the hyperactive heart of a galaxy

LANE | 39 [ white | queer ] [ she/her | they/them | he/him ]

[eagle-writes]

Not dead, just haven’t had a good place to do calligraphy for a while.

Wanted to knock this out quick to submit to local fair.

[ashleybenlove]

“I felt a little sad myself, for I could not but feel how absolutely happy it would have been had Jonathan been with me.”

I miss him too.

[honeybeeofficial]

very worried about my friend lucy

[girlishcomatose]

MINA, IT'S NOT A WOUND FROM THE SAFETY PIN - IT'S A VAMPIRE BITE! MINA PLEASE!! LUCY IS IN DANGER!!! MINA!!!!

[immediatebreakfast]

I hesitated at first to promise; but on thinking of the state of her mother's health, and how the knowledge of such a thing would fret her, and thinking, too, of how such a story might become distorted—nay, infallibly would—in case it should leak out, I thought it wiser to do so. I hope I did right.

So, the girls' first encounter with Dracula was as terrifying as one can expect when the scene is about an asleep young girl being loomed over by a figure shrouded in shadows as her (also young) friend screams to try and wake her up.

And this is where the misconception of the view between Lucy and Count Dracula sadly starts, yes the novel Dracula tackles some themes of eroticism, but not in the way most mainstream analysis makes it be. This is not a case of "sexual repression into liberation" like some literary analysis try to paint it; when we read the actual text, and the image that it paints, we can interpret this entry through the far more simple (yet terrifying) notion of supposed assault.

The tricky thing is reading how even when nothing sexual happened in the entry, what scares Mina and Lucy is the possibility of this story getting out somehow, and damaging Lucy's reputation as an unmarried young lady.

What happened outside of Mina's view was that the Count took advantage of Lucy's already established sleepwalking state to feed on her, then Mina shows up in a hurry which probably stopped the Count from probably killing Lucy on the churchyard. The aftermath leaves Mina frightened, and Lucy hurt, but both know that victorian society would not focus on their words, but it will focus on Lucy's supposed culpability in a scenario that could easily be twisted into some sort of hidden affair.

This is why Mina goes to above and beyond to not let anyone see neither her nor Lucy in the middle of the night, nor call for any help. Everything has to be done in secrecy despite Lucy's worrisome physical state because mud shoes and pin pricks are far more manageable than a damaged reputation in a society that expected purity from young women no matter the situation.

[elizabethswitch]

"I must have pinched up a piece of loose skin and have transfixed it, for there are two little red points like pin-pricks, and on the band of her nightdress was a drop of blood. When I apologised and was concerned about it, she laughed and petted me, and said she did not even feel it. Fortunately it cannot leave a scar, as it is so tiny."

It is the horrible moment when we first get an outside view of the Count's attack. This is why there is widespread belief that Jonathan was attacked in the castle, although he never wrote of it. The mark is there, and bloody, and obvious to Mina, but Lucy cannot feel it.

Lucy doesn't know. And neither did Jonathan.

[studywithjennifer]

whitby abbey part 1

[vickyvicarious]

Diary again. No sleep now, so I may as well write. I am too agitated to sleep. We have had such an adventure, such an agonising experience.

I was struck by this terse tone at the beginning of Mina's August 11 entry. It's pretty unlike her not to write in full sentences. And sure, it doesn't last, but... it speaks to her still feeling watchful and on edge, adrenaline still thrumming perhaps, even after they've been home for a little while and Lucy has fallen asleep. Mina isn't able to begin to start relaxing until she gets this down on the page.

Maybe her feet are still damp as she starts writing. Maybe she has shivers as she slowly warms up from the chill she exposed herself to. Watching Lucy drift off into sleep, sitting up in bed to scribble quietly into her journal, pausing every few lines to feel the key against her wrist...

[immediatebreakfast]

Favorite scene of today's entry is Mina screaming Lucy's names with such fright that she not only alerted Dracula of her presence, but also made him bolt out of the churchyard.

We don't know why the Count decided to escape like that since, as we have seen in the Demeter, he has no qualms in murdering the people who discover him. Yet, somehow Mina screaming to get Lucy had him escape. The most likely explanation is that Dracula doesn't want any human witnesses now that he already escaped the eyes of Whitby, and Mina seeing him feed on Lucy the very first time he is not transformed into an animal will put another target on his back.

However, I do like to think that the old asshole saw another thing before coming with the most logical explanation, maybe his studied in the dark arts have made him aware of all of the spectres that lurk in the shadows besides himself. So, Mina in her nightgown, hair loose but wild, and with a scream of pure desesperation for Lucy could probably scare Dracula at first into believing for even a single second that he is not the only supernatural being on hallowed ground.

[lauralot89]

Notable annotations for August 11:

Because I forgot to mention this in the August 10 post: The dusty miller is the dustman or sandman.

A diorama was a building that displayed huge paintings (70 ft x 45 ft). These paintings were made on a translucent medium, with an image on each side. Light would be shined onto the paintings, and the image would change based on the focus and intensity of the light.

Mina runs more than one mile after spotting Lucy.

In Stoker's notes, Mina saw the figure of a man or possibly a wolf over Lucy, which then seemed to fly.

Rather than Mina bringing a safety pin, Stoker's notes had Lucy find a brooch on the shore and put it on. She later mentions to both Mina and Jack that she must have pricked herself with the brooch.

A close is an entry or courtyard.

Lucy looks better the morning after her first encounter with Dracula. Dracula's next victim, however, will be pale, fatigued, and weepy after first encountering the vampire.

Louis Spohr was a composer, violinist, and conductor. He invented the violinist's chin rest, and helped to pioneer the use of the conductor's baton. Sir Alexander Campbell Mackenzie was also a conductor and violinist.

[charonnyxtides]

Can't imagine being Mina right now.

Arriving to her anticipated vacation, only to realise that her childhood friend is sick. Her condition is in fact worsening.

She's tasked by the mother to be Lucy's keeper. Her sleep schedule is ruined and it affects her nerves.

She makes a new friend while trying to distract herself from the fear of losing Jonathan. He's found dead.

A dead captain steering an empty ship arrives, making her even more worried about Jonathan's fate. She attends two funerals in a row.

And the same night after an extremely taxing day, she risks her life to save Lucy from a monster. She has to hide Lucy and her own nudity from a drunk local. She can't tell anyone.

She's stressed out of her mind, afraid, confused, mourning, with no family.

[allthebooksandcrannies]

One of the things that stands out to me about Mina's August 11th journal entry after reading Dracula a few times, is that it really is one of the few times someone sees a vampire draining someone and doesn't freeze or have to wait things out from a safe point.

Mina doesn't know that she's running towards a vampire, but she does know that something is standing over her vulnerable friend. She doesn't get caught in a trance, she doesn't freeze or try to scare him off from the safety and distance of the church grounds.

She sees someone or something hurting her friend and her instinctual reaction is to run towards the danger to save her. And, for now, it works.

I just adore her

[lucienvonziegler]

“The time and distance seemed endless, and my knees trembled and my breath came laboured as I toiled up the endless steps to the abbey”

[kaiserin-erzsebet]

I know I am a bit attached to the interpretation of Lucy as a person with chronic (and largely invisible) illness for personal reasons.

But I invite you to consider today's entry this way:

A genetic condition that she has had with varying severity since childhood flares up in a moment of stress. This condition renders her vulnerable, and she has no control over when it will happen. Despite a good support system (by which I mean Mina), someone with very bad intentions is able to take advantage of that condition to attack her when she's vulnerable.

While it's certainly not the only interpretation, I think it is a compelling one.

[treesaspen]

If it weren't for Mina being a witness to see a figure on Lucy and her tiny wounds, there'd have been no indication for us that Lucy was preyed on. Because after having a moment of clarity at night to beg Mina not to tell, in the morning she has no memory of it. In fact, she is feeling well and energetic. Lucy is isolated, plagued by dreams and confused, but the difference from Jonathan is that at least she has someone beside her to be able to validate what's going on.

[eosgeist]

she looks better this morning than she has done for weeks

So the morning after being fed on makes you look rejuvenated and stronger instead of weaker.

Interesting.

[treesaspen]

To be fair to Mina for not considering if the "man or beast" may have caused the tiny wounds on Lucy that were not there before that very moment, Jonathan didn't consider if the blood on Dracula's mouth may be his own despite so much pointing to that. They both do not connect the dots.