Discussion: Dracula V-IX
Good afternoon! This is the discussion post for Chapters V through IX of Dracula. Here are the questions for this week. If you have any additional questions, feel free to add them to your response
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It doesn't seem that we've really gotten to know Lucy very well yet; she's certainly rather reticent, especially about her interactions with Dracula (of which I suspect she is more aware than she lets on). Mina seems the more worldly of the two, but perhaps that's just my impression, having more narration from her than from Lucy.
2. Dr. Seward has a little drug problem. Do you think it existed prior to Lucy's rejection of his marriage proposal, or did it develop because of it?
Given how common "little drug problems" were during the Victorian era, what with laudanum being passed around like candy and all, I would suspect he's had that problem for a while. Lucy's rejection is certainly likely to have exacerbated it, though.
4. Speaking of Renfield, what's up with him? Has Dracula had some previous contact with the man that we aren't yet privy to? Does his insanity make him particularly sensitive to Dracula's comings and goings?
I wonder whether Dracula has the ability to control people's thoughts to some extent -- he certainly seems able to call Lucy while she's asleep, and Renfield seems to be responding to him in his rants. Previous contact? Who knows. But I don't know that he's necessarily insane; maybe he's just not under his own control.
5. Lucy's condition worsened with Dracula's arrival. It's pretty apparent by the end of Chapter IX that he's been nibbling on her. What are his intentions?
It seems that his nibbling may be some sort of allegorical prelude. If Dracula represents the anti-Christ, and Lucy is still a pure virgin, well... his nibbling could lead in a number of very naughty directions.
6. Now that we've read 9 chapters of the book, what do you think of Stoker's decision to write Dracula as an epistolary novel?
I like it. It seems like a good way to give different perspectives. It does make some of the dialogue rather awkward, though, as I don't know of anyone who writes out dialogue in their letters. But I do like the breaks in the narration, as they add to the suspense.
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Mina is certainly more grounded than Lucy. She talks of her one true love, Johnathan, and making a life with him. The little bit we know of Lucy suggests a flightiness that isn't present in Mina. She was courting three different guys at once! I get the feeling that she's more concerned about the appearance of having the "right" husband than making a life with the man she loves.
Lucy's rejection is certainly likely to have exacerbated it, though.
I agree. I definitely think that he lost himself in his drug use. His little pep talk to himself about deciding not to use suggests that he's been using more often than not.
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As for Seward's drug use... usually, by the time someone says they don't want to become dependent on the substance, they already are to some degree. It is a nice little pep talk, though, isn't it?
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