Dracula

Van Helsing and Seward return to Lucy’s home, where her mother says that she took down the garlic flowers during the night. When they are alone, Van Helsing is distraught. Lucy is nearly dead from blood loss. This time, Van Helsing provides the blood for the transfusion. Afterwards, Van Helsing tells Lucy’s mother that she can’t touch anything he puts in Lucy’s room. Four days pass, and Lucy improves.

An article from the Pall Mall Gazette tells the story of a wolf that escaped from a zoo. Inexplicably, the wolf returned the morning after its escape. When it returned, it was covered in flecks and shards of broken glass.

Renfield surprises Seward by escaping from his cell and rushing into Seward’s study with a knife. He cuts Seward’s wrist and then falls down as orderlies subdue him. On the floor, he licks the blood, saying, “The blood is the life!” (148).

Van Helsing sends a telegram telling Seward to be at Hillingham that night, but the telegram arrives twenty-two hours late. Lucy wakes in her bed on the night the wolf escaped. She hears howling from the grounds and the flapping noise is at her window again. Her mother enters the room just as a wolf’s head bursts through the glass. Lucy faints and her mother slumps over her on the bed.

Four servants enter and see that Mrs. Westenra is dead and Lucy is unconscious. They drink a glass of wine to calm their nerves, but the wine has been drugged and they also lose consciousness. Lucy wakes, and then hides the journal entry in which this event is recorded in the breast of her nightgown, hoping that whoever finds her will be able to find it and learn the truth about that night.

Seward writes that he and Van Helsing go to Hillingham. They find the unconscious maids, the body of Mrs. Westenra, and Lucy who is almost dead. The punctures on her neck are larger than before. Morris arrives and offers to give his blood for the transfusion, because Van Helsing and Seward cannot undergo another donation so soon. Holmwood joins them and his presence helps Lucy feel better.

Mina writes to Lucy to tell her about her wedding with Jonathan. She also tells her that Mr. Hawkins invited her and Jonathan to live with him.

Dr. Seward has an assistant named Hennessey. Hennessey writes that Renfield saw two men transporting boxes of earth. He escaped and attacked them before being subdued.

That night as Lucy sleeps, Seward notices that her teeth look sharp. A bat flaps at the window. Lucy is asleep, but she removes the garlic from her throat. When she wakes she pulls the garlic back to her. When Van Helsing arrives, he lifts the handkerchief from her throat. The wounds are gone. He says she is dying and to bring Holmwood.

Holmwood comes into the room and holds her hand. Lucy closes her eyes and her teeth grow longer. She opens her eyes and speaks in a different voice, begging Holmwood to kiss her. Van Helsing, sensing danger, drags him away and forbids him from kissing her. After Lucy dies, Van Helsing allows him to kiss her forehead.

Seward describes Van Helsing putting a crucifix in Lucy’s mouth and placing garlic in her coffin. He tells Seward that they have to cut Lucy’s head off and remove her heart. Seward doesn’t understand. The next day, someone steals the crucifix from Lucy’s coffin, delaying Van Helsing’s plan. Van Helsing asks a grieving Holmwood if he can look through Lucy’s papers for clues.

Mina writes that she and Harker were out for a walk when he saw a man he believes is Count Dracula. His shock is so great that he goes to sleep. When he wakes, he has no memory of the episode. Mina decides to read his journal.

That night Mina learns of Lucy’s death via telegram. A newspaper article follows the telegram. The story reports on several child abductions, all taking place near Lucy’s tomb. The children describe their captor as a “Bloofer Lady” (185). Each child has small puncture wounds on its neck.

Mina reads and transcribes Harker’s journal. When she meets with Van Helsing, she gives him the diary, understanding that it may help him understand Lucy’s death. Van Helsing reads the diary that night and returns it to them the next morning. He believes every word. His confidence helps Harker retrieve his memories of Castle Dracula. He now believes that Dracula is in England, and he begins a new journal.

Seward writes that Renfield is catching flies again. Van Helsing visits and shows Seward the article about the Bloofer Lady; he points out the pinpricks in the children’s throats. Seward doubts that there is a connection between Lucy and the article, but Van Helsing urges him to be open-minded and to “believe in things…that you cannot” (202). Van Helsing believes that Lucy is responsible for the punctures on the necks of the abducted children.

Seward worries that Van Helsing is insane, but he respects him and agrees to help him with his investigation. They visit one of the abducted children in a hospital and examine his neck. The child’s wounds are identical to those on Lucy’s neck.

That night, they visit Lucy’s tomb and open her coffin. It is empty. They hide outside in the churchyard and wait. Near dawn, Seward notices a white figure. It vanishes when they draw near, but they find that it dropped a child. The child has no marks on its throat. They were just in time. They take it to Hampstead Heath and leave it when they hear a policeman approaching.

They return to Lucy’s tomb the next day. They open the coffin and Lucy is there. She is beautiful again. Van Helsing pulls back her lips to show Seward the sharp teeth. He says that he will not kill her yet. Seward begins to believe Van Helsing, who repeats that they must cut off her head and drive a stake through her heart. They explain their plan to Holmwood and Morris. Holmwood is opposed to the desecration of Lucy’s body, but agrees to come to the graveyard with Van Helsing.