Dr Van Helsing's Memorandum

[van_helsing1897]

5 November, afternoon. - I am at least sane. Thank God for that mercy at all events, though the proving it has been dreadful. When I left Madam Mina sleeping within the Holy circle, I took my way to the castle. The blacksmith hammer which I took in the carriage from Veresti was useful; though the doors were all open I broke them off the rusty

Comments

[garillama]

Exquisitely voluptuous?

Wow...

[ninja_jen]

Geezus thats crazy.

Did the commmunity die?

[elettaria]

Which element struck you as crazy?

*attempts to whip up conversation*

[ninja_jen]

Woohoo

The poor, homeless Count

[gwydiontinker]

No, I wouldn't say the war is over, but Drac cannot re-enter the castle. He can survive, as he has in London and on the trips there and back. He has only to make a new grave of his native soil. This might not have been VH's smartest move since Drac will know immediately that he must find a new hiding place and our valiant heros have no way of finding it. This is my first read, so I don't know what happens, but I would not have disturbed Drac's tomb, I would have lain in wait or set a trap for him.

[tamnonlinear]

Does anyone have any idea why Mina was howling? She didn't say anything to Van Helsig about why she cried out. Also, one would assume that Van Helsing came back to the camp covered in blood.

Poor Mina. She gave such speeches earlier about having some compassion for poor Dracula and releasing him from this earthly sinful life. One can only imagine what she thought about his brides.

[elettaria]

If you mean the second time she cries out, I'd look at,

the horrid screeching as the stake drove home; the plunging of writhing form, and lips of bloody foam.

Not only covered in blood, but probably with a terrifying expression on his face. I wouldn't put it past him to grin, considering how much he seems to get off on dispatching voluptuous vampire women. That's unnerving enough already, but Mina also knows that she might be next. I'd have shrieked too.

If you mean the first time, maybe it's some sort of sympathy with the vampire women who could have ended up her sisters, knowing telepathically that they are in danger.

[meggins]

considering how much he seems to get off on dispatching voluptuous vampire women.

He talks about "butchery" and barely hanging onto his nerve, wanting to flee. It doesn't sound like he's having a good time to me.

[elettaria]

He brings back "voluptuous" once in his previous memo and three times in this one, raves on about their beauty and fascination, quotes the sexy vamp attack on Jonathan as if he's learned it by heart (I don't recall him quoting anything else like that), twice refers to a vampire attack as "kissing" even though it's always been clear that the action involved is biting (though Lucy tried to lure Arthur in by asking to kiss him), and there's the usual description of a woman being staked which sounds suspiciously like a woman in orgasm, the "plunging of writhing form". So he's certainly being turned on by the whole encounter; I can't speak for how far he gets turned on by actually dispatching the women, and he's clearly terrified as well, but there was that incredibly sexual staking of Lucy a while ago which is similar to this scene, though the first one was more drawn-out. Maybe it's because there were four of them against Lucy, whereas there are three vampire brides and only one Van Helsing, so he's now in considerably more danger? My

[especial]

Her, I had not dare to take into this place, but left safe from the Vampire in that Holy circle; and yet even there would be the wolf! I resolve me that my work lay here, and that as to the wolves we must submit, if it were God's will.

I get the point... God has a plan, everything is an act of God, etc., but, really... this is as much as saying "I shall just do whatever I like because if Mina is eaten by wolves due to my leaving her among them unprotected then GOD MUST HAVE WANTED IT SO IT IS OKAY!"

But, I am getting very excited now!

[elettaria]

Also he tells Mina that he's putting her in that circle to protect her, but it's very clear (she certainly notices) that he's doing it so that she won't get out and throw a spanner in the works by attacking him or trying to save Dracula. I imagine that the Holy Circle will only save her from vampires, none of which are around right now, but not from wolves or gypsies. I do like unreliable narrators.

[solan_t]

Since he puts himself inside the circle at night I don't think he's trying to protect himself from Mina.

By the way.... when, exactly, did she die? so as to be so very vampiric now? That's where I find the story to be unreliable.

Since they are more worried about Mina's soul than her life, and being consumed by wild animals seeming like a really good way to keep a corpse from rising as a vampire, seems like good reasoning to me, not to worry too much about wolves.

[elettaria]

Remember when she offered to commit suicide, and VH said that if she were to die while still tainted by vampishness, she'd become a vampire after death? The circle seems to be primarily to enclose Mina, and perhaps the reasoning is that she won't attack him while he's inside a Holy Circle with her, if she's given to doing so (and I've given up expecting too much continuity from Stoker by now)?

Circles and Wolves

[undercrypt]

I don't really doubt that Van Helsing put the circle up for Mina's protection, for the most part, in one way or another.

No, it doesn't protect against wolves, but then she probably doesn't need to worry about the wolves too much, all things considered. She may very well be able to command them to some degree at this point, which may or may not have anything to do with her previous howling.

Re: Circles and Wolves

[elettaria]

The circle will only protect against vampires, right? The three vampire brides are summarily dispatched (and seemed more likely to recruit her than attack her), so the only real threat left would be Dracula, who is currently powerless. It would make more sense to be ready to form a Holy Circle if Dracula looked likely to appear, but meanwhile leave her unfettered, since all it does is imprison Mina in the meantime. We've seen Van Helsing organise hampering Mina, supposedly for her protection, in the past, for instance when keeping information from her so that she isn't shocked, and it was ambiguous then as to whether he was really doing it just for her sake, or whether he was trying to stop this highly intelligent, resourceful woman from being too powerful.