Chapters 19-20

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Chapters 19-20: Summary and Analysis

Here's a summary and an analysis of Chapters 19-20:

Plot summary

The band of heroes go to the Carfax estate, discussing Renfield on the way: Quincey Morris and Van Helsing suggest that were it left up to them, they may have freed Seward’s patient.
In the Carfax chapel, they discover 29 of Dracula’s 50 boxes of Earth that he had transported to England to provide him with multiple safe havens.

Setting - Carfax Chapel

Settings are pivotal to a successful Gothic novel and the description of the Carfax Chapel recalls the Transylvania-based Chapters from earlier in the novel.
The macabre sensory imagery, such as “a faint, malodorous air seemed to exhale through the gaps” and “an earthy smell, as of some dry miasma” is repellently evocative and anthropomorphic - reflecting the un-dead state of the Count.

Mina's dreams

In terms of form, the use of the epistolary format successfully creates tension and suspense with the events of Chapters 19 and 20 mostly taking place on 1 October.
Mina writes in her journal about having queer dreams, rather like Jonathan whilst he was in Eastern Europe, and the reader is now familiar with the supernatural abilities of the vampire to connect the “thin streak of white mist” to the Count.

Seward and the sleeping draught

In a parallel to Lucy’s maids, who were drugged with laudanum in Chapter 11, Seward provides Mina with a sleeping draught, leaving her susceptible to Dracula’s predation.

Jonathan's naivety

Giving what happened to Lucy, it seems strange that Jonathan overlooks the fact Mina looks tired and pale - again this reflects his naivety and unreliability as a narrator and helps create anticipation for the next Chapter.
This tension escalates when Seward, reflecting on the connection between Renfield and Dracula, hears a terrible scream emanating from Renfield’s room.

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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