Monday, April 17, 2017

Dracula: Not What I Expected

So this is the first time I'm reading Dracula, and I have to say that it's not really what I was expecting. To be honest, I'm not sure what I was expecting, but narrative through letters definitely was not it. It's interesting though, and the Count, even though he is eloquent and whatnot, just oozes disgusting to the point that his words are tainted as well. That was well done.
The appearance of the Count himself was slightly unexpected as well. When I think "Count Dracula" I think a man in his 30's ish, who is darkly attractive, but instead we get an old man, with a bird-like face, and hairy palms. At least I was right about the strength, shapeshifting, and mirrors bit.
I have to say, I really enjoyed the first chapter, before we even meet the Count. Here we have Jonathan Harker, who's just loving the journey, and then when he gets to the Golden Krone Hotel, things just progressively get darker and creepier and the carriage ride is just all sorts of sitting on the edge of your seat, waiting for something bad to happen. 
I have a couple of questions though. What was up with the attitude of the other passengers in the carriage? They seemed excited to see the Count, but the driven I can't tell. It seemed as if he arrived at the meeting point an hour early (if I'm reading that correctly) to come up with the excuse that the Count's messenger wasn't there. Was this the correct reading? Also, later on, when Lucy starts sleepwalking, why is she sleepwalking? Did I miss something? It seems like it's the Count's influence, but he hadn't arrived in London just yet, so I'm not sure how to interpret that. Do we get answers later or did I read that wrong? Send help.

3 comments:

  1. Dracula was definitely something that i found unexpected and other things I did anticipate. The mirrors,the teeth, sticks to the darkness, but not hairy palms! Of all the things, hairy palms!? Still, the way he is creepy and sneaky in his own deceptive way I did expect when Jonathan Harker meets him for the first time. I am interested to see how this book continues to unravel.

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  2. I'm pretty sure that Dracula has arrived in London by that time, but I may be wrong. The mixed up order of some of the journal entries can make that confusing. And the sleepwalking is definitely his influence. We see that again with Lucy when she tries to influence Holmwood to come to her.

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  3. I think we're so used to Dracula spin offs that we don't really know what to expect from the original. Obviously, these popular tropes came from somewhere, but it's one thing to know about the source material and another to immerse yourself in it.

    I think Mina mentions that Lucy sleep walked (slept walked?) as a child, but the resurgence of this behavior may be from Dracula's influence. I think she was just easy pray because he could get to her outside after dark, like in the churchyard.

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