspaper story don’t?

4) How does the back-and-forth switch between news accounts, telegrams, etc. contribute to our reaction to the pace of the events described in the story?

5) One common theme in horror and science fiction concerns the limits of what man can – or should – know. The legend of Faust is a good example. Typically, variations on this legend have a scientist or philosopher who makes a pact with the devil to get secret, forbidden knowledge in exchange for his soul. How is Dracula the reverse of the Faust legend?

6) What does Lucy’s transformation throughout the book say or demonstrate about the status and role of women in Victorian society?

It’s interesting how medical knowledge changed after this book was written. Today we know that any of those blood transfusions might have killed Lucy because of incompatibility. But the repeated transfusions make for a excellent, increasingly frightening story, as does the garlic. I think garlic is a wonderful addition to some dishes, but it does stink, so maybe vampires don’t like the (ahem) fragrance. I love the epistolary style, including the diary entries and newspaper articles because they give us quick insight into each character’s knowledge and mood without slowing the narrative. One thing I don’t understand is why Dr. Van Helsing keeps his theory about Lucy’s illness so private. He certainly has a concern about not being believed, but if he had been more forthcoming to Dr. Seward and given him some signs to watch for, disaster might have been averted. Of course, then we wouldn’t have a story!

Nancy wrote: "One thing I don’t understand is why Dr. Van Helsing keeps his theory about Lucy’s illness so private. "

I wondered about that myself. I think for well-educated men/men of science to buy into vampire "folklore" (which is what it was, even at that time) he might have lost credibility? That was all I could come up with.

I agree that was the likely reason, but he had to end up telling them anyway. Oh well, it’s at best a tiny flaw in an otherwise great story.

I thought the use of newspaper and other sources was good for adding variety. The various elements are introduced quite well and the suspense is well maintained.

Robin P wrote: "I thought the use of newspaper and other sources was good for adding variety. The various elements are introduced quite well and the suspense is well maintained."

I loved the suspense in this book.