3.1.6

Chapters 13-14

Test yourself on Chapters 13-14

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Chapters 13-14: Summary and Analysis

Here's a summary and an analysis of Chapters 13-14:

Plot summary

Plot summary

  • In death, Lucy’s beauty seems to return and Seward struggles to accept Van Helsing’s explanation that she has become a vampire.
  • Back in London with Mina, Jonathan catches sight of a younger, rejuvenated Count Dracula in Piccadilly.
Seward's narration

Seward's narration

  • Seward’s prominence as a narrator is key to this part of the novel where his scientific beliefs are shaken, and Van Helsing urges him to accept more a superstitious or mystical outlook.
  • The two doctors engage in a debate over the case of Lucy’s death although, without sufficient “data on which to found a conjecture”, Seward is at a loss to explain what happened.
Van Helsing urging Seward

Van Helsing urging Seward

  • Van Helsing is patient, although it is clear he is urging Seward to suspend his own disbelief.
  • The perception of scientific discoveries as being heretical (“there are things done today in electrical science, which would have been deemed unholy by the very men who discovered electricity – who would themselves not so long before have been burned as wizards”) is a pertinent argument - especially in light of the theory (and initial reception) of Darwin’s evolutionary discoveries in the Victorian era.
Elements of Gothic 'horror'

Elements of Gothic 'horror'

  • The novel also begins to channel aspects of Gothic ‘horror’ as Van Helsing bluntly states how “I want to cut off her head and take out her heart.”
  • This would not acceptable language for Victorian gentlemen such as Seward and Arthur, yet as a ‘foreigner’, heralding from Amersham, Van Helsing is not accountable to such etiquette.

Chapters 13-14: Analysis (Cont.)

Here's an analysis of Chapters 13-14:

Mina - 'new woman'?

Mina - 'new woman'?

  • In Mina’s meeting with Van Helsing, Stoker perhaps shows his support to the concept of the ‘new woman’ as the newly-married Mrs Harker makes a copy of Jonathan’s journal.
Light and religious symbolism

Light and religious symbolism

  • The light and religious symbolism used by Van Helsing when referring to Mina establish the dualistic conflict between good and evil that is at the heart of the novel’s narrative.
  • Mina is one of “God’s women” - unequivocally a force for good.
  • In contaminating her later in the novel with the ‘Baptism of Blood’, Dracula serves a symbolic proxy for Satan, endeavouring to corrupt as many heavenly souls as possible.
Class system - Lucy

Class system - Lucy

  • The differing presentations of Lucy (and her vampire-state) and Mina may also be a reflection of attitudes towards the class system.
  • From a Marxist perspective, Lucy belongs to the privileged upper classes, similar to the aristocracy who was removed from power during the French Revolution of the 18th century.
Class system - Mina

Class system - Mina

  • Mina, as a working woman, makes a more telling and valuable contribution to society - to which the band of heroes could be seen to act as a microcosm for.
  • This may also explain why, at the end of the novel, Mina is cured of her vampiric-taint, whilst Lucy can only be saved through her death.
Jump to other topics
1

Context - Gothic Literature

1.1

Origins & Conventions of Gothic Literature

1.1.1Origins of Gothic Literature1.1.2Key Ideas in Gothic Literature1.1.3Gothic Genre Conventions in Dracula
1.2

Vampires in Gothic Literature

1.2.1Vampires
1.3

'Terror' & 'Horror'

1.3.1Ann Radcliffe & Lewis' The Monk1.3.2'Terror' & 'Horror' in Dracula
1.4

Narrative Features

1.4.1First-Person Narration & Epistolary Format
2

Context - The Victorian Era

2.1

The Victorian Era

2.1.1Fin de Siecle2.1.2The 'New Woman'2.1.3The Contagious Diseases Act
3

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

3.1

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

3.1.1Chapters 1-23.1.2Chapters 3-43.1.3Chapters 5-73.1.4Chapters 8-103.1.5Chapters 11-123.1.6Chapters 13-143.1.7Chapters 15-163.1.8Chapters 17-183.1.9Chapters 19-203.1.10Chapters 21-233.1.11Chapters 24-253.1.12Chapters 26-27
4

Character Profiles

4.1

Archetypal Gothic Characters

4.1.1Stock & Proppian Gothic Characters
4.2

Count Dracula

4.2.1Count Dracula: Character Profile4.2.2Count Dracula: Different Literary Perspectives
4.3

Other Main Characters

4.3.1Jonathan Harker4.3.2Dr Abraham Van Helsing4.3.3Dr Jack Seward4.3.4Mina Harker4.3.5Lucy Westenra
4.4

Minor Characters

4.4.1Arthur Holmwood & Quincey Morris4.4.2Renfield
5

Key Ideas

5.1

Key Ideas

5.1.1Transgression of Boundaries5.1.2The Supernatural & Un-dead5.1.3Masculinity & Femininity5.1.4Science, Modernity & Superstition5.1.5Madness, Illness & Confinement
6

Writing Techniques

6.1

Writing Techniques

6.1.1Epistolary Form & Narrative Voice6.1.2Intertextuality & Cultural References6.1.3Structure
7

Critical Debates & Interpretations

7.1

Initial Reception of Dracula

7.1.1Initial Reception of Dracula
7.2

Modern Reception of Dracula

7.2.1Modern Reception of Dracula

Practice questions on Chapters 13-14

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  1. 1
    Who does Lucy represent from a Marxist reading of the novel?Multiple choice
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Chapters 11-12

Chapters 15-16