Dracula Chapter 6 Summary Mina's Journal, July 24 The chapter opens with Mina's journal, dated July 24, at Whitby (a seaside town on the Yorkshire coast of England). Mina has arrived in Whitby and describes the beautiful scenery of the Yorkshire region. She especially likes to walk up above the harbor to an old church where there's a great view and lots of benches and paths in the churchyard among the old graves. She's sitting up there and writing in her journal when an old man approaches her. She asks him about the old superstitions and folktales of the area especially one about a ghostly "White Lady." He answers with a Yorkshire accent it might be difficult to decipher the accent as it's written in the novel, because of the dialect. Most editions of the novel have editor's notes that will explain the unfamiliar words otherwise, here's a quick summary: the old man tells her that all those old folk tales are just foolish talk, but he seems happy enough to tell her stories about his own life. Mina's Journal, July 25 Lucy and Mina walk up to the churchyard above the harbor together, and the old man comes over to chat again. They discuss old legends, and again the old man contradicts all of them and says they're all bologna. He even says that the words on the tombstones around them in the churchyard are lies they say things like "beloved son" when really the son in question wasn't at all beloved. Some of them, he said, don't even mark the real resting place of the person who died some of the dead people died at sea, and so the gravestones are marking empty tombs. After a while the old man leaves them, and Lucy and Mina talk about Lucy's upcoming marriage. The conversation makes Mina sad she hasn't heard from Jonathan in a month, and she's getting very worried. Dr. Seward's Diary, June 5 The chapter switches to Dr. Seward's Diary, dated June 5. Dr. Seward notes that his patient, Renfield, has been capturing flies with the sugar from his tea, and keeping the flies in his cell. There are so flies many in there that he tells Renfield he'll have to get rid of them. Renfield asks for three days to clear the rest of them away, and Dr. Seward agrees. Dr. Seward's Diary, June 18 Renfield has now switched to spiders. He captures them and feeds them his flies. Dr. Seward's Diary, July 1 Now there are so many spiders that Seward tells Renfield to get rid of those, too. Again, Renfield agrees but not before he swallows a huge fly, which grosses Dr. Seward out. He gives Renfield a sleeping drug and looks at the journal Renfield has been keeping while he's snoozing. The notebook has a list of numbers and tables of addition Renfield has been counting the flies he feeds to the spiders. Dr. Seward's Diary, July 8 Now Renfield has a tame sparrow that he lured in through the bars of his window. He's been feeding it the spiders. Dr. Seward's Diary, July 19 Renfield now has a bunch of sparrows and is almost out of spiders and flies. He asks Seward for a kitten to play with and feed. Seward says he'll think about it, and Renfield is disappointed. Dr. Seward's Diary, July 20 Seward finds Renfield spreading out sugar on the windowsill to catch more flies. The sparrows are gone, and only a few feathers are left. Seward assumes that Renfield ate them all whole. 1
That night, Seward gives Renfield another sleeping pill and looks at his notebook again Renfield has, indeed, been keeping track of the numbers of flies eaten by the spiders, and the number of spiders eaten by sparrows. Seward realizes that Renfield's insanity is of a strange kind: he classifies Renfield as a "zoophagous maniac," or a "life-eating maniac." Seward focuses on his work to avoid thinking about his disappointment over Lucy. Mina's Journal, July 26 Mina is still worried about Jonathan, and now she's worried about Lucy, too, because Lucy has started walking in her sleep. She used to do it when she was a kid, but it's more dangerous now. Mina's Journal, July 27 Mina still hasn't heard from Jonathan, but at least Lucy seems healthy. Mina's Journal, August 3 Mina's worried about Lucy again: Lucy isn't walking in her sleep, but Mina describes a kind of "concentration" about her that seems weird. Mina's Journal, August 6 Lucy is excitable; Mina still hasn't heard from Jonathan. A big storm is brewing out at sea. The old man, Mr. Swales, is approaching Mina, who is sitting at her usual seat up above the town on the cliff. He says that he feels that he's going to die soon, and says he's sorry if he offended either Mina or Lucy with his light talk about the dead people in the cemetery before. As he talks to Mina, he keeps looking at a strange ship approaching the harbor. He remarks that the strange ship is being steered in a weird way. Dracula Chapter 7 Summary Newspaper Article, August 8 The chapter opens with a newspaper article about the great storm of August 8 that Mina had pasted in her journal. The newspaper describes the storm very vividly the tone doesn't sound much like a modern newspaper. As the storm was getting really rough, lots of townspeople gathered on the hill above town to watch the strange ship that was coming into town. Everyone commented on how strangely it was being steered. The storm was getting pretty ridiculous. Everyone was afraid the ship would be sunk on rocks or would crash into the pier as it came into the harbor. When it got close, the people watching realized why it was being steered so haphazardly: the pilot was dead. He was just tied to the helm and kind of flopped back and forth with every wave. Miraculously, though, the ship made it safely to the beach. As it hit the shore, a big dog leapt out and disappeared. Mina's Journal, August 9 Mina learns that the strange ship is from Varna (a town on the Black Sea), and that its cargo was just a bunch of wooden boxes filled with dirt. No one ever found the strange dog that jumped out of the ship, although a lot of people looked for it. Mina gets permission from the Board of Trade inspector to copy down the log of the captain of the ship (translated from the Russian by a local clerk). The chapter continues with Mina's copy of the captain's log. The Captain's Log The voyage starts out fine they take on their cargo and leave as usual. The crew seems nervous about something, though. On July 16, one of the crew goes missing. On July 17, another member of the crew tells the captain that he saw a strange man on the ship. The captain thinks it is just superstition, but he has the ship searched anyway. On July 24, another man disappears. There was a big storm, and then another man disappears. 2
At least they're getting close to England. On August 3, even the first mate starts acting weird he claims to have seen something that he just calls "It," and swears he'll find it and kill it. The captain assumes the first mate has gone crazy. The first mate comes back out on deck and throws himself overboard. The captain finally believes that something is wrong and he figures out what it is. He doesn't want to throw himself overboard, since he's the captain. So he ties himself to the helm with a rosary between his hands to keep "It" away. And so his log entries ended. Mina's Journal, August 9 (continued, evening) Mina says that the captain was going to be given a hero's burial in Whitby because he stayed at his post until death. Mina plans on watching the funeral procession. Mina's Journal, August 8 Lucy is sleep walking again she got up twice during the night to get dressed, and so Mina kept having to get up and put Lucy back to bed again. Mina's Journal, August 10 The old man who had befriended Mina and Lucy is found dead at their favorite seat up on the hill above the town his neck was broken. That was the day of the funeral procession for the ship's captain, which Lucy and Mina went to watch. Dracula Chapter 8 Summary Mina's Journal, August 10 at 11pm After watching the funeral procession, Mina and Lucy go for a long walk. They're tired when they get back, and Mina writes briefly in her journal about their walk while Lucy falls right to sleep. Mina remarks how pretty Lucy looks when she sleeps, and then goes to bed herself. Mina's Journal, August 11 at 3am Mina wakes up to realize that Lucy's not in the room. She searches the house, and can't find her. She pulls on some clothes, and runs outside. She wonders whether Lucy might have gone up to their favorite seat on the hill above town. She looks up towards the cliff as she walks in search of her friend, and in the moonlight, can just make out Lucy's figure in her white nightgown on the bench, with a tall, dark figure bent over her. Mina can just make out the man's white face and red eyes. As she hurries up the hill, she loses sight of Lucy and the man for a moment, and when she gets close again, the dark figure is gone. Mina gently pulls Lucy to her feet and puts her own shawl around her (Lucy's just out there in a skimpy nightgown). Mina uses a big safety pin to fasten the shawl around Lucy's neck, and realizes that she must have pricked Lucy's skin because Lucy puts her hand to her neck as though it hurt her. They sneak back to the house, trying to avoid being seen. Lucy begs Mina not to tell anyone about the sleepwalking adventure, and Mina agrees. Lucy's mother is sick, and it would be bad to shock or alarm her about Lucy. The next morning, Mina sees two little pin pricks on Lucy's neck, and apologizes for pricking her with the safety pin the night before. That night, Mina locks the bedroom door and ties the key to her own wrist. Lucy sleepwalks again and tries to leave the room, but goes back to her bed when she finds the door locked. Mina's Journal, August 13 Mina goes to bed with the key on her wrist again. That night, she wakes up and finds Lucy pointing at the window (still asleep, though). Mina looks out and sees a giant bat flitting around. Mina's Journal, August 14 3
The two young women are sitting at their usual bench around sunset, and everything is glowing red. Lucy mutters something about "red eyes," and Mina realizes she must be thinking about the sleepwalking adventure. They don't discuss it, though. That night, Lucy goes to bed early while Mina goes for a short walk. As she gets back to the house, she sees Lucy at the window of their bedroom, leaning out. She waves and hurries up to the house. When she gets to the bedroom, she finds Lucy snoozing on the windowsill with her hand on her throat. There is what looks like a big bird sitting next to her, but it flies off. Mina's Journal, August 15 In the morning Lucy looks pale and tired. Mina's Journal, August 17 Mina hasn't written for two days because she's depressed: she still hasn't heard from Jonathan, and Lucy's getting weaker. The pin pricks in Lucy's throat haven't healed, but are looking inflamed and nasty. Letters Between a Lawyer in Whitby to a Lawyer in London, August 17 The letter asks the London lawyer to arrange for some boxes that have recently been shipped to Whitby to be delivered to a house called Carfax outside of London. The next letter in the chapter is the response, which says that everything's been taken care of. Mina's Journal, August 18 Mina says that she's happier than she's been in a while because Lucy seems to be in better spirits. Lucy's still weak, though. They're sitting together on their favorite seat above the town, and Lucy finally brings up the sleepwalking adventure and describes it from her point of view. She has a vague memory of something long and dark, with red eyes. Mina's Journal, August 19 Mina has finally heard from Jonathan (Harker)! The reason she hasn't heard from him in so long is because he's been incredibly sick. He was at a convent in Budapest, Hungary, and once he was well enough to dictate a letter to Mina, one of the nuns wrote it for him. Mina pastes the letter into her journal. The nun says that he's had a terrible brain fever, but that he's now on the mend. She asks Mina to come and help nurse him back to health, and says that Mina and Jonathan can be married in Budapest if they like. Mina wants nothing more, and packs up and leaves immediately. Dr. Seward's Diary, August 19 The chapter continues with Dr. Seward's diary, dated August 19. The night before, Renfield started behaving strangely more strangely than usual, that is. When asked about it, he said "the Master is at hand!" and wouldn't explain any further. Seward is glad to have Renfield to take his mind off of Lucy he's still in love with her, and although he can't be angry that she accepted Arthur Holmwood, since he's a dear friend, he's still really disappointed. That night, Renfield makes a break for it. The asylum house where Renfield and the other patients live (and where Seward lives and keeps his office) is right next door to the house called Carfax. Seward and the attendants catch up to Renfield right outside the old chapel of Carfax, apparently mumbling through the door to someone. They put him in a straitjacket and take him back to the asylum. Renfield calls out, "I shall be patient, Master!" 4
Dracula Chapter 13 Summary Dr. Seward's Diary, September 20 (continued) Dr. Seward has to arrange a lot of the funeral stuff for both Mrs. Westenra and Lucy. They don't have any other family and Arthur is too distraught to deal with it. Van Helsing asks permission to go through Lucy's diary and letters from the last few weeks. Arthur doesn't know why Van Helsing wants to, but he agrees anyway. Van Helsing puts a crucifix and some garlic flowers on Lucy's body in the coffin. Van Helsing tells Dr. Seward in private that he wants to wait until after the funeral, and then cut off Lucy's head and take out her heart. Dr. Seward is shocked, of course, and can't see a reason for it. Van Helsing assures him that he'll know why eventually. But the next night, Van Helsing tells Dr. Seward that they shouldn't bother one of the servants stole the crucifix out of the coffin. Mina's Journal, September 22 Mina writes that it's hard to believe that Jonathan is his own boss now. She says that she's worried about him after his illness. The day before he saw someone on the streets of London and totally freaked out he kept mumbling, "It is the Count, but he has grown young." Then he snapped out of it and asked if he had been dreaming. Mina has also gotten a telegram from Van Helsing telling her that Lucy and Mrs. Westenra are dead. Dr. Seward's Diary, September 22 Arthur and Quincey Morris have gone back to Arthur's estate. At the funeral, Arthur says that he feels like he and Lucy were really married because of the blood transfusion (he doesn't know that three other guys gave her blood, too). After the funeral, Van Helsing has a giggle fit about that he says that it's like Lucy was a polyandrist (someone with multiple husbands). Dr. Seward is pretty depressed by Lucy's death. Newspaper Article, September 25 The chapter shifts to a newspaper clipping from September 25, describing a mystery in the neighborhood of Hampstead (near where Lucy lived). The newspaper clipping says that several small children had gone missing, and when found, could only say that they had been with a "bloofer lady" (i.e., a "beautiful lady"). Some of the children had small cuts on their throats. The newspaper article is followed by another, an "extra special" edition, describing yet another child injured by the "bloofer lady." Dracula Chapter 18 Summary Dr. Seward's Diary, September 30 Mina asks to see Renfield, and Dr. Seward allows it. Renfield is very polite to her. He advises her not to stay in Dr. Seward's house during her visit to London, but won't tell her why. Afterwards, Van Helsing joins them again. He thinks "Madam Mina" is the awesomest woman in the world. He even compliments her so far as to say she has a "man's brain." Mina's Journal, September 30 That evening, they have a meeting in Dr. Seward's study. They discuss the kinds of power that they're up against: Dracula can control the weather, as well as animals (like rats, bats, wolves, etc). He can also vanish into a cloud of dust, and has incredible physical strength. They all agree to work together to kill Dracula. Van Helsing reminds them that they have science and technology on their side. Plus, Dracula loses his supernatural powers during the day. (You should note that Dracula can walk around in the sunlight. The idea that sunlight can kill a vampire doesn't originate in the novel Dracula, but in the movie Nosferatu (1922). Stoker's Dracula is totally cool with the sun, but he can only change shape at nighttime.) And they have lots of anti-vampire weapons, like garlic, crucifixes, holy water, etc. Quincey Morris excuses himself from the meeting for a moment to go take a pot shot at a bat that was sitting on the windowsill. 5
Their next task is to find all fifty boxes of earth that Dracula shipped to England, and either kill Dracula if they find him, or at least "sterilize" the dirt by putting holy water in it so that he can't sleep there again. Dracula can only sleep in the earth he brought with him from Transylvania. Even though it's late now, the men decide to go check out Dracula's lair in Carfax house next door. They tell Mina to go to bed and wait this is a man's job. Dr. Seward's Diary, October 1 at 4am The men are about to leave the house when Seward gets a message that Renfield wants to see him right away. The men all go to him. Renfield acts totally sane, and begs to be allowed to leave. They ask to know why, but he won't tell them. They don't agree, but say that they'll revisit the issue in the morning. Renfield shrugs and basically says, "Don't say I didn't warn you." Dracula Chapter 20 Summary Jonathan Harker's Journal, October 1 Jonathan goes to visit one of the two delivery guys who picked up boxes from Carfax the day Renfield attacked them. After paying the guy some money as a bribe, Jonathan learns how many boxes they picked up and moved. They moved nine boxes to a house in Piccadilly (another neighborhood in London). The house was recently sold, and Jonathan asks the lawyer who was in charge of the sale who bought it. The lawyer refuses to tell until Jonathan drops Arthur's name (after all, Arthur is now "Lord Godalming," and everyone is impressed by that kind of title). The lawyer says he'll write to "Lord Godalming" that evening to let him know. Jonathan reports back to the rest of the group. Mina still looks pale, and is grumpy at being kept out of the loop, although she tries to act cheerful. They decide to check out the house in Piccadilly to see how many boxes are actually there (after all, Dracula might have hired different movers to carry over the rest of the missing 21 boxes). The problem is how to break into the house in Piccadilly. Carfax is relatively isolated and is surrounded by a huge yard and a high wall, so breaking in there wasn't a problem. Piccadilly, though, is a busy place at night or during the day. Dr. Seward's Diary, October 1 Renfield's moods change more quickly than a teenager's. Dr. Seward doesn't know what to make of it, but he's still afraid Renfield is in cahoots with Dracula. A Letter from the Lawyer about the House in Piccadilly, October 1 The lawyer says the house was bought by a foreign gentleman named "Count De Ville" (Haha, it sounds like "Devil"). Dr. Seward's Diary, October 2 Everyone is split up, working on various tasks: Arthur and Quincey are getting horses from Arthur's house in case they need them; Jonathan is meeting with the lawyer to get more information about the so-called "Count De Ville," and Van Helsing is at the British Museum looking up information on vampire killing. Dr. Seward gets a message that Renfield has had a terrible accident and is covered in blood. Dracula Chapter 24 Summary Message from Van Helsing to Jonathan Harker Van Helsing leaves a message for Jonathan on Dr. Seward's phonograph that he should stay with "Madam Mina" to protect her while the rest of them go after Dracula. Jonathan's Journal, October 4 Mina is relieved to hear that Dracula has left the country. Jonathan and Mina work hard to keep from thinking about the future: they read and reread the journals. Mina's Journal, October 5 They all have a meeting to discuss the best way to track down Dracula. 6
They guess he must be trying to get back to Transylvania, so they look for a boat that's headed in that direction. After asking around, they figure he's on a ship called the Czarina Catherine, which, unfortunately, has already sailed. But they're lucky they know the ship's schedule and destination, so hopefully they can beat Dracula to his destination by taking a train across Europe instead of sailing around. Dr. Seward's Diary, October 5 After a good sleep and an early breakfast, everyone feels better. Dr. Seward is a bit worried about Mina he's afraid that after a while, she might start unconsciously helping Dracula, or exposing their plans to him. He mentions this to Van Helsing in private, and Van Helsing agrees Mina is slowly changing and becoming more vampire-like. They agree to keep Mina in the dark about their plan, so that she won't be able to tell Dracula about it. Of course, that she'd want to tell Dracula anything, but she's under his power and she might not have a choice. They try to persuade Jonathan to stay behind in England with Mina. Jonathan Harker's Journal, October 5 Mina asks Jonathan to swear never to tell her anything about the group's plans to defeat Dracula. She's worried that she might accidentally let something slip to the Count because of their telepathic connection. Jonathan is upset, but he promises. Later, Mina is cheerful again. Jonathan Harker's Journal, October 6 Mina wakes up early, asking to be hypnotized again. She's more like herself at dawn and dusk. She tells them that they'll have to take her with them, even if they don't tell her where they're going, exactly. She's worried that if they leave her alone, and the Count summons her, she'll have to go, even if it means sneaking out behind Jonathan's back. She'll be safer with the whole group. Van Helsing goes to buy tickets for their journey, and the other men make their wills and tie up their affairs in case they die before the end. Dracula Chapter 26 Summary Dr. Seward's Diary, October 29 That morning when Van Helsing hypnotizes Mina, she doesn't hear waves, just oars dipping in water and men calling to each other. Then she says that Dracula has gotten out of his box of dirt but he's still on the boat, not on shore. Dr. Seward's Diary, October 30 While hypnotized, Mina says that Dracula is back on some kind of boat, but that's all she's able to say before snapping out of it. Mina's Journal, October 30 They've arrived at Galatz. Jonathan, Van Helsing, and Dr. Seward go down to the port to ask about the Czarina Catherine, while Arthur goes to the embassy to ask the Consul to help them out. Quincey takes Mina to the hotel to rest. Jonathan Harker's Journal, October 30 The captain of the Czarina Catherine tells them all about the voyage. They had a good strong wind the whole time almost as though someone wanted them there in a hurry. Hm. They ask him who picked up the box labeled "Count Dracula," and he says it was a lawyer named Hildesheim. A few racist stereotypes later, we meet Mr. Hildesheim, who tells them that he had received instructions from "Mr. de Ville" of London to pick up the box from the Czarina Catherine and give it to a group of Slovaks to take down the river. Unfortunately, they don't know which river. Mina's Journal, October 30 Mina is working hard at trying to figure out where the Count has gone. 7
She gets some maps of the area and studies them, and then writes a memo outlining her idea for the guys to see. She's very systematic about it, and decides that the best way Dracula could have himself transported in his box is by water. But what water? After studying the maps, she decides the river that would make the most sense is the Sereth it goes very close to Castle Dracula. Everyone is excited by her discovery. Arthur and Jonathan take a steamboat down the river to follow Dracula. Quincey and Dr. Seward go along the shore on horseback. Mina and Van Helsing go by carriage to Castle Dracula itself. Jonathan isn't happy about Mina going to Castle Dracula, even under Van Helsing's protection after all, he's the only one who's seen it, and he didn't have such a good time there. They all get ready as quickly as possible, and take off. Jonathan Harker's Journal, October 30 Fortunately, Arthur is good at working steamboats, since he owns a couple back in England. Jonathan and Arthur take turns sitting up to mind the boat and sleeping. This continues for a couple of days. They ask every boat that they pass whether they've seen a barge carrying cargo, and they hear that there's one a ways ahead that was going pretty fast. Jonathan Harker's Journal, November 2 Jonathan is worried about Mina, but he's feeling strong and healthy. Dr. Seward's Diary, November 2 No interesting news from Quincey and Dr. Seward they've been on the road for three days without anything major happening. Like Arthur and Jonathan Harker, they ask other travelers if they've seen a boat moving fast up the river, carrying cargo. They hear that Arthur and Jonathan had a bit of a run-in with some rocks in the river, but got the boat up and running again quickly. Mina's Journal, October 31 Mina's enjoying her trip through the Transylvanian countryside and imagines how nice it would be to take a real trip there with Jonathan sometime. Van Helsing tries to hypnotize Mina, but can't get much out of her. Dracula seems to have cut off the link between them. Mina worries about Jonathan, but is OK herself. 8