Close Reading DRACULA: Chapters V-VIII

Some themes/images of which you should be aware:

Gothic imagery of light contrasted with darkness

Sexuality

Christocentrinc parallels

Triangulation

Seduction

Reverse colonization (fear of)

Xenophobia

—noun

an unreasonable fear or hatred of foreigners or strangers or of that which is foreign or strange.

Psychology of self-identity

Human psyche

—noun

1.	Classical Mythology. a personification of the soul, which in the form of a beautiful girl was loved by Eros.

2.	(lowercase) the human soul, spirit, or mind.

3.	(lowercase) Psychology, Psychoanalysis. the mental or psychological structure of a person, esp. as a motive force.

4.	Neoplatonism. the second emanation of the One, regarded as a universal consciousness and as the animating principle of the world.

5.	a female given name.

Inversion

Gender

Secrecy

Repression

—noun

1. Psychoanalysis. the rejection from consciousness of painful or disagreeable ideas, memories, feelings, or impulses.

Misogyny

—n oun

1. hatred, dislike, or mistrust of women.

Androgynous self-identity (with regard for societal stereotypes of what makes “man” and “woman”)

—adjective

1.	being both male and female; hermaphroditic.

2.	having both masculine and feminine characteristics.

3.	having an ambiguous sexual identity.

4.	neither clearly masculine nor clearly feminine in appearance: the androgynous look of many rock stars.

5.	Botany. having staminate and pistillate flowers in the same inflorescence.

Chapter V

Explain how Mina Murray represents the ideals of an independent woman. How does she contrast with Lucy Westenra’s character?

Three is a significant number to vampires, as it is in fairy tales and Christian iconography. What do you think it represents? Where do we see it in this chapter and elsewhere in what you’ve read from Dracula?

Why does Dr. Seward feel so depressed? What does Dr. Seward treat as a distraction from despair?

Notice Dr. Seward’s description of R.M. Renfield at the end of this chapter. Paraphrase the description of Renfield and Seward’s subsequent philosophy on “the self.”

Chapter VI

How is Whitby, a port city in Yorkshire, on the North Sea coast of England, described? Why do you think it would be an appropriate place for Dracula to begin his invasion?

In what color is Lucy Westenra often garbed?

Notice the prominence of the mysterious old man named, Swales, who goes on about the surrounding cemeteries. What does he say about the grave sites? What does this suggest about the setting of Whitby?

What label does Seward give Renfield in his diagnosis? With whom is Renfield therefore paralleled?

Chapter VII

Notice that the ship in which Dracula arrives is a Russian schooner that is described with the words “strange” and “foreign” suggesting what literary theme? What does Mina say of the ship’s officers as the schooner was first spotted off the coast of Whitby?

How is Dracula’s arrival on the ship perceived as a sort of miracle?

What is the legal term associated with the passing on of private property, such as the Russian schooner, to insitutions such as government or Church? How does this legal concept apply to Dracula's grand scheme?

Notice that the transference of the ship to the Russian "consul" is called the "nine days" wonder. To what theme is this related?

Notice the name of the Russian schooner: Demeter. Please research the source of this name. How does it apply to Dracula's victimizing schemes?

How does the captain of the Russian schooner die a martyr? Who else dies according to Mina's August 10th journal entry?

Chapter VIII

Lucy's sleepwalking resembles what other literary figure whom we have studied?

What is the name of the church that is obscured by clouds on the East Cliff where Lucy is first abducted by the mysterious dark figure? How does this apply to Lucy's seduction?

How is the theme of secrecy evident in this chapter?

How is Dracula portrayed as a sort of salvific Christ figure in this chapter?