@fred-erick-frankenstein / fred-erick-frankenstein.tumblr.com
because i cannot tell in he tags, is jack with mina in the picture?
thank you for the ask!! yes he is with Mina here; my interpretation of the scene where he meets Mina for the first time at the train station and gets all embarrassed because he knows that she knows all about Lucy rejecting him 😔 My design of Mina is Asian too, hence their little chatter in Chinese!
Obsessed with you Dracula beauty and the beast au! Who are your top 5 favorite dracula characters?
Thank you very much, kind anon (and many apologies for all the months I've kept you waiting for a real answer). We still have stuff planned for that AU, but Em has been hella busy lately running conventions and recovering from covid and all that, and so things end up on the backburner longer than they really should.
Now, if you're asking me for my favourite characters in any version of Dracula, the top spot can only go to Peter Cushing's Van Helsing(s) from the Hammer Dracula films (a quick glance at my Peter Cushing tag will make this pretty hard to deny). But if we're talking Stoker's original Dracula novel, then VH is not even going to make the top 5.
So, without further ado:
1. Mina Murray/Harker Dracula is an ensemble novel, and Mina is neither the first nor the most vocal of our narrators, but there are ways in which it feels more like her story than any other single character's ‒ and I love Mina. Aggressively sensible and practical even in the face of horror, but still human enough to take the reader through a full roller coaster of emotional whammies, Mina is the kind of heroine you just don't get in gothic novels of the era ‒ or even most of the following century, sad to say. Even if the other characters' little Mina-appreciation-society thing gets a bit OTT towards the end of the book, it's not like they're wrong to appreciate her ‒ and I can only dream there might someday be a single adaptation of Dracula that really does her justice.
That said, there is a damn good Mina in the bizarre-by-excellent 2002 silent-film-ballet adaptation, Pages from a Virgin's Diary, played by CindyMarie Small. But my favourite 'Mina' from any adaptation would have to be Kate Nelligan from Universal's (WOEFULLY under-appreciated) 1979 Dracula, which is ironic for a number of reasons, not least of which that this is one of those adaptation which have swapped the names and spend the film calling her 'Lucy'. Getting back to the list, though, it probably won't surprise you to find that the two other characters who love Mina best take out spots 2 and 3.
talking with friends in the ol dracula daily chat and:
jonathan cares SO MUCH for mina in today's entry. we know what's going on, we see mina's side, but jonathan is trying so hard to keep her well and safe and he's been told that the way to do that is to not tell her what's going on. his train of thought is just "aw man it goes against every fiber of my being not to share everything with mina but she's already not feeling well, i'd hate to make her feel worse"
it also made me realize what's going on with the harkers and why jonathan agreed to exclude mina in the first place. they were lonely when they were apart and unstoppable as a team, but now that other people (and jonathan's peers, no less) are a part of the dracula team, the harker duo has been defeated by a terrible foe: Social Norms And Expectations.
they're victorians! there are so many social rules all the time and it's nigh impossible to break them, especially if you're higher up on the social ladder! it is Simply Not Done. jonathan has been absorbed (awkwardly) into the boys' club and is competent and can go along with it, but he clearly doesn't enjoy mina's exclusion. mina doesn't enjoy being excluded, and misses hanging out with jonathan, but the Token Woman trope for a team-up of adventurers hasn't been invented yet. this is also why jonathan considers sending her home to Exeter: if the wife goes home, she'll be happier, right? they're both trying very hard to do what society tells them they should be content doing.
(obviously there's a gay way to read this—something something compulsory heterosexuality—but I'll get back to you)
I read some great meta a few entries ago about how jonathan enjoys mostly female society and this is his first time being in this kind of boy's club. i've posted before about jonathan's role in the female gothic trope (the victim in the castle, the dramatic sufferer of victorian novel disease). right now we're seeing him, by being brought into the wider circle of male characters, do his best to make a turn-about into conforming with them (both from an authorial standpoint, as in how stoker writes him, and from a character standpoint).
jonathan declares that when van helsing brings him into confidence re: dracula, he's curned from his Victorian Novel Disease. brain fever who? now jonathan's running around doing solicitor things, paying small bribes and getting information from lower-class men (as we have seen various (male) News Correspondents do so far). He goes with the boys as they mimic Dr. Seward and observe Renfield; he goes with the boys as they follow Van Helsing into the gamut of vampire fighting. Notably, Jonathan's ill-fitting adoption into the group is notable in the way Seward forgets to introduce him to Renfield.
At the same time as he makes this turn, Mina, who has been critical in figuring out what's going on, is pushed into a more traditionally female role in the proceedings. the boys can't clue her in on things. Why? Perhaps they're all still scarred from what happened to Lucy—three lovers, doing what they wish they could have for their loved one and trying to keep her far away from danger. But also, when you have a Boy's Club For Fighting Vampires, you can't just have one of the boys' wives hanging out with you. Mina becomes the wife waiting at home for their triumphant return, watching through the windows, not unlike the women Jonathan once imagined might have lived in the nicer apartments at castle Dracula.
the harkers, as tumblr's favorites, have of course had queer labels bestowed on them in interpretation (not that i'm against that). their attempts to ascribe to the social norms expected of them, and seeming inability to do so successfully, speaks to me to a very similar experience that many queer people have in this day and age, trying to fit into a heterosexual, cis framework of life. while it's possible to LOOK like they're getting it right—as a m/f couple they can at least look the part—queer readers understand that the novel can only make real breakthroughs when they give up trying to pretend; when jonathan is free to include mina in his thoughts and knowledge, and when mina is free to contribute and be taken seriously by the group.
Goth girls love trains
True love was thought to exist only in theory until it was finally discovered in the late 19th century by Mina Murray and her beau Jonathan Harker.¹
1. Bram Stoker, Dracula (Archibald Constable and Company, 1897), 1-418.
I was surprised at how young Mina comes across in today’s letter. Not from immaturity, but just…personality? She’s like 22 here and you can hear that vivacity and freshness!
The “just like lady journalists!” line is what especially hit me. It’s so starry-eyed, and even though she hasn’t chosen that way of life for herself, it has this “when I grow up!” tone to it.
And then of course her resolution to keep a journal and practicing all these new skills conveys that eager energy to Get Life Organized that feels very early-20’s.
And then of course the wistful “I wish we were daydreaming together” and “TELL ME THE GOSSIP, GIRL!!”
We all know how young and fresh Jonathan sounds in his entries, but it isn’t some mismatch with someone far more mature than him. They’re both just so young, eager and hardworking (overworking) and excited and nervous for the life they’ll have together, and completely unprepared for the horrors around the corner.
(via @drac-kool-aid )
Less “coming of age is when you start having crushes” (tired, amatonormative) more “coming of age is early 20’s horrors beaten by the power of friendship and document review” (realistic, relatable, bisexual)
[ID: a screenshot of several tags: Jonathan Harker. Re: Dracula. Dracula is actually a coming of age novel. But like instead of teenagers it's just what being in your early 20s is like. Whole life ahead of you. and then. Horrors. Which are then defeated by the power of friendship. /end ID].
Re: Dracula is Dracula Daily for your ears! Listen to the story with a full cast of voice actors and immersive sound design - all for free on your favorite podcast app!
I am loving this podcast. The actors are perfect and they add so much to the story that you miss reading. They really bring home how freaking young and earnest Jonathan is
Update: THIS IS VERY GOOD. I've listened to hundreds of audiobooks and i wholeheartedly recommend this. The acting, the sound effects, the creative decisions, chef's kiss! I can't wait to get to the fucking COWBOY.
This is already in my top 10 list of audio drama podcasts, and its quality has eclipsed some well-loved classics like The Black Tapes. I can't BELIEVE how good the experience is, and I am floored by how much more accessible the text is when I hear Jonathan Harker's voice.
Absolutely phenomenal. Please listen to Re: Dracula.
[ID: a picture of a letter with "Re: Dracula" written on it in cursive, and underneath, like written with a typewriter stands "A podcast from your friend Jonathan Harker where nothing goes wrong, he's just on a work trip, it's fine it's totally fine." Underneath the words are post- and air mail stamps. /end ID].
they literally refer to jonathan harker as “madame mina’s husband”… not “mr harker” or “jonathan”… i think of how jonathan is less typically masculine than a lot of horror main protagonists and how it’s totally fine with everyone and he’s ok with it. everyone relies on mina’s smarts and he’s not jealous at all, he’s sharpening is machete in case anyone tries to hurt her again
With how afraid Van Helsing is in this entry, and all the signs he’s noticing for Mina and the realization that she may be feeding on him, it’s hitting me that he HAS the means to protect himself. He HAS the ability to kill her, like she asked him to. There’s no fang checks happening. He already knows. He orchestrated this team-up so he can carry out her wish, rather than Jonathan who refused to give his promise—and yet. He’s holding off. He’s afraid of her and afraid of death but would rather keep pressing forward and clinging to hope than to carry out that execution and save himself.
I TOLD YOU HE COULDN'T DO IT. I WARNED YOU BRO
Like maybe if it really comes down to that and like it's an obvious emergency adrenaline thing... But staking her in cold blood while she's sleeping all wrapped in furs HE bought to keep her warm? without John telling him he's strong and great and it's the right thing to do? Yeah I'll believe it when I see it (never)
#like she's clearly feeding off him!! she's maybe 90% of the way Turned at absolute best!!#but she's still so...herself#she's not like the bloofer lady#not yet#so he's afraid#but he still hopes#aaaaaaaaaaa stoker if you Turn her i will dig up your sorry carcass to throttle you myself
Actually, I find myself increasingly wondering if the Bloofer Lady wasn't supposed to be an exaggeration of Lucy's extreme victorian femininity, in the same way Dracula is an exaggerated conqueror. But where Lucy was The Unwed Girl all unresolved sexuality and childhood imagery dialled to a million and left to bleed.
Dracula was The Conqueror, a whole thing that VH kindly explained so I don't have to.
Mina was The Wife. And so, we turn her caretaking, her persuasive intellect, and we turn it up until it becomes monstrous. Until "observant" becomes "unblinking, mesmerizing stare." Until her generosity goes from offering typography to offering food and drink, to refusing to eat herself.
The progression really matches up, IMO.
Oh this is fantastic and SO, SO TASTY. I love the idea of vampirism being the person taken to corrupted extremes, every darkness exaggerated and every bit of goodness twisted and corrupted, than the whole “replaced soul with a demon” thing. Every vampire a different monster as a ghastly echo of who they once were.
It isn’t hard to imagine what Jonathan would become if he followed her.
Jonathan's behavior while... enraging and also heartbreaking (he's gonna hate himself for it real soon and that makes me sad) is also interesting to me. He admits today that he originally thought Mina could handle the Horrors but now after the doctors suggested otherwise he's been convinced that she is more at risk of madness and trauma bc of female frailty
Jonathan mostly associates with women. This is as many male friends as he's ever had. Mr. Hawkins is mentioned but he's a father figure. I think Mina mentions a newspaper correspondent friend of Jonathan's once, but that's it and who knows if that was a good friend or just someone he liked well enough.
He spends his intimate time with women. The past months of his life he has been taken care of by women (the nuns and Mina) and talked about everything with them. He doesn't see them as women he sees them as people. It did not naturally occur to him that Mina would have less nerve because of her gender- he has avoided picking up The Sexism so far, and you can see it by his behavior towards her the whole novel. He doesn't treat Mina like a child, the way that the suitors treat Lucy like a child.
Then he got his polycule ID card, and suddenly is with all these men. And Jonathan is not a stubborn or prideful person. It's never been difficult for him to admit a mistake or when he doesn't know something. He has excellent instincts but he doesn't trust them. His lack of confidence in himself is imo his fatal flaw. And these men, two doctors among them are like yes we need to cut Mina out. It would be irresponsible to keep her in. She could never handle it. And this is not a natural conclusion for Jonathan to make. He writes that he finds it hard to keep things from her. It's not his instinct. But he feels inexperienced, and he desperately wants to be a good husband. The idea that he has not done his duty, that he's been careless in letting Mina do so much, that he's been unchivalrous and selfish, it's a new feeling but it's a horrible one and he bows immediately to what he perceives as the expertise and knowledge of Van Helsing.
That doesn't excuse him. It was wrong of him to do and he should have spoken for her. But I think it's interesting to look at how societal pressure and sexism worked on the character of Jonathan Harker in this instance to twist the love he has for her into something that hurts them both.
Mina: let’s put this all in chronological order
Dracula Daily: you got it boss
Mina after reading Jonathan's journal:
[ID: a picture of Homer Simpson, holding a wooden club, saying "the strong must protect the sweet." /end ID].
The gender role reversals are SO STRONG in today’s update.
Like even aside from Mina looking out for her husband’s delicate constitution and taking great pains not to make him think of upsetting things, her entire approach of “I learned something horrible and have to respond with action SOMEHOW” is so much more stereotypically masculine.
And then as the cherry on top you have Van Helsing writing to her as an important authority, with even the addendum of “no need to bring your husband into this, it will be upsetting for him.”
I can’t believe I have to wait in real time for Mina to cross an entire continent for the reunion with Jonathan
[image description: tags on this post reading “#dracula daily #we’ll just have to live through her excitement and suspense in real time #and fantasizing about her sweeping him up in her arms and kissing him tenderly #jonmina #nerd4nerd” End ID.]
pov: the hot goth couple loves your vibe
[ID. A blue-tinted, flat-color illustration of Quincey Morris, being embraced by Mina and Jonathan Harker. Mina wears a walking suit with leg-o-mutton sleeves and her hair in Gibson-girl-esque updo. She looks up at Quincey and caresses his cheek. Jonathan has a faint shaving scar on his chin and wears a dark waistcoat and trousers with a collared shirt. He rests his head on Quincey’s shoulder and looks up at him tenderly. Quincey wears a waistcoat-collared shirt-trousers outfit with a western-style bowtie, a gun belt, sleeve garters, and a shoulder harness upon which hangs his bowie knife and sheath. He flashes a shy smile. End ID.]
Dracula characters as guys made up by the make up a guy guy on twitter.
[ID: several screenshots of tweets by "make up a guy". For better accessibility I'll add their names again before the transcript of the tweets:
Arthur: guy who jingles loudly when shaken.
Dracula: guy whose will includes turning their mausoleum into an escape room.
Jonathan: guy who could really use a wish right now, wish right now, wish right now.
Quincey: guy who could easily take on 30-50 feral hogs in hand-to-hoof combat to protect their children playing in the backyard.
Lucy: guy that's your girlfriend.
Renfield: guy who points and says "oh my god, it's a bug" every time they see a bug.
Van Helsing: guy whose riddles three you must solve before they hand you anything on their side of the dinner table.
Mina: guy who made a wiki to keep track of all their friends' stats and lore.
Dr. Seward: guy who chooses to not believe when told "believe it or not". /end ID].
