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

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 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 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'

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'?

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

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

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

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.

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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