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Dracula
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"Dracula" by Bram Stoker - Dracula Daily 2023 (BR)
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DivaDiane
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rated it 4 stars
May 10, 2023 11:00AM
Ha! Mina thinks he’ll be home in a week.
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DivaDiane wrote: "Ha! Mina thinks he’ll be home in a week."To be fair, Harker thought he'd back waaaaay sooner than he is!
May 11:Um. I don't know about you, but if I were Mina, I'd be a little reluctant to let Lucy start match-making for me. A good thing she's already engaged to Jonathan... because I don't care how "suitable" Lucy thinks that young doctor would be for Mina, having an immense lunatic asylum under his care is NOT an endorsement.
Kirsi wrote: "May 11:Um. I don't know about you, but if I were Mina, I'd be a little reluctant to let Lucy start match-making for me. A good thing she's already engaged to Jonathan... because I don't care how "..."
I agree!
Did it strike anyone else, that Lucy's letter leaves it open to debate which of the two men she loves? It seemed that way to me.
Lucy says that Holmwood "often comes to see us, and he and mamma get on very well together; they have so many things to talk about in common" but nothing about her own feelings about him. But she's all over the unnamed doctor. He comes across like a creep to me. For one thing, he seems incapable of leaving work at work: "He has a curious habit of looking one straight in the face, as if trying to read one's thoughts... He says that I afford him a curious psychological study"
I was also trying to figure out which of the men Lucy is interested in. She says that the Doctor would be perfect for Mina, but then she goes on about him much more than Holmwood (who she says has a lot to talk about with her mamma).
May 12: the Count is, perhaps, up to some shady business, trying to ensure that any given business partner doesn't have a full picture of his doings. He's limiting Harker's freedom and privacy by degrees, beyond his already being a prisoner in the castle.We are shown a new ability that the Count has, in a striking image: the ability to crawl down walls like a lizard, using his hands and feet (I assume he is barefoot). I was reminded of a spider before Harker described his movements as lizard-like.
Great scene and image. I love the italicized “face down”.
May 15: Finally Harker makes at least some attempts to look for some means to escape the Count. Hope he doesn't open the wrong door though ))
We all know what happens when you open forbidden doors in an old, spooky castle..
If the master of the house tells you not to go to sleep in any of the creepy decrepit rooms in the creepy decrepit castle, you should probably listen, Jonathan.
There's a very thin line between vampirism and eroticism in today's installment. Interesting, that trope goes back further than I had thought! Stoker holds back from homoeroticism when it comes to the Count, though, imo. My interpretation is that he is telling wayward children to stop playing with their food, rather than acting like their sexual rival.
Beth wrote: "There's a very thin line between vampirism and eroticism in today's installment. Interesting, that trope goes back further than I had thought!"Ohhh yeah. I'd say it's been a factor in literary vampirism (as opposed to folklore) all along.
Beth wrote: "There's a very thin line between vampirism and eroticism in today's installment. Interesting, that trope goes back further than I had thought! Stoker holds back from homoeroticism when it comes to ..."Hmm, that’s not my interpretation. To me the Count seems very possessive of Jonathan (‘this man belongs to me!’) in an eroticised way … he says ‘I too can love’ and then carries the unconscious Jonathan to his bed.
May 19:"I know now the span of my life. God help me!"I can see why some folks' energy flagged around here. After some really interesting and creepy entries, we have a couple of very short ones that don't move the story forward much. Of course, it wouldn't be as obvious a slowdown if we were reading normally. I'll be patient!
May 24: not two, but three proposals for Lucy in one day. What a siren!(1) Dr. Seward, the previously unnamed steward of a mental asylum: surely it isn't just me who's bothered that he fidgets with a lancet (a small scalpel) while he's proposing marriage to someone?
(2) Mr. Morris, who to my knowledge we haven't seen previously: why is this person in the story? maybe we'll find out later? he comes across like a cartoon cowboy.
I recognized Desdemona, though I couldn't sort out what the reference to her meant in context. This sentence completely lost me, though: "I know I ain't good enough to regulate the fixin's of your little shoes, but I guess if you wait till you find a man that is you will go join them seven young women with the lamps when you quit." Anyone have any idea who the "seven young women with the lamps" are?
(3) Though unnamed, we can easily guess who this proposal was from.
I didn't get that reference either. Morris comes across as a really nice guy, but the doctor honestly gives me the creeps with his lancet.
May 25.So Lucy’s three suitors all know each other and they all three proposed on the same day? I find this a bit creepy.
Meredith wrote: "May 25.So Lucy’s three suitors all know each other and they all three proposed on the same day? I find this a bit creepy."
An today they are consoling (or proposing) to console the loser with drink and a campfire? It definitely IS weird!
May 25: read this slightly late. "(Kept in phonograph)" - another reference I don't understand/recognize. Yes, doctor, sending your patient into an episode so you can study him and take notes is cruel.Agreed, three men who know each other proposing to the same woman on the same day is pretty strange. I'm assuming they agreed beforehand that the winner would take the prize. Ick.
I’m guessing “kept in phonograph” means he’s dictating to a crude recording device, a needle that etches grooves in a cylinder made of wax or the like.
By the way, it seems yesterday was the 126th anniversary of the original publication of Dracula on May 26, 1897.
Glad you guys are having a good time! So you are doing it in chronological order and not how it goes in the novel? What a curious (but great) idea! I have read the book several times. One of my favorites, but I also really like Frankenstein. Audible has a really great audiobook with a full cast including Tim Curry and Alan Cumming!
Hi, Kirsten! Check the first post of the thread for details about what we're up to here, and how to sign up, if you're interested. :)
I’m a little late joining. I am reading the novel version (the daily emails would stretch it out too long for me I think). It took me a chapter but I’m really enjoying it so far.
I laughed hysterically at the mirror scene- picturing a host just tossing his guest’s shaving mirror out the window. “Away with it!”
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May 11:
Lucy seems hell over heels for that man that gets along so well with her mother ... or the other one she talks about in 95% of her letter. From what I've read of Jonathan, I get why she wants to set Mina up with someone who's clever, but if she likes him that much, why doesn't she go for him herself? I guess mummy has something against him.
May 12:
The Count sure is shady. I don't really get why Jonathan is so helpful to him in explaining everything. I mean - if the Count wanted just any prisoner, he could probably have gotten one with much less trouble than having someone come all the way from England (someone with an employer, fiancée etc. nonetheless). So Jonathan must have something the Cound can't get in his area ... probably his knowledge about managing one's business and affairs in Britain? If I were Jonathan, I'd keep that as close to my heart as possible.
But why can he only write to Mina in shorthand? Does Mr. Hawkins have nobody in his whole office who's capable of reading shorthand? Seems unlikely.
Not sure what to make of the Count's warning. Is there really something dangerous in the castle or is he just trying to discourage Jonathan from sneaking around? Seems odd that he would not be able to keep his own castle safe.
The end got rather fantastical. I don't believe Jonathan is hallucinating, he seemed so persceptive just before that ... unless the Count put some kind of drugs in his food or drink?
May 15:
Glad to see Jonathan trying to find a way out, or at least something that will help him. He says he's now seen the Count crawl along the walls like a lizard twice ... so ... is he being drugged all the time or ... did that really happen?
(I'll try to get up to speed as fast as I can!)
Welcome back, Ines! I think there are just one or two longer entries for you to read, and then we get to shorter entries with breaks in between. (In fact, today's e-mail has a note that we won't be receiving another for two weeks.) You'll catch up fast. :) Ines wrote: "probably his knowledge about managing one's business and affairs in Britain? If I were Jonathan, I'd keep that as close to my heart as possible."
What I remember is that Jonathan's boss sent him there. The question was raised as to why the Count didn't find business contacts in various places in England, and the answer was shady, something like he wanted as few, knowledgable people in England to know his business dealings as possible.
Ines wrote: "But why can he only write to Mina in shorthand? Does Mr. Hawkins have nobody in his whole office who's capable of reading shorthand?"
I think at first he writes to her in shorthand because he knows she understands it, and you can write more in a shorter time with it. Once he realizes he's in danger, he continues it because he can conceal the contents of his letters to Mina from the Count, who he knows is spying on him.
June 17-ishHow is Jonathan still keeping his journal if all his paper and pens have been taken from his room? I thought he said at one point he said he was keeping his journal on him, but I can't find that entry.
editing to add:
I'm finding the Renfield related entries to be creepy.
Renfield is infinitely creepy! Especially if you don't know what he's about.
It does make we wonder what Renfield's goal is, cultivating flies and then spiders.I don't remember Jonathan's journal or pens being taken, Meredith. But the entries are far enough from each other at this stage, that I could easily have lost some details.
“ He lay like a filthy leech, exhausted with his repletion. “
Stephen wrote: "“ He lay like a filthy leech, exhausted with his repletion. “"Fantastic sentence!
Ugh, Renfield is so creepy!
Got a few entries behind over the last three weeks. I hope others are doing better with it than I have been!(Jun 30)
Stephen wrote: "“ He lay like a filthy leech, exhausted with his repletion. “"
I thought this was a great, disgusting sentence too. :D
I'm astonished that Harker has the presence of mind to write a journal entry right after this startling encounter with the Count, and even describing the sounds of the laborers preparing the Count and the soil for transport in present tense. With epistolary stories you have to suspend disbelief sometimes, it seems...
(Jul 8)
"It will be a whole idea soon, and then, oh, unconscious cerebration! you will have to give the wall to your conscious brother."
The writing is so over the top or melodramatic sometimes. It's fun. :)
Jul 18: since I was unfamiliar with the geography of this area, I looked up the Bosporus Strait et al. online. As of this date, the Demeter has made its way along the west coast of Turkey and is now in the vicinity of Greece.
"As there were only the big wooden boxes, there were no odd corners where a man could hide." - surely stowaways hide in wooden boxes, though?
Jul 19: the Renfield sections are revolting and suspenseful. How will the Dr.'s sections intersect with the others', I wonder.
Renfield centric entries really are creepy! I read this line twice with my brain filling in Brandon Sanderson!"Had I even the secret of one such mind—did I hold the key to the fancy of even one lunatic—I might advance my own branch of science to a pitch compared with which Burdon-Sanderson's physiology or Ferrier's brain-knowledge would be as nothing."
Kandice wrote: "Renfield centric entries really are creepy! I read this line twice with my brain filling in Brandon Sanderson!"Had I even the secret of one such mind—did I hold the key to the fancy of even one l..."
Me too! 🤣
I've read this many times and always wonder, was Lucy just a little sick and restless all on her own, or does her condition point to Dracula's influence? If it's all him, how is he influencing her so early, even before his arrival?
Mina notes that Lucy's father also walked in his sleep, so it may be genetic. It could be that this inherent weakness makes Lucy more susceptible to Dracula's influence, once he arrives.
Since this is my first read-through of Dracula, I don't know what's going on with Lucy, except that her physical description--rosy cheeks, looking plumper, and so on--makes me wonder.Having the Demeter's logs come through in real time is quite cool. It's only been a few paragraphs here and there, but the crew members vanishing one by one, and the storms, fill those brief entries with a lot of suspense.
The log of the Demeter is so ominous it gives me goosebumps. The gradual transformation from a perfectly ordinary vessel into a ghost ship, brr!
As a minor change of topic, I wanted to thank Ines for mentioning the "Re: Dracula" podcast (quite some time ago, but I didn't start listening until mid-July). I had to recalibrate slightly as I got used to the actors vs. my internal reading "voice," but now I'm really enjoying it and am looking forward to finishing the story in that format.After we're done with the chronological version, I may listen to the audible version whose cast includes Tim Curry. We'll see!
I read somewhere that a series is being developed adapted from the Demeter logs. A new take on the old tale. I think it would make for fantastic and creepy viewing if done right.
Well there’s the movie coming out that looks amazing. I am really excited for it as that section of the book was my favorite part.
Coincidentally a Facebook friend just posted a pointer to the movie trailer. I hadn’t been aware of it.https://youtu.be/eQUBghzpgzA
So maybe what I read about a series was made a movie instead. I will watch either!
I fell behind a bit, but now I'm caught up to Aug. 4.I agree the Demeter parts are very dramatic, but I do have a question/comment about things (based on reading up to today) (view spoiler)
I've gone past Meredith, and have just finished listening to the Aug. 6 episode of "Re: Dracula." ;) Is anyone else still reading/listening?I really like the atmosphere of Mina's entry here. Gothic, foggy, and gray, with the old guy's rather gentle ponderings on his own imminent death, and the ship (possibly the Demeter?) struggling on its approach to the shore.
Wasn't a big fan of the shanty after Aug. 4's episode. I listened to a couple of verses and decided to move on to the next episode in the queue. I appreciate the professional-seeming production with the sound effects, and so on, but am not particularly interested in material over and above the story itself.
I’m still reading and I’m up to date. Lots of creepy goings on. On the Daily Dracula emails, I love the little intro sentence/descriptor from the senders. They usually make me laugh.
Still reading and enjoying it.
SciFi and Fantasy Book Club
Books mentioned in this topic
Renfield: Slave of Dracula (other topics)Dracula (other topics)
Authors mentioned in this topic
Barbara Hambly (other topics)Bram Stoker (other topics)
