Dracula

"There, on our favourite seat, the silver light of the moon struck a half-reclining figure, snowy white... something dark stood behind the seat where the white figure shone, and bent over it. What it was, whether man or beast, I could not tell." -Bram Stoker, Dracula

Book: Dracula

Author: Bram Stoker

Year Published: 1897

Analysis

Dracula is a strangely beautiful, and endearing work of horror. It is composed of the narratives of five characters, the diaries and letters of Jonathan Harker, Mina Harker, Dr. John Seward, Dr. Abraham Vanhelsing, and Lucy Westerna. The book begins with the diary of Jonathan Harker, a London solicitor who travels to the home of Count Dracula to complete a business transaction. Count Dracula's house, an ancient mansion hidden deep within the Carpathian mountains, quickly becomes a prison for poor Jonathan. Stoker's description of the Count, and his brides is hauntingly realistic. Through pop culture, vampires have sort of lost their ability to evoke fear, and become cliched, even ridiculous. However, Dracula is where the icon originated. Dracula is a true horror story, and it is quite capable of inciting fear, and wonder, even in a generation that has become all but jaded with "the vampire". Dracula in many ways seems to be Bram Stoker's idea of the devil incarnate, an image that the modern reader will find in sharp contrast to Stephanie Meyer's sparkly romantic hero, Edward Cullen. However, the novel is not solely a horror story. It is a portrait of 6 fine people that are drawn together by a fearful series of events. The characters are the force that motivates the story and makes it so immensely readable. Stoker develops his characters to a level that many writers neglect, and this is what makes Dracula so enjoyable for a horror story. The story begins with Jonathan Harker, and works its way through the stories of Lucy, Mina and Dr. Seward and eventually these individuals, along with Dr. Van Helsing, Lord Godalming, and Quincey Morris, are pulled together by a common thread. In the process Stoker knits a warm, wonderful group of friends that mitigate the darkness of the novel. The only flaw I found was that the language could be a bit repetitive in some places, however, the endearing characters more than made up for this minor defect. While Dracula is filled with plenty of eerie moments that have an uncanny disturbing your peace, it is also brimming with admirable, noble characters that will linger in your heart longer than the fear.

*Spoiler Alert*

Thoughts about the ending:

I was thoroughly relieved that Dracula ended happily. Of course, there were a few deaths, but that couldn't have been avoided. I was just pleased that there wasn't a bleak, haunting ending. Everyone finds peace at the novel's conclusion, including the reader.

Favorite Passage

"Today is a gray day, and the sun as I write is hidden in thick clouds, high over Kettleness. Everything is grey except the green grass, which seems like emerald amongst it, gray earth rock, gray clouds, tinged with the sunburst at the far edge, hang over the gray sea, into which the sandpoints stretch like gray figures. The sea is tumbling in over the shallows and the sandy flats with a roar, muffled in the sea-mists drifting inland. The horizon is lost in a gray mist. Al vastness, the clouds are piled up like giant rocks, and there is a 'brool' over the sea that sounds like some passage of doom." Bram Stoker, Dracula, Chapter 6: Mina Murray's Journal

Wandering Thoughts

Well, I'm still faithfully reading A Tale of Two Cities. Every scene is stunning and poignant, quite lovely. However, the story just hasn't grabbed me yet. Perhaps, I ought to stop comparing it to Great Expectations (which is one of my top favorites). Its just that, there comes a point in a novel where the story should take hold of you, the characters seem utterly real, the world they inhabit is the one that you inhabit. I love that feeling. The feeling of feverishly racing through the chapters. Every moment you spend engrossed in the pages takes on a magical quality. I remember the first time I felt this way about a book. I was 14 and I read Wuthering Heights (by Emily Bronte) for the first time. Since then, I've been on a continual search for books that make me feel that way. Nonetheless, I have hope that Dickens will not disappoint me for too long... Although I did stop at the book store today and picked up The Silmarillion (Written by J.R.R. Tolkien, edited by Christopher Tolkien). In faithfulness to this blog I'll do my best to leave it sitting quietly on the bookshelf. If you're wondering, yes, I'll be reading The Silmarillion next. This book isn't typical of the kinds of fiction I had planned to peruse in this blog (I meant to stick to the classics), but Tolkien is my #1 favorite author (yes, he beat out the Brontes!) and I can't help it! Perhaps I'll read The Lord of the Rings again sometime... I've been wanting to, but have refrained because I'm on a quest to read as much classic literature as I can, and rereading books would only slow me down. I'll end here before I start gushing about Tolkien. I'm such a nerd :)

A Tale of Two Cities

Well, I've begun reading my next book, A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. By the way, forgive me if I sound distracted, I'm watching The Mummy. I can't help but wish I was on some fabulous Egyptian adventure with Brendan Fraser in the 1940s... Anyway, back to Dickens. I'll be honest, the first few chapters are a bit dry. For about the first 30 pages it's difficult to discern a clear protagonist. In fact, chapters 1-3 feel rather like an introduction or a prologue. However, that being said, chapters 1-3 are also full of beautiful, insightful, moving passages. The passages are so lovely and perspicacious that they ought to be read several times over. I've only reached chapter 4, so I have little left to report. I'll be sure and update as soon as I've read further.

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of DArkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way--in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only." -Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities (Chapter 1)

"She gave herself to books and learning"

I've decided on an official purpose for this blog. Perhaps its a bit ambitious, but I I want this to be a book blog. The books I'll read will be mainly classic literature (I find it difficult to maintain interest in most modern literature). I'll write out thoughts/feelings/opinions/conjectures etc.. regarding the books that I read. Forgive me if my progress through the readings is a bit slow, but I'll do my best. I've just finished reading The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton. I'll post a brief analysis and some thoughts tomorrow (hopefully).

"She gave herself to books and learning" -Belle & Sebastian ♥

Fantasy and Fiction

I've spent the past two evening engrossed in PBS's Tess of the D'Urbervilles which I borrowed from the library. I can't stop thinking about Tess and Angel wandering recklessly through the country side and taking shelter at stone henge, about the vivid green valley where the dairy farm lies, or about Sorrow's nettled grave. I read Thomas Hardy's, Tess of the D'Urbervilles a few months ago, but this movie truly re-animated my love for the novel. I rarely say this, but I believe that I actually got a keener sense of Tess' love and tragedy from the film than I did from the novel. I'm always so disappointed in "romantic" movies, they seldom satisfy me. The plots always seems to be sappy, predictable and thoroughly unsatisfying. This film however, may be one of the most deeply, beautifully, heartbreakingly romantic movies I have ever seen. Anyway, I need to find another book to absorb myself in. I've been reading The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton, but the story hasn't intrigued me yet. I bought a whole slew of Barnes & Nobles classics with a gift card, that ought to keep me out of reality for a while. Fiction after all is much preferable to reality :). Lately, I've been doing all I can to ward off the pains of disillusion.

♥