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Bogdan Valentin
Haha, yes! 400 pages book, ends in one paragraph. It was like the author was being pushed by someone.. "Finish already, we have to go fishing!! Everyone is waiting for you! Damn it, Bram, the sun will rise any minute and we're not on the lake by then.." Oh, wait..
Isabel
The ending might be disappointing, but I think what Stoker had in mind went far off from the story itself. I mean, when you read Dracula carefully, you realise that there is much more in it than what you apparently can see. At first it seems just a story about vampire hunting, but one can easily find an analysis on Victorian society and values: the role of women as far as men are regarded; science as a tool or a weapon to fight against superstition, and religion as a way of keeping the mind clear to lean on it when everything else fails.
Ashley Melucci
I agree that the ending was disappointing, and one of the most slow and unsatisfying climaxes I have ever read. However, I do agree with Ebster that it seems that Stoker's goal was more to comment on justice and humanity than to thrill his audience. One should not punish what they fear solely because they fear it, but instead seek justice where justice is due.
Jade Church
Everything after the first 100 pages was disappointing.
Mike MacDee
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Ebster Davis
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Khalid Al Khalili
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Chris Angelis
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B Fowler
I agree. It was quite the build-up to such an anti-climatic ending. I was left think, "is this it?"
Rick Hunter
I was about to post the same question when I read yours. I also wondered if I was the only one who found the ending disappointing. The end came too quickly and I think Stoker could have easily elaborated more on the final battle and make it great. Missed opportunity. I also think Stoker spent too much time on Lucy's illness.
Because Batman!
I believe that the ending doesn't mean much for the author, I think that he care more about the Jonathan, Mina, Helsing and the others and their relationship, their action more than the ending.
Dracula and the vampires is just a setting for his message.
Dracula and the vampires is just a setting for his message.
Annaliese
Dracula is my favorite book of all time, but I agree.
However, since the book is written with the intention of appearing as diary entries and record transcriptions, I think Mina wrapping up the book very matter-of-fact and cleanly was a way of showing how happy she was that it was over and trying to stuff away her trauma without giving it too much power. The characters still write with a lot of emotion and poetic, descriptive prose throughout the book. This was just a sort of "chuck it in to write it down, then try to forget" moment for her. I mean-- one of Stoker's big themes was the HORROR of women's sexuality (an essay for another time), so Mina would probably like to forget her lapse in purity as any good-married-Christian-woman in the time of sub-par women's rights would.
Similarly, Jonathan gets the last word in the very curt "note" epilogue acting as a "Where are they now" bit. Once again, while still very satisfying to me as a reader, Jonathan gives us as much information as an outsider would need and no more. It's my theory (and hope) that Stoker made this quick ending intentional as a way to remind us that this is all the Victorian version of "found footage", made without the belief of anyone ever finding it. Why bother with detail if no one will believe them? They pry out their old documents from storage and read them over, remembering everything that happened, and decide to chuck in this final piece to wrap it up. Maybe not to give the potential reader a good ending, but to finish that part of their lives for themselves. Jonathan says himself: "We could hardly ask any one, even did we wish to, to accept these as proofs of so wild a story." So, this feels more like closure for themselves rather than an attempt at testifying to the truth of their experiences with as much detail as possible.
Then again, Bram can also suck at finishing a story. I can't think of a single person who can name another one of his works, so maybe that should really be our first clue!
However, since the book is written with the intention of appearing as diary entries and record transcriptions, I think Mina wrapping up the book very matter-of-fact and cleanly was a way of showing how happy she was that it was over and trying to stuff away her trauma without giving it too much power. The characters still write with a lot of emotion and poetic, descriptive prose throughout the book. This was just a sort of "chuck it in to write it down, then try to forget" moment for her. I mean-- one of Stoker's big themes was the HORROR of women's sexuality (an essay for another time), so Mina would probably like to forget her lapse in purity as any good-married-Christian-woman in the time of sub-par women's rights would.
Similarly, Jonathan gets the last word in the very curt "note" epilogue acting as a "Where are they now" bit. Once again, while still very satisfying to me as a reader, Jonathan gives us as much information as an outsider would need and no more. It's my theory (and hope) that Stoker made this quick ending intentional as a way to remind us that this is all the Victorian version of "found footage", made without the belief of anyone ever finding it. Why bother with detail if no one will believe them? They pry out their old documents from storage and read them over, remembering everything that happened, and decide to chuck in this final piece to wrap it up. Maybe not to give the potential reader a good ending, but to finish that part of their lives for themselves. Jonathan says himself: "We could hardly ask any one, even did we wish to, to accept these as proofs of so wild a story." So, this feels more like closure for themselves rather than an attempt at testifying to the truth of their experiences with as much detail as possible.
Then again, Bram can also suck at finishing a story. I can't think of a single person who can name another one of his works, so maybe that should really be our first clue!
Claire
I think the ending was about how love can conquer even death.
Antonio Colangelo
True. When I reached the last 20-30 pages I knew the ending was going to be unsatisfactory.
Nathaniel Winston
I can see where you're coming from.
After all the threat and menace the whole process of defeating Dracula is a bit....open and shut.
After all the threat and menace the whole process of defeating Dracula is a bit....open and shut.
Kashif Nasir
Exactly, I hated the ending also, Like you are going to kill the most famous villain of all times in his sleep
Zane
yeah no you are not the only one, i found it especially weird when they added all the diaries together. is it really possible for the entire set of characters to each have a diary
Erik Goddard
More precisely the first half of the book is great; the second less so.
Sam Eure
Yes, yes, yes! When my remaining pages started to dwindle, I was saying to myself "There must be a sequel. There is so much more that could be said." And then, the the course of 5 pages, the book ends. I was very disappointed with the ending, however this was still a wonderful book.
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