Dracula Essay

As Seward was called into the room, Renfield was found extremely injured, lying in a pool of blood that glistened under the light. His face was bashed and bruised, he had suffered severe damage to his head and it was evident that his back was broken as well. Renfield was kept in a straitjacket and his injuries left everyone wondering they could have been self-inflicted. As the story progresses, Seward sends the attendant to bring Dr. Van Helsing, who, after examination, later performs an emergency operation to the skull that would allow Renfield to regain consioucness and recount what had happen. As Renfield weakily began to recount the events that took place earlier that night. His story starts at the night Seward refuses to let him leave the asylum. Renfield admits to being visited by Dracula, who had appeared in a mist outside the asylum. After much attempt to resist the Count, Renfield was associated with Dracula for a period of time after he was promised several lives. Upon the presence of Mina Harker, Renfield notices that she appears extremely pale and seems to have lost alot of blood. This allows him to conclude and warn Seward and Van Helsing that Dracula had been visiting Mina. Prior to the moment Renfield was found on the floor, he explains that he encountered and tried to resist giving into Dracula, only to have been beaten up and thrown violently to the ground, crushing his head. The tale told by Renfield serves as new discovery that allows the characters of the book to carry out new ideas in order to bring down Dracula. His story seems to be the birth of a new discovery that represents the grande idea of resisting and going against Count Dracula. During his story, he appears to have been infuriated once he realized Mina was being violated by Dracula. This could represent how inaccepted actions that deteriorated purity were during the Victorian Era. Overall, his story serves as the final fuel that sets not only an ultimate goal but a time constraint as well, now knowing that Mina Harker’s life was at risk. What can Mina see and hear when Van Helsing hypnotizes her? † What does this indicate? Do you think Dracula can detect Mina’s â€Å"interferance†? Includes the October 11th entry of Dr. Seward’s diary; the October 15th, October 16th, October 17th, and October 24th entries of Jonathan Harker’s journal; telegram from Rufus Smith of Lloyd’s in London to Lord Godalming, dated October 24th; the October 25th, 26th, and 27th entries of Dr. Seward’s diary; telegram from Rufus Smith to Lord Godalming, dated October 28th; the October 28th entry of Dr. Seward’s diary. Mina makes the five men promise that if she becomes a vampire, they will kill her rather than allow her to be damned. She also asks her husband to read the burial service for her now, in case it should come to the worst. The heroes secure passage on the Orient Express from Paris to Varna, arriving there early to await the Count. Hypnotism of Mina brings the same news constantly: the sound of waves, masts, the movement of a ship at sea. Finally, they receive news that the ship has boarded at Galatz instead of Varna. The group takes the setback grimly, but they board the next available train to Galatz? knowing that they now may have to face Dracula on land. Van Helsing believes that the Count’s unholy connection with Mina may have allowed him to discover their plans. He is optimistic, however, that the Count will not expect them to track him into his own country. A change comes over Mina, and Van Helsing believes that Dracula has released some of his hold over her spirit. The clue is in Dracula’s past, which Mina and Van Helsing analyze together: back when he was a mortal warrior invading Turkey, when the invasion failed he fled home and left his army to be cut to pieces. In the same way, he now thinks only of escape and has cut himself off from Mina? not realizing that because she has tasted his blood, Van Helsing can still hypnotize her and learn of Dracula’s whereabouts. Analysis Chapter 25 Although the Count is able to elude them at Varna, he makes a critical error when he cuts himself off from Mina (note, however, that Mina is still not free from the threat of becoming a vampire). He assumes that he is safe in his castle, and he does not understand that Van Helsing’s hypnotism, combined with Mina’s connection to the vampire, will give Dracula’s enemies a critical edge over him. Van Helsing and Mina both use the terms of physiognomy in this chapter, referring again and again to the Count’s â€Å"child brain. † He is a criminal â€Å"type† (Mina even refers to two renowned physiognomists to back up her classification of the Count), and thus he has predictable limitations. He is selfish (he thinks of escape at all costs), and he uses the same strategy whether he is a mortal invading/escaping Turkey or an undead invading/escaping England. Here is another example of the heroes’ use of science as a weapon against the Count. It must be remembered that many intelligent people took physiognomy very seriously during Stoker’s time, and that for Stoker physiognomy was a viable tool for understanding and classifying human nature. Its racist/classist biases and unscientific methods are much easier to see in hindsight.