Chapters 21-23

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Chapters 21-23: Summary and Analysis

Here's a summary and an analysis of Chapters 21-23:

Plot summary

Renfield invites Dracula into the asylum before being fatally assaulted by the Count.
The men discover Dracula forcing Mina to drink his blood and - later that day - confront him in his Piccadilly residence.

Brutality of Renfield's injuries

In a novel of shocking moments, the brutality of Renfield’s injuries “lying on the floor on his left side in a glittering pool of blood” shows the full extent of Dracula’s strength that, up to now, has only been hinted at.
His callous disregard for Renfield, who, in inviting the Count into Seward’s asylum, has now served his purpose, is a more violent and - possibly - more extreme version of the vampires’ disregard for human life.

Dracula and Mina

And yet, the graphic depiction of Renfield’s assault is merely the precursor for the sight Seward and Van Helsing witness in the Harkers’ room: Dracula “forcing [Mina’s] face down on his bosom. Her white nightdress was smeared with blood, and a thin stream trickled down the man’s bare breast which was shown by his torn-open dress.”
This scene is laden with sexual imagery, at a time when sex was a highly taboo topic, cementing the vampire as a hostile threat to all that Victorian society deemed proper.

The Baptism of Blood

Matthew Lewis’ propensity to shock and disgust his readers in The Monk has led to some critics to term Gothic ‘horror’ as the ‘Male Gothic’.
The Baptism of Blood, as Van Helsing later terms this awful ritual, featuring a ruthless, aggressive male character forcing his will on an innocent, married woman - all whilst her husband is present, staining her honour and reputation - is another prime example of this.

Dracula's dialogue

For the first time since the first phase of the novel in Transylvania, Stoker includes some dialogue for his antagonist.
He threatens Mina “Silence! If you make a sound I shall take him and dash his brains out before your very eyes” before “refreshing” himself with her blood.

The Count - the Sublime

Mina’s sense of bewilderment and the fact that she “did not want to hinder” Dracula represents the Count as almost the physical embodiment of the Sublime - he is dangerous, terrifyingly so, and yet there is something attractive or seductive about his power to Mina.
A religious reading may associate this with Lucifer and the tempting of Eve in the Garden of Eden.

Chapters 21-23: Analysis (Cont.)

Here's an analysis of Chapters 21-23:

Tainting of Mina's innocence

Like Lucy before her, Mina’s innocence has been literally and symbolically tainted; unlike Lucy, she seems much more self-aware and distressed by the fall.
Whilst Lucy’s carefree, playful attitude towards men was - arguably - the cause of her descent in vampirism, Mina is fiercely loyal to her one love, Jonathan, and feels that the sexual overtones of her encounter with Dracula have left her “Unclean! Unclean!”

Parallel - Mina and Dracula

A parallel between Mina and Dracula is created when the holy wafer placed on Mina’s forehead “burned the flesh as though it had been a piece of white hot metal”.
She now has a matching scar, like the one Jonathan gave the Count as he slept in his box of Earth.
The matching scars reflect the conceit of the novel’s final act: there is both a physical and spiritual connection between Mina and Dracula, perhaps giving him the advantage over Van Helsing in the battle for Mina’s soul.

Sexual overtones of Baptism

The sexual overtones of the Baptism of Blood also make Jonathan - symbolically - a cuckold, especially in light of Mina’s strange willingness to not prevent the Count from drinking her blood.
Desperate to enact revenge on Dracula, Jonathan states “I care for nothing now, except to wipe out this brute from the face of creation.”
Whilst Dracula is unquestionably the villain of this novel, Stoker does not present the forces of ‘good’ and ‘evil’ as being binary.

Parallels - Dracula and opponents

On numerous occasions, Stoker presents parallels between Dracula and his opponents - in Jonathan’s case it is the fact he suggests he “would sell my soul to do it!” - hardly the words befitting someone claiming to be acting in God’s name out to eradicate evil.
In Chapter 23, Jonathan attempts to enact his revenge, striking at Dracula with his “great Kukri knife” - a significantly phallic symbol as Harker seeks to reassert his masculinity upon his wife’s assailant.

Task revealed: save Mina

Following the Count’s escape, owing to his “diabolical quickness”, the true nature of the task facing the heroes is revealed: they are short on time and must save Mina before she dies and joins the legions of the un-dead.
In a possible allusion to Tennyson’s ‘Charge of the Light Brigade (1856), foreshadowing a noble sacrifice (made by Quincey Morris), Van Helsing says it's imperative the heroes locate Count Dracula “even if we have to follow him to the jaws of Hell!”.

1Context - Gothic Literature

1.1Origins & Conventions of Gothic Literature

1.1.1Origins of Gothic Literature

1.1.2Key Ideas in Gothic Literature

1.1.3Gothic Genre Conventions in Dracula

1.2Vampires in Gothic Literature

1.2.1Vampires

1.3'Terror' & 'Horror'

1.3.1Ann Radcliffe & Lewis' The Monk

1.3.2'Terror' & 'Horror' in Dracula

1.4Narrative Features

1.4.1First-Person Narration & Epistolary Format

2Context - The Victorian Era

2.1The Victorian Era

2.1.1Fin de Siecle

2.1.2The 'New Woman'

2.1.3The Contagious Diseases Act

3Chapter Summaries & Analyses

3.1Chapter Summaries & Analyses

3.1.1Chapters 1-2

3.1.2Chapters 3-4

3.1.3Chapters 5-7

3.1.4Chapters 8-10

3.1.5Chapters 11-12

3.1.6Chapters 13-14

3.1.7Chapters 15-16

3.1.8Chapters 17-18

3.1.9Chapters 19-20

3.1.10Chapters 21-23

3.1.11Chapters 24-25

3.1.12Chapters 26-27

4Character Profiles

4.1Archetypal Gothic Characters

4.1.1Stock & Proppian Gothic Characters

4.2Count Dracula

4.2.1Count Dracula: Character Profile

4.2.2Count Dracula: Different Literary Perspectives

4.3Other Main Characters

4.3.1Jonathan Harker

4.3.2Dr Abraham Van Helsing

4.3.3Dr Jack Seward

4.3.4Mina Harker

4.3.5Lucy Westenra

4.4Minor Characters

4.4.1Arthur Holmwood & Quincey Morris

4.4.2Renfield

5Key Ideas

5.1Key Ideas

5.1.1Transgression of Boundaries

5.1.2The Supernatural & Un-dead

5.1.3Masculinity & Femininity

5.1.4Science, Modernity & Superstition

5.1.5Madness, Illness & Confinement

6Writing Techniques

6.1Writing Techniques

6.1.1Epistolary Form & Narrative Voice

6.1.2Intertextuality & Cultural References

6.1.3Structure

7Critical Debates & Interpretations

7.1Initial Reception of Dracula

7.1.1Initial Reception of Dracula

7.2Modern Reception of Dracula

7.2.1Modern Reception of Dracula

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