Everyone knows the story of Dracula, or at least they think they do.
You may have watched several movies “about” dracula or read books that mention him…. but have you read the original? The classic Dracula by Bram Stoker?
***Possible Spoilers Ahead***
I recently just finished. I’m not going to lie, it was long and boring. Had I been around when this book was first written, you know 1897, I would have loved it, I’m sure.
However, having read it in 2019 I just… I don’t know. I didn’t not like it, it was just boring. This is what stood out to me most, or at least what I was thinking during my reading:
- Blood transfusions.. while started in 1628, or round about there, how did they know that their blood would work for poor Lucy? I guess they figured it wouldn’t hurt….
- Van Helsing is way overrated. He doesn’t actually kill a vampire until 97% of the way through the book.
- They all, particularly Van Helsing, talk way to damn much.
- If they stopped “beating around the bush” and just said what they mean, a lot of stuff could have been avoided.
- Mina is the greatest character in the book.
- Where is Dracula? He barely made an appearance. With all the hype, I figured he would have been more active in the book.
- What is the deal with the sister wives?
- Dracula actually said “blah.” That is the best.
- Wtf. That ending!
Let me explain some of those a bit more.
Dracula is really only in the first few chapters, and he’s gross. Then he’s gone for a bit, then randomly appears and then he’s dead. No real big struggle or anything. Major let down.
I’m glad he wasn’t sparkling or forever young and handsome, that the blood of his victims kept him young. That’s what vampires are supposed to be. Scary. Monsters.
Seriously. Van Helsing. The rest of then. Shut up. Say what you mean and move on. Maybe pay better attention while you’re at it. How did you not know Mina was Dracula’s latest meal?
Speaking of Mina. Her husband is ill after returning from Transylvania, her best friend died, she is a vampires dinner and is turning into a vampire, but still stands tall. She is by far the strongest character in the book and the most likeable. I can see how all those men loved her in some way.
Abraham Van Helsing, as I have known him [before reading Dracula] is a hack. He doesn’t kill the first vampire and again doesn’t do any real action until 97% of the way through the book when he almost backs out. And it wasn’t Dracula! It was the sister wives, the second time we meet them in the book. Van helsing doesn’t kill Dracula!! Johnathan and Quincey do! Like I said, Van Helsing is totally overrated and half a hack.
All that being said, I loved the way it was written from everyone’s POV via journal entries and the like. Definitely a classic horror story. I plan on finding the sequel, Dracula the Undead, by Bram Stoker’s nephew Dacre Stoker as well as figuring around where Alucard comes in at (that’s supposedly Dracula’s son, in case you didn’t know).
Have you read this cult classic? What are you thoughts??
-C
Books with a Chance of Traveling 
Personally I viewed less as a monster story and more of an exploration of humanity, and it’s many facets. I think you gave Hellsing a bad rap, he’s not some monster hunter, he’s just a doctor who’s been around and heard plenty of stories.
I enjoyed it, though it can get wordy and their idiocy in not noticing the multiple nights of Mina annoyed me, but overall I can’t think of a character I didn’t enjoy.
Jonathan is a paragon of will, seeing through his fight even when most people would be paralised by fear.
Mina is similarly brave, and wants nothing more than the happiness of those she cares about, and will do whatever it takes to achieve that.
The three men that loved lucy were like a perfect trio of manly men, there’s the honourable noble, the badboy foreigner, and the academic doctor, all of whom are strong friends, and showcase the strength of character they’ll need to carry on. That said, they have their moments of vulnerability, the husband is distraught upon his wife’s death, and her subsequent re-death, Quincy becomes jittery and a little unfocused, despite his incredibly strong brave face, and the doctor lost himself in his work in order to take his mind away.
Ironically the person I felt had the least character was lucy, although that could have been because she spent the majority of the book either dead or dying, though one has to respect she did her best in trying to protect her mother from her condition. Though her mother probably killed her with her actions.
Hellsing was essentially the linchpin for the entire operation, without him the two groups would never have gotten together, his research allowed them to defeat the creatures to begin with, and it was his moral conviction that allowed them all to see through the charade and defeat the monsters without giving in. And this is despite the fact that he wasn’t immune, when at the castle he was clearly effected by the wives and Mina’s transformation, but he continues regardless.
And then there’s Dracula, the man, the myth, the monster. He is by far the most interesting of them all in my opinion. He is an eternal being, and childlike in mind, resilient and spiteful. He grew tired of his toys in Romania, and longed for something more, a point which his wives mock him for, despite his taking care of them. And so he seeks to travel for England, to take over a new land, and see if he can find what he is missing. But once their all he finds is pain and defeat, so he lashes out, punishing the men in the harshest way he knows how, by turning one of the women they love and fleeing, so they cannot turn her back easily. Yet this arrogance is his downfall, as if he had ran without hitting back, the men may not have chased him, and he may have survived to plan his return.
And in the end, when he is defeated, he smiles. He smiles as his centuries old torment finally comes to a close, and the monstrous affliction he bears is lifted from him, revealing the statesman from before, who sacrificed his family, his dignity, his humanity, and his life for his country. And he is grateful to be saved.
I love this book, not as a shallow process of events, but as a character study of the greatest and the worst of humanity, and that even the most despicable of people hold a shimmer of hope within them, even if they need to be defeated for it to shine through.
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i am currently excerpting the great classic on my blog every Saturday night – as night story for adults (lol). Dracula, to me, is not boring at all but addictive and the style of the book amazes me for being written in 16 something. Reads almost like a modern gothic tale. I love it!!! thanks for sharing anyway.
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