Discussion: Dracula I-IV

[cmsieg]

Good morning!  Sorry, this may be sort of late in the day for some of you, I probably should have posted last night before bed.  This is what happens when I'm in the second to last time zone in the US, it is just 10AM here

Comments

A Very Non-Academic Response

[yemeron]

Has anyone seen any of the Dracula movies that had your perception of the book, so far, a little skewed?

Before reading this I'd seen Nosferatu and Bram Stoker's Dracula (the Francis Ford Coppola version). Watching the movies helped me to visualize the setting a little better, I think. I'm definitely hearing the voices of the actors as I read, Gary Oldman's Dracula accent in particular. Also, I find myself looking forward to certain scenes/events, like the classic "Children of the night..." line.

So far we have been reading from Harker's POV, and really only met Harker and Dracula, any surprises to you in character?Not really. Harker was an idiot in the movies, and reading the book just reinforced that. Maybe I'm a scaredy-cat, but if every person I met along the way was crossing his/herself and scared to death for my safety, I think I'd have second thoughts about my trip. But maybe that's just me. Anyway, he was sufficiently clueless, scared, and tenacious for me. Dracula was mysterious and creepy

[rachelreads]

Has anyone seen any of the Dracula movies that had your perception of the book, so far, a little skewed?

I actually have never seen any Dracula-related movie, because I'm a bit of a scaredy-cat and I don't really go in for horror movies (even cheesy ones). That said, I think Dracula lore has become sufficiently ingrained in our popular culture that, even having seen none of the movies, I had quite a few preconceptions about Dracula and vampires in general.

As I read, I keep finding myself thinking, "Well, of course he casts no reflection in a mirror. But as yemeron said above, it's worth remembering that Stoker's original readers didn't have generations of Dracula lore to fall back on.

So far we have been reading from Harker's POV, and really only met Harker and Dracula, any surprises to you in character?

Well, since I haven't had much experience with the Dracula story before, I don't have a whole lot to fall back on here. I have enjoyed noting differences between Stoker's Dracula and the Dracula in Elizabeth Kostova's The Historian,

[yemeron]

I actually have never seen any Dracula-related movie, because I'm a bit of a scaredy-cat and I don't really go in for horror movies (even cheesy ones).

Do you think you'll be brave enough to watch one once you've finished the book?

[rachelreads]

I don't know yet -- but I'm thinking I might do okay if I put together a support group and watch it with a bunch of friends. Safety in numbers, and all that. :)

I've also realized that reading the book before bedtime was NOT a good idea!