Chapter 8 of Project Dracul Analysis delves into Mina Murray's journal entries, highlighting themes of foreshadowing, the "New Woman" concept, and the escalating supernatural influence of Dracula on Lucy Westenra, while also revealing Jonathan Harker's recovery and Renfield's increasing subservience to the Count.
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Welcome to chapter eight of project
Dracul Analysis.
Let's for this one continue our journey.
So chapter 8 opens with Mina Murray's journal.
journal.
Same day 11:00 p.m.
as it says there. I am tired. If I not
that I had made my diary a duty, I
should not open it tonight. Again,
another one of these self-referential
for Mina's character from Bram Stoker
there where it explains why she's
keeping these records so meticulously
when it might seem a little bit
far-fetched otherwise.
Then I thought this is quite fun here.
We had a lovely walk. Lucy after a while
was engaged spirits owing I think to
some dear cows who came nosing towards
us in a field close to the lighthouse
and frighten the wits out of us. Well,
it's obviously hyperbolic, but also
ironically foreshadows the real fear
Interestingly, there's a contextual
reference here for the new woman or to
the new woman, which is a late 19th
century, early 20th century cultural
shift where more women are doing more
jobs that were kind of previously
male only domains, women with more uh
kind of more progressive social
attitudes pushing ing boundaries that
earlier eras would have found shocking.
So really you've got
a lot of the DNA of the suffragette m
movement in the future as well in this
kind of idea. So it's very kind of very
much kind of connected at least in its
kind of early stage what we've got here.
So some of the new women writers will
someday start an idea that men and women
should be allowed to see each other
asleep before proposing or accepting.
But I suppose the new women won't
condescend in future to accept. She will
do the proposing herself. And a nice job
she will make of it too. So you can see
some like proto feminist ideas here
coming through at least for the
character of Mina. You can have a bit of
a debate thinking about think about it
yourself really. Is Stoker expecting us to
to
see Mina and Lucy as new women? Is he
expecting us to see Mina as a new woman
and Lucy is not as a new woman? Mina
herself doesn't think she's a new woman
as a character.
Are we not meant to see either of them
as new women? And that what does that
bring actually to the novel as well?
But it is interestingly like progressive
concept here. And ironically, yeah, it
foreshadows the future, but Stoker
wouldn't necessarily have realized that.
It's just that he's made a particular
prediction, hasn't he? There.
Then we have more references to Lucy sleepwalking,
sleepwalking,
which is
been a recurring theme so far. And we
said about liinal spaces and
sleepwalking between awake and being asleep.
asleep.
Then we have, thank God I said to
myself, she cannot be far as she is only
in her night dress. I do wonder if some
of these references to the women
undressing and what they're wearing in
bed is meant to be a kind of fruity
sizing exciting reference for Victorian
readers. It's another example of the
what would have been seen as the edgy
nature of the novel in the time as it
would have been more challenging established
established Victorian
Victorian
propriety morality a lot of the time
because of the the horrific nature of it
but also there is this sexual element to
the novel as well and the way it's
written here isn't necessarily
sexualized but I think it could be
interpreted in that way and maybe Stoke
was thinking
thinking of that
then we have
the reference to the favorite seat,
which we've already seen in previous
chapters, seems to be near where
Dracula's got his temporary
tomb. Well, it's not really a tomb as
such, but his temporary resting place in
the daytime so he can recharge his
vampire batteries.
The coming of the cloud, which is where
she finds, sorry, this is where she
finds Lucy. The coming of the clan was
too quick for me to see much, for shadow
shut down on light almost immediately.
But it seemed to me as though something
dark stood behind the where the white
figure shone. So Lucy is there and she's
actually mean doesn't realize it
obviously at this stage, but she's
For I was now close enough to
distinguish it even through the spells
of shadow. There was undoubtedly
something long and black bending over
the half reclining white figure. They
called in fright, "Lucy, Lucy." And
something raised her head. And for I
was, I could see a white face and red
gleaming eyes. So, there's alexis of
uncertainty here. It's not clear exactly
what she's seeing, but you can see
we know dramatic irony that it's
actually Dracula.
When I bent over, I could see that she
was still asleep. Her lips were parted
as she was breathing not softly as usual
with her, but in long heavy gas as
though striving to get her lungs full at
every breath.
So I think with that there are some
deliberate sexual connotations there as
well. So Lucy's heavy breathing is meant
to suggest I won't spell it out for you
for YouTube purposes. You can you can
fill in the gaps again if that's uh yeah
if I can say that. So you can work that
out yourselves, but it does seem to have
definitely there's some sexual
connotations here with Dracula's
encounter having just passed.
Okay, so we have
uh fortune favored us. We got home
without meeting a soul. So yeah, this is
where Mina has to get Lucy home in her
night dress and there's some concerns about
about
again Victorian propriety. She's going
to be seen out and about in a night
dress. So Victorian culture would think
maybe something saucy has been going on.
Once we saw a man who seemed not quite
sober. So there's a little bit of
looties there is an understatement. So
there's a drunken man doesn't see them and
and
So, she gets back home completely
without being spotted. There's only this
drunk man who didn't notice.
There's again dramatic irony. I was
sorry to notice that my clumsiness with
a safety pin hurt her. Indeed, it might
have been serious with the skin of her
throat was pierced and I have pinched up
a piece of loose skin and have
transfixed it for her. Two little red
points like pin pricks
and on the band of her nightress was a
drop of blood. Hm. What could that be?
So dramatic irony, but again Stoke has
got this theme of uh when when we
encounter things we don't understand or
things on the edge of known science and experience,
experience,
there's a tendency for a lot of people
actually I suppose in real life a lot of
people go either way, don't they really?
People will sometimes jump to a
supernatural or paranormal explanation
and then other people will do everything
they can to try and rationalize
something that seems more mysterious and
unusual. But sometimes that more
rational way of thinking is so unlikely.
It seems completely implausible. And I
think that's what we've got happening
here. It would be it's not even
possible, but it's extremely unlikely
for to get like two pin pricks like that
right kind of distance apart with with a
safety pin. Just seems Yeah, bit
farfetched, doesn't it? But again, it's
dry m dry dramatic irony. So, I merged
the two words together there.
Then uh she seemed even in her sleep to
be a little impatient at finding the
door shut and went back to bed under a
sort of protest. So that was when she
was sleepwalking again.
Also there's a spotting of a great bat
between me and the moonlight fitted a
great bat coming and going in great
whirling circles. So again the no this
is Dracula and it's dramatic irony again
as well.
And the abbey is obviously where he's resting.
resting.
Then there's more
or further references to
Lucy having seen Dracula. His red eyes
again, they're just the same. So, as the
sun's setting and they're near the
abbey, Dracula's influence is presumably
starting to affect Lucy straight away.
It was such an odd expression coming out
propo of nothing that it's quite
startled me. So, it's almost again a
liinal space almost hypnotic,
trancelike, isn't it? as well. She
appeared to be looking over at her own
seat, where on was a dark figure seated alone.
The stranger had great eyes like burning
flames, but a second look dispelled the
illusion. So again, you've got more
dramatic irony. It's a big theme of this
chap. Well, not big theme, big technique
of this chapter. And then again this
rationalization of something that's
actually supernatural but it's being
rationalized in a way that doesn't
really make sense when we know well what
we know as the reader as well.
Uh St. Mary Church behind a seat has a
sun dip. There was just sufficient
change in the refraction and reflection
to make it appear as if the light moved
you know so it's being rationalized. It
is actually Dracula's evil red eyes glowing
glowing
then. I didn't have too much to say
about this
page, but you've got about Lucy's
health. She eats well and sleeps well,
enjoys the fresh air, but all the time
the roses in her cheeks are fading. She
gets weaker and more languid day by day.
At night, I hear her gasping as if for
air. I keep the key of our door always
fastened to my wrist at night, but she
gets up and walks about the room and
sits at the open window. So, that links
back to what we said earlier on as well.
But even this not just the sexual
element of it but also the limonality
and the sleepwalking
which we've mentioned before. I trust
her feeling ill may not be from the
unlucky prick of the safety pin really
want to say well duh.
So again but it's all about Stoke
building suspense isn't he? As well we
know Dracula's there. We know this
danger is approaching and we've got
these two vulnerable women and Lucy is
particularly more vulnerable at the
moment because she seems to be under
Dracula's spell and becoming more and
more under his influence. And it's the
classic horror or gothic horror trope of
women in danger, isn't it? And it's all
like horror films will generally have
like young women in danger. It's just
part of the genre.
So then we have another part of the
epistoy form switching here to a letter
from the solicitors. And this is all
written in kind of much more formal
business language as well. It's more
definitely different to the personal
style that we've just seen with Lucy.
And again, Stoker very able at shifting
between the different styles. But this
is really just adding context about
Dracula's arrangements are having all
those boxes of earth moved around which
is where he wants them to go. And then
just basically that these are being um
the instructions and the parcels are
being delivered.
So parcels the packages the crates
then more references to Lucy's health
And we have more references to animals.
A fish leapt as I went by and I leaned
over to look at it and I heard a lot of
dogs howling. The whole town seemed as
if it must be full of dogs all howling
at once as I went up the steps.
Again, another link of Dracula to
animals, dogs howling.
Then I had a vague memory of something
long and dark with red eyes just as we
saw in the sunset and something very
sweet and very bitter all around me at
once. Then I seemed sinking into deep
green water. There was a singing in my ears.
ears.
So this is all Lucy recounting her
nocturnal wanderings. She's sort of half vaguely
vaguely remembering.
And in case you've forgotten about him,
the 19th of August, Stoker includes another
another
journal entry here. Joy, joy, joy,
although not all joy.
There's an exclamatory sentence there.
And epizukis as well on that bit. At
last, news of Jonathan, the dear fellow
has been ill and that is why he did not
write. So we finally find out what's
happening to him and he's being looked
after by sister Agatha Hospital of St. Joseph.
Joseph.
St. Mary Budapest to Miss Willamina
Murray. So anyway, Sister Agatha and
it's a convent and they're looking after
Jonathan Harker after his experiences
with DRA. Well, you could say the
Sorry about that. So anyway, there's
Sister Angther.
Then we have a reference to in his
delirium. His ravings have been dreadful
of wolves and poison and blood, ghosts
and demons. It's a nice synetic list
there as well. And I fear to say of what
be careful with him always that there
may be nothing to excite him of this
kind for a long time to come.
So Harper is clearly being presented
here by Stoker as having been
And then talking about mental health, it
then Stoker then moves to Dr. Diary
where we're gonna find out about
Remfield again, what crazy shenanigans
he's been getting up to. Uh about 8:00
he began to get excited and sniff about
as a dog does when setting. So more you
know zumorphing, so zumorphic
referencing or zum use of zumorphism
where we have Remfield being likened to
a dog there or actually it's a simile as
well, isn't it? I don't want to talk to
you. You don't count now. The master is
at hand.
Okay, we know who the master is. So,
dramatic irony there. It looks like
religious mania. And again, this
actually links to a lot of the themes of
this chapter in terms of or one of the
themes of the chapter where Mina has
been rationalizing supernatural things.
We as the readers are more we're
actually more aware of what's going on
than the characters who are actually
within the story themselves. So again,
it's more dramatic irony. We know, we
know what's going on. We know it's not a
religious mania,
but again, sew it as a scientific mind
is rationalizing it.
Then he doesn't care about his little
animals anymore that he was eating.
Spiders are present or his hobby and the
notebook is filling up with columns of
small figures. And we mention about
numbers and numerology and the there is
there is a mystical quality to
numbers. And there's a weird this kind
of a weird idea like pages of numbers
that don't mean anything to other people then.
then.
So this is actually really interesting.
This is Stoker's got Remfield here
deliberately inverting a reference to
the Bible. And I say it's inverted
because there's seeing instead of
hearing reference and also um there's a
gender swap as well here about the
coming of the bride.
So what you have is actually Remfield is
seeing himself as a John the Baptist
type figure where he's preparing for the
arrival not of Christ but effectively
the antichrist as Dracula as so he's
it's a very clever inversion
he would not explain himself but
remained obstinately seated on his bed
all the time I remained with him
there's also reference to him escaping
as well so Remfield builds now escapes.
I love this line. Chasing an errant
swarm of bees is nothing to following a
naked lunatic when fit of escaping is
upon him. I'm sure Dr. Seid is right
about that. I'm sure that is difficult.
But again, more zumorphism as well.
Then Remfield has this great line of I
am here to do your bidding, master. I am
your slave and you will reward me for I
shall be faithful. I have worshiped you
long and a far off. Now that you are
near, I await your commands and you will
not pass me by, will you, dear master,
in your distribution of good things. And
of course, good things is ironic because
Drau is obviously evil and Roomfield is
hoping to get some of this evil power
from him as well.
When we closed in on him, he fought like
a tiger. So, another animal reference,
more zumorphism, and it's another simile
as well.
Then Jack Shepard. It's a little
cultural reference that Victorian
readers would would get because I think
he was actually from the previous
century, but I'm not 100% sure about
that. But it doesn't matter so much as
Victorian readers would get it. And he
was a notorious prisoner who kept
escaping. Jack Shepard, that's the
that's the main reason for that
reference there as well. Straight waste
coat is what we call straight jackets in
modern times. So that's a bit of archaic
lexis there.
I shall be patient, master. It is
coming, coming, coming.
So, [snorts] you can think of Remfield
anticipating the arrival of Dracula.
So, I took the hint
and came to. I was too excited to sleep,
but this diary is quiet to me, and I
feel I shall get some sleep tonight. I
think this again is ironically
foreshadowing the dark times that are
ahead for these characters. Anyway,
thank you very much for listening. I
hope you enjoyed that. Check out all the
other ones. Like, subscribe. Got more
and more videos now. And uh thanks again
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