 |
| Children and their "child brains" (painting by John Singer Sargent) |
Answer TWO of the following:
Q1: In Chapter 26, Mina remarks, “…it made me think of the
wonderful power of money! What can it not do when it is properly applied; and
what might it do when basely used.” In these final chapters of the novel, how
does money become a key element of the text? How do the vampire hunters use
money to foil Dracula’s plans? And how is he, too, consistently associated with
money?
Q2: How does Van Helsing develop his theories about Dracula’s
“child brain” and his “childish” character? How might this tie into the
then-emerging field of criminal psychology, as a way to reduce him to a safer ‘type’
rather than an undead, immortal monster? Consider his speech in Chapter 25
especially.
Q3: In Chapter 23, Mina urges her husband that killing Dracula, however
necessary, should not be “a work of hate.” She feels that even Dracula deserves
their pity, all the more since his curse is the work of centuries and knows no
end. Does the novel ultimately affirm her belief? Can even Dracula be granted
redemption? And if so, what might this suggest about Stoker’s ideas of good and
evil in the book, which initially seem to black and white?
Q4: For the first time in the book, Van Helsing is allowed
to tell the story in a series of Memorandums to Mina’s Journal. Why do you
think Stoker replaces Van Helsing with Seward (who begins writing less and
less)?
Q5: In Chapter 26, Dr. Van Helsing admits that “Our dear Madam Mina is once
more our teacher. Her eyes have seen where we were blinded.” Does the novel end
with a sense of a feminine vision (or authority) carrying the day? Or is she
yet again dismissed as one with a “man’s brain,” and a “woman’s heart”?
No comments:
Post a Comment