You've no idea how close I came to submitting this one...
I think Dracula must be one of the strangest, best bad books out there. Disturbing, certainly. I found Stoker's treatment of his female protagonists awful; even for nineteenth century sensibilities. The staking of Lucy, with the ‘hammer of Thor' reference seems akin to nothing more than sadistic voyeurism, I feel. It's almost as if Stoker is over compensating for the ‘this man is mine!' statement by Dracula earlier on (not implicit whether Dracula and Jonathan had a bit man-on-man beforehand?) Or is it he tying into wider Victorian fears of female sexuality; what with Lucy being flirty and voluptuous?
His treatment of Mina, for all he extols her virtues, is a bit clumsy too. I often wonder if it was entirely wise to leave her alone in Seward's asylum, before the old wine-press routine.
The atmosphere can be tremendous though. I agree with you re. the voyage of the Demeter (goddess of the earth...boom, boom); especially the incremental fear in the ship captain's diary. The part where Lucy is sitting with Mina in the graveyard where Dracula is nearby with ‘...red eyes...' is particularly effective.
What always impressed me was how ‘modern' the book is: phonographs, typewriters, blood transfusions, mesmerism, railway timetables and so on. Fear of contagion, invasion, the ‘other'. Plus ca change...
I have the same Penguin edition as you, Iain. There's also a good Norton Critical Edition which looks at the wider socio-political contexts over the milieu with supporting textual critique (see below).
I've always liked the book; ‘flawless in spite of its flaws' (the Dutch Van Helsing exclaiming ‘Mein Gott!' q.v.)
Tomorrow's recommendation is ‘nante' dissimilar.
@Digimonkey, @patw, @Barry Giddens
I think Dracula must be one of the strangest, best bad books out there. Disturbing, certainly. I found Stoker's treatment of his female protagonists awful; even for nineteenth century sensibilities. The staking of Lucy, with the ‘hammer of Thor' reference seems akin to nothing more than sadistic voyeurism, I feel. It's almost as if Stoker is over compensating for the ‘this man is mine!' statement by Dracula earlier on (not implicit whether Dracula and Jonathan had a bit man-on-man beforehand?) Or is it he tying into wider Victorian fears of female sexuality; what with Lucy being flirty and voluptuous?
His treatment of Mina, for all he extols her virtues, is a bit clumsy too. I often wonder if it was entirely wise to leave her alone in Seward's asylum, before the old wine-press routine.
The atmosphere can be tremendous though. I agree with you re. the voyage of the Demeter (goddess of the earth...boom, boom); especially the incremental fear in the ship captain's diary. The part where Lucy is sitting with Mina in the graveyard where Dracula is nearby with ‘...red eyes...' is particularly effective.
What always impressed me was how ‘modern' the book is: phonographs, typewriters, blood transfusions, mesmerism, railway timetables and so on. Fear of contagion, invasion, the ‘other'. Plus ca change...
I have the same Penguin edition as you, Iain. There's also a good Norton Critical Edition which looks at the wider socio-political contexts over the milieu with supporting textual critique (see below).
I've always liked the book; ‘flawless in spite of its flaws' (the Dutch Van Helsing exclaiming ‘Mein Gott!' q.v.)
Tomorrow's recommendation is ‘nante' dissimilar.
@Digimonkey, @patw, @Barry Giddens
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