1. We mentioned yesterday that some of us could not separate the book from the movie. I will always envision Dracula as Gary Oldman from the 1992 movie, which happens to be one of my all time favorites- more romantic and less scary than some of the previously made movies. How does Jonathon describe Count Dracula in the beginning of the book? Does this differ from how you see the character of Dracula?
2. Let's talk about Renfield a little bit. I think he is one of the better characters in the book and more developed than some of the other people. His antics also add a bit of relief from some of the more serious scenes and overtones in the book. What are your thoughts on Renfield? Do you think he was crazy or just reacting to something that seemed impossible?
3. Mina and Lucy represent two versions of the Victorian woman (as seen by the masculine perspective). How are Mina and Lucy different? How are they the same? Which character did you like the most and why?
4. How do the main characters (Jonathon, Mina, Lucy, Van Helsing, Dr. Seward, Dracula, Morris and Arthur) change during the course of the book? What changes surprised you the most? Or did you find the book to be predictable in some ways?
5. Bram Stoker's Dracula is filled with memorable lines. Some of my favorites are:
Chapter 2- We are in Transylvania, and Transylvania is not England. Our ways are not your ways, and there shall be to you many strange things.
Chapter 4- The last I saw of Count Dracula was his kissing his hand to me; with a red light of triumph in his eyes, and with a smile that Judas in hell might be proud of.
Chapter 11- The blood is the life!
Chapter 14- Faith:... that faculty which enables us to believe things which we know to be untrue.
Chapter 14- You are clever man, friend John; you reason well, and your wit is bold; but you are too prejudiced. You do not let your eyes see nor your ears hear, and that which is outside your daily life is not of account to you. Ah, it is the fault of our science that it wants to explain all; and if it explain not, then it says there is nothing to explain.
Chapter 23- My revenge is just begun! I spread it over centuries, and time is on my side. Your girls that you all love are mine already; and through them you and others shall yet be mine - my creatures, to do my bidding and to be my jackals when I want to feed.
What are some of your favorite lines or memorable scenes from the book?
1 comment:
Let's see, Jonathon's description of Dracula doesn't match the image Gary Oldman had at the beginning with the white hair, but when he gets younger I like to think that is exactly what Dracula looks like.
I do honestly believe Renfield was crazy. And I like Stoker's portrayal of the looney bin. I wonder if he toured one or had a friend who worked in one, because he seemed to have some great details.
I could entirely see Lucy existing in our modern age, flirting with the men and strategizing to get the best marriage. She might get along with Carrie from Sex and the City. Mina on the other hand, would be horrified by our modern morals. And yet, she accepts the whole idea of vampires quite easily, so I think Mina has a buried bad girl within her.
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