Quote:

Chapter 11, pg. 131

“The window blind blew back with the wind that rushed in, and in the aperture of the broken panes there was the head of a great, gaunt wolf. Mother cried out in a fright, and struggled up into a sitting posture, and clutched wildly at anything that would help her. Amongst other things, she clutched the wreath of flowers that Dr. Van Helsing insisted on my wearing round my neck, and tore it away from me…The room all around me seemed to spin round. I kept my eyes fixed on the window, but the wolf drew his head back, and a whole myriad of little specks seemed to come blowing in through the broken window…I tried to stir, but there was some spell upon me…” (Stoker)

Comment:

After having read this section of the novel there was a lot to unpack and understand. First off was the wolf and how it made its way to Lucy. Before this passage we read the article  that shows how a wolf that had escaped from the zoo and had come back with glass in its head but other than that was relatively unharmed. Things that I have read such as on the British Library website discuss Draculas affiliation with wolves and that he himself in the novel states how he has them as pets. The curious thing though was what was the purpose of having the wolf break through the window in Lucy’s room? Was it t scare her and make he know that she is making a mistake in locking and window and putting garlic on it. Was the Wolf not immune to that and could break the seal? Another element of this passage that was quite odd was that Lucy’s mother sensing that she was in danger and once the wolf breaks through she grabs at the garlic around her daughters neck, did she herself began to believe in the effects that it had against evil? But also doing that she again puts her daughter in danger which is quite frustrating. Also it was interesting how Lucy states that she wished to move from where she was but something was holding her there. This seems similar to the effect that The Beetle had on Robert Holt in controlling when he could say something or move. This shows another example of the power that Dracula holds over the people he manipulates.

Question:

Why does it become such a common theme for the people who are in danger such as Lucy’s mom, to remain rooted where they are instead of wanting to go seek help? Victorian’s were people of structure and stuck to what they knew, so it is interesting why in the face of something so frightening, that there is not the sense of wanting to find help or run away. Could this be that Lucy’s mother was also under the influence of Dracula and that he also would not let her move? Will Lucy realize exactly what is happening to her before it is too late? She recognizes that her time might be up and that she is being terrorized by this almost invisible threat, but why doesn’t she ,when she is able to speak, express this terror?