Themes:
- Nature made unnatural (as given as an example on the Close Reading Assignment)
- Love as possession
- The power of control: I am thinking along the lines of multiple characters at this point in the novel. We see Count Dracula’s desire to be in control of his world and Harker. Jonathan thinks he is in control of his situation before going to Count Dracula’s house, only to find himself terribly naive and wrong. Mina has no control over her friend Lucy’s new sleepwalking feat or happy-to-be marriage or what her beloved Harker is being occupied with. All of these characters seem to have this control struggle so far in the story, including the supplementary ones. Even the captain on the ship could not control the loss of his crew or his own death. And what could be the cause of all of this? Look at Dracula. Why would Dracula have this endeavor to control? Is it because his past might lead us to believe that he didn’t choose the vampire life, instead it chose him? Maybe his immortal life has left him with nothing consistent and only a continuous craving for feasting on animals…I would say that could be a tough life to live. Regardless, this loss of power gives each character it’s personality. There is much evidence to draw from that can support this power hardship amongst the stories of all of the characters, and I can imagine that it is only going to get more interesting as the novel progresses.
- Evidence- 1. Dracula: pg. 37 & 44 manipulation through the three letters; pg. 43 female vampires and “This man belongs to me!” MUCH MORE
- Evidence- 2. Harker: several accounts of his naiveness; his realization as he is situated at Count Dracula’s castle; “I am the prisoner!”
- Evidence- 3. Chapter 7’s entries from Mina (the worry in her life must be at its peak!)
- After discussing Dracula’s dominant role, I decided that I wanted to try to decipher his dominating personality. Then, I started to notice that there are control and power issues with the other characters as well. By coming up with an initial interest in Dracula, I was able to conclude other observations on the others in the novel. The quotes above are an example of the words that drew me to the specific parts/passages.
I thought your chosen theme of the power of control was a really interesting one and one that I honestly did not pick up on at first. I agree that in the novel it does seem like all of the characters are fighting for control either over their situation or of themselves. With Count Dracula, I agree that it seems he exerts a lot of control over those he is near including Jonathan and then eventually even Lucy when he lands in Whitby.
Other characters also struggle with control including the captain of the ship as he tries to save his crew, Mina not hearing from Jonathan, and Lucy’s helplessness against Dracula. I would add Renfield & Seward to your list of characters also dealing with control. Seward has a sick amount of control with his patient, while Renfield yearns to be in control of the lives around him and hopes to actually absorb them all.
I definitely agree here with the power struggle theme because of the frequency it appears. I feel like you made a great observation in noticing the way Harker is seemingly taken off guard by his sudden loss of control in his situation of going to the Count’s castle. Harker seems extremely and overly confident during his travel about his mission, and suddenly has it snatched away from him by Count Dracula. Harker realizes he no longer has any control over his situation and regrets it by saying he wish he never would have made the trip. Harker however makes a huge run for any amount of power he can obtain by seizing the oppurtunity to sleep anywhere he chooses and by freely roaming the castle and breaking into Dracula’s room. He consistently talks about his helplessness to do anything as he watches Dracula slowly overpower him day by day: when he is told not to sleep in certain places, when Dracula takes his clothes, when he forces him to write phony letters, etc.
What do you mean by degradation? Also, when you say “man,” do you mean the sex and gender, or do you mean humanity? Why is it that Dracula, of all creatures, can degrade man/woman/humanity so utterly? What is it about his power and control that can degrade?