I finished Dracula last weekend, and was happy to discover that the remainder of the book was as engaging as the start I blogged on last time. Unlike Frankenstein and some of the other stories we have analyzed previously, Dracula keeps up the action without falling into the trap of becoming overly repetitive. This in conjunction with a couple unexpected plot twist kept me focused until the very end. I also appreciated the realism in the characters; nobody made obviously poor decisions, and they seemed to react very quickly to the events of the plot. The possible exception to this could have been not seeing the physical signs in Mina that she was being preyed upon by a vampire (especially after witnessing the same transformation before in Lucy). It seemed surprising that even Mina herself did not notice this, especially after observing it so up close with Lucy.
My greatest frustration in this novel was the men's objections to accepting Mina as a serious member of their vampire hunting team. From the very start, she demonstrated more organization than the men around her. By the end of the novel she had effectively shown that she was equally or possibly more capable and intelligent than any other character (the only possible exception being Van Helsing). Yet even when this fact becomes clear to the others, they do nothing more than give her minor compliments and continue to exclude her. Even more frustrating is her unwillingness to advocate for herself. She never makes an attempt to defend her right to be accepted in the group or defy the men's opinions in any way.
I definitely agree that the men should have included Mina in the hunting team. She showed them that she was their equal but they still saw her as just a woman who was weak and would not be able to handle killing someone.
ReplyDeleteI agree also on the whole macho thing. It was really irritating how at one point on like every other page there was something about the men thinking she's a great woman and admiring her, while at the same time saying that she should stay away from men's work and basically be kept in the dark. I also agree on how irritating it is that she basically just took it without standing up for herself. She says in one of the chapters that she is not comfortable being kept in the dark but she stands for it so she doesn't add further strain to her husband and the others. Not only is this offensive to her, her intelligence, and her contributions in the battle, but it is also inefficient because another intelligent mind would benefit them in countless ways.
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