Chapters 8-10

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Chapters 8-10: Summary and Analysis

Here's a summary and an analysis of Chapters 8-10:

Plot summary

Whilst out sleepwalking near the Whitby clifftops, Lucy is bitten by Dracula.
Over the next few days, her condition deteriorates; when Seward is unable to determine the cause, he calls on his old mentor, Dr Abraham Van Helsing.

Finding Lucy

A 3 a.m diary entry from Mina details a mysterious “adventure” for her and Lucy.
Mina discovers Lucy along the edge of the clifftops, sat where she and Mina have previously enjoyed conversations with an elderly local sailor, Mr Swales.
The location and setting relate to the common Gothic convention, whereby it is the familiarity of the strange that is responsible for the terror that it can cause.

Sexual undertones

As with Jonathan’s encounter with the female-vampires, this scene carries clear sexual undertones, albeit masked by Mina’s innocent narration.
Mina describes Dracula as “something long and black, bending over the half-reclining figure”; after the Count has fled, Lucy breaths “in long, heavy gasps” - possibly denoting an orgasm.

Mina's concern for Lucy

The sexual undertones continue with Mina’s concern for her friend’s reputation should anyone discover her out of the house in nothing but her nightdress.
A woman’s virginal reputation was essential - especially for a girl of Lucy’s social standing.

Chapters 8-10: Analysis (Cont.)

Here's an analysis of Chapters 8-10:

Lucy's bite marks

Upon noticing two (bite) marks upon Lucy’s neck, Mina - as Seward will later in the novel when investigating Lucy’s illness and death - immediately seeks a rational explanation: she assumes she has caused it through being clumsy with a safety pin.
The symbolism of the red drop of blood - a tiny stain on Lucy’s white nightdress - acts as a precursor for her descent into vampirism and is a motif that will reoccur in Chapter 15.

Renfield and Dracula

Stoker establishes the connection between Renfield and Dracula.
This preempts the destructive consequences this will have for both him and Mina in Chapter 21 as he escapes the asylum, enters the grounds of the adjacent Carfax estate (which Dracula has purchased) and is found near its chapel door.
Renfield is in Dracula’s thrall, “I am here to do your bidding, Master” - a tragic pawn in the Count’s evil scheme.

Lucy's illness

Lucy’s fiance, Arthur Holmwood, writes to Seward to request his aid as Lucy has fallen ill. After examining her, he feels her condition is out of the field of his medical expertise.
Seward turns to his old friend and mentor, Abraham Van Helsing - “one of the most advanced scientists of his day.”

Van Helsing's knowledge

However, it is not Van Helsing’s scientific expertise that will prove to be so invaluable, but the fact that he is also a “philosopher and a metaphysician”.
Van Helsing’s knowledge of abstract concepts beyond the physical means he literally supersedes Seward and will provide the required insight into more superstitious, spiritual and supernatural matters.

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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