Lucy'a Diary

17 September

I shall keep trying to write down everything as I remember it, although my hands grow weaker and writing becomes almost impossible to bear. I have been having troubles sleeping recently. The bats keep coming at night. It's as though they are trying to tell me something. I can sense that everyone is worried for me. Especially my dearest Arthur and my poor, sick mother! Dr. Seward it seems has been spending more and more time in my room. It is quite curious behavior that he should be here for me now. But, enough about that! I cannot seem to shake this cold feeling and the pain in my neck and chest as I struggle just to breathe! God, help me! The strange flowers from that strange man make me feel a little better, though.

19 September

I must write about what happened last night, or what I can recall at least. First, I remember sensing people in my room again. Then, something wet on my lips before falling into a deep sleep. When I awoke, I realized in full what had happened to my mother. She is dead! Oh, God! How can I go on without her? I wish Mina would write me. I feel I shall never be the same...

Mina: A New Type of Woman

Mina observing Jonathan going on journey’s and taking adventures longed to do the same. Through learning typewriting Mina had opened a world slightly filled with excitement, at least more than the ideal woman at the time had. Not only will she be able to help her husband with his work which would keep them close together but she would be able to break a bit from the old female norm and be a satisfactory new age woman. Within the story of the typewriter it stated how a new woman’s life was depicted by learning typewriting, as such, “Images soon abounded in the newspapers, novels, theatrical plays, and popular post cards of the period, depicting the type-writer girl as leading a life of glamour and adventure.” (Keep) Not only could she still be seen as a respectable woman but she could have a taste of freedom from the norm which is a tad bit of a thrill opposed from what typical women did during that time. Through being a typist Mina is a heroine in Dracula. If it would have not been for her the men would have no organization in documentation and if it weren't for the intelligence of Mina typing more copies of documents they would have lost their accounts completely. It is sad that when a woman bears a child she can no longer work as a typist, it gave freedom to the ladies but that was snatched away. A mother needs to have the sense of freedom; especially having to do all the work she does in the house.

Also people of the time were in awe as well as fear of the typewriter. Many accounts in Keep’s documentation suggested that people would lose intimacy that handwritten documents had given off. They feared that society would lose the individual flair that handwritten documents and letters had. Stoker explores this in Dracula and by what Mina says here it seems like self expression isn't going to be an issue from reading thoughts from typewritten documents. “but I have been more touched than I can say by your grief. That is a wonderful machine, but it is cruelly true. It told me, in it’s very tones, the anguish of your heart. It was like a soul crying out to almighty God. No one must hear them spoken ever again! See, I have tried to be useful. I have copied out the words on my typewriter, and none other need now hear your heart beat, as I did.” (Stoker, 197) Mina’s reaction suggests that Dr. Seward’s words still had a hardy impact on her emotions. Thus this debunks some of the fears that people of the time had about losing emotion in their writing.

Lucy's diary

I feel odd at all hours of the day and night. Just the other day, I awoke so completely devoid of color that even my lips were white. Dr. Helsing came running into my room, screaming at my mother about some flower she’d removed from my room… I don’t understand what the garlic had to do with it, but I know I was inches away from death. Dr. Helsing wound up pumping his blood into mine. Ordinarily I’d find this strange, but between his obsession over the garlic, his insistence on Seward’s accompaniment of me nearly every night, and the constant check ins by Mina, Helsing, and Seward, I’m more than happy to accept Helsing’s blood. In fact, I felt vastly better only a few days later.  Helsing made mother promise not to remove a single item from my room ever again.

                I guess I’d find the matter of the blood stranger if I hadn’t been pumped full of Seward’s blood only a few days earlier. I felt better for a while, then worse. That was when this garlic showed up, which Helsing has me wearing around my neck at all times now. If only you could see it, he’s got the stuff coating my room like wallpaper. All of this, and not even a mention of the wolf, which bashed its head through my window last night. I can’t quite tell you what happened there. My mom had a heart attack and died… then the maids all passed out. I was sure I was a goner, and honestly I was sort of ready for death at this point, having already written out my final note and all before I passed out, but the next morning in comes Quincey Morris, ready to be a hero, and they pump me full of his blood…

                Oh Holmwood! All this blood in me, and still I fall ill seemingly every day.

Lucy's Diary

I feel odd at all hours of the day and night. Just the other day, I awoke so completely devoid of color that even my lips were white. Dr. Helsing came running into my room, screaming at my mother about some flower she’d removed from my room… I don’t understand what the garlic had to do with it, but I know I was inches away from death. Dr. Helsing wound up pumping his blood into mine. Ordinarily I’d find this strange, but between his obsession over the garlic, his insistence on Seward’s accompaniment of me nearly every night, and the constant check ins by Mina, Helsing, and Seward, I’m more than happy to accept Helsing’s blood. In fact, I felt vastly better only a few days later.  Helsing made mother promise not to remove a single item from my room ever again.

                 

I guess I’d find the matter of the blood stranger if I hadn’t been pumped full of Seward’s blood only a few days earlier. I felt better for a while, then worse. That was when this garlic showed up, which Helsing has me wearing around my neck at all times now. If only you could see it, he’s got the stuff coating my room like wallpaper. All of this, and not even a mention of the wolf, which bashed its head through my window last night. I can’t quite tell you what happened there. My mom had a heart attack and died… then the maids all passed out. I was sure I was a goner, and honestly I was sort of ready for death at this point, having already written out my final note and all before I passed out, but the next morning in comes Quincey Morris, ready to be a hero, and they pump me full of his blood…

                 

Oh Holmwood! All this blood in me, and still I fall ill seemingly every day.

Mina's Femininity

Mina’s desire to learn typewriting and her skill with it demonstrate that she is in many ways a traditionally feminine Victorian woman, whose adaptation to new technology does not necessarily lessen her role as such. Whatever ties to the New Woman this modern practice gives her are subdued by the assertion of typewriting as feminine skill “such as needle work or the ability to perform on the piano forte” (Keep).  Despite this, Mina’s typewriting is not only useful but essential in the quest to stop Count Dracula. Much like the division of labor elsewhere, she provides a valuable service which aids the actions of men. This is a theme referred to constantly in the novel, both with Mina’s initial motivation to aid Jonathan in his work and with her later determination to amass and distribute the various documents pertaining to the case, helping Seward, Van Helsing, Quincey, and Jonathan in the process. This combination of compassion and intelligence make up what Van Helsing refers to as “a man’s brain… and a woman’s heart” (207).  

It is also noted in Keep’s article that typewriting provides a means for social advancement. We gather from context that Mina is not wealthy or aristocratic, given her lack of family and her undesirable work as a governess. Not only does typing allow her to be useful to the men in her life, it gives her an opportunity to do skilled work which Keep asserts to be quite popular and romanticized.  It also allows her to use her considerable intelligence in a socially acceptable way—decoding and transcribing information which, once again, helps men perform their roles.

Mina As A "New Woman"

Mina begins training herself as a typist to be a partner and helper to her fiancé Jonathan, but I believe it was also more than that. She was already a woman in the "work-force", so to speak, being an assistant schoolmistress. Training herself to be a typist would likely help her to get a job in the "white-collar workforce". As Keep says, the typewriter "...contributed to the significant rise in the number of middle-class women who were able to enter the white-collar workforce." (Keep) Not only would having a job as a typist allow her to enter a different type of workforce, it was possible that she would even be able to advance her social status through this line of work, as Keep has noted in his article "...it was one of the few occupations that allowed them to earn an independent income without significant loss of class standing, and which lower-middle-class women might use as a means of social advancement." (Keep)

            Mina, in respect to technology, is embracing the idea of the "New woman", this modern more masculine form of the dainty Victorian woman. And though the typewriter opened new doors and more possibilities for the new modern woman, it was still had restrictions. According to Keep's article, the typewriter was thought of as a feminine object, as it was manufactured and marketed as such. Keep describes the design of some early stand typewriters, and they were designed to look like a sewing machine. There was even a foot pedal that controlled the return of the carriage. The decoration of the machine was with flowers and gilt, making it more feminine.  Although the typewriter was seen and marketed as a feminine object, women in the workforce caused a great debate. Women weren't necessarily welcomed into the workforce; men saw them as a threat to their own jobs, that the incoming population of women working would squeeze the men out of their own jobs. Also, women in the white-collar workforce earned half as much as men. It was even said that women being in the workforce lessened their purity, and their feminine qualities. Even though women saw the typewriter as a chance for success, there were still heavy restrictions placed upon then, and they were still mainly expected to uphold their traditional role in the home to keep that feminine purity.

Keep, Christopher. “The Introduction of the Sholes & Glidden Type-Writer, 1874.”             BRANCH: Britain, Representation and Nineteenth-Century History. Ed. Dino             Franco Felluga. Extension of Romanticism and Victorianism on the Net. Web.             September 29, 2014.

Lucy's Journal

2. In this past week's reading (Ch. IX - XVI), which focused on Lucy's medical treatment, un-death, re-animation, and final death, we hear almost nothing from Lucy herself. Write a journal entry from her point of view, in her voice, about this part of the novel.  Be as specific as possible -- touch base with an incident (or incidents) in the novel to ground your entry. You may take some liberties with her character, but don't turn her into a completely different person.

7 September – I woke up this morning feeling more tired and drained than the day before. I was lying on the bed in my chambers, resting as I had been for days. Taking a breath was difficult; my body shudders with the effort. I feel cold and isolated, my body an alien. All of a sudden, the sun emerges from behind the clouds, filling the room with light. The brightness hurts my eyes, and I shut them hurriedly.

I heard, rather than saw, the door to my room open. With a great deal of effort, I slowly opened my eyes to see John enter my chamber, along with a companion I’ve never laid eyes on before. The two slowly walked toward me, their watchful eyes taking in my appearance as only a doctor’s could. I followed their movements with my eyes, but otherwise remained still. John’s eyes widened in surprise at my decreasing condition, while his companion’s face was as set as marble. They stood there without speaking for several minutes before the man beckoned John into the hallway.

As the door closed, so did my eyes, suddenly exhausted with  the effort. An immeasurable moment of time passed before the door opened once more to reveal John and his companion. With an effort, I opened my eyes and turned my head towards the movement, but otherwise remained still. The man brought his medical bag to my bedside table; I heard the clang of glass as he began mixing ingredients. Coming closer to me, the man helped me sit up to drink the concoction. It smelled sickly sweet, and I was able to choke down the liquid. John and his companion watched me expectantly; after a few minutes, the narcotic began to take effect. My eyelids grew heavy and soon, I fell into an uneasy sleep.

In and out of consciousness, I’m not sure if I was dreaming, but I would swear I heard Arthur’s voice. And, then his lips on mine. Then, all was silent. And, I began to feel different. Stronger, healthier, like myself again. My breathing became easier, my muscles relaxed, and I drifted further into unconsciousness.

Then, all of a sudden, I was jerked out of my reverie by a sharp pain in my neck. In adjusting my pillow, the man had accidentally dragged my velvet choker with it. As it shifted up my throat, the fabric scratched the skin below, sending waves of immobilizing pain through my body. The man gasped, and I felt him freeze. And, just as quickly as it came, the pain was gone. Then, everything went black.