chapters 22-27 Dracula - complete Flashcards
1
Q
when was the Jack the Ripper case
A
1888
2
Q
why is it likely stoker was influenced by Jack the Ripper and in what way would he have been influenced by it?
A
- it was in 1888 so had time to embed in public consciousness
- people were fascinated by the violence and excess of the story/there was a market for murder
3
Q
give 2 examples of the urban gothic movement of the late 1800s
A
Jekyll and hyde and the picture of dorian grey
4
Q
why could the city be seen as disturbing for a victorian audience? (3)
A
- it could be a disturbance to the natural state of man - something not quite real about it?
- multicultural - presence of the other
- you don’t know who your neighbours are
5
Q
who was Jack the Ripper speculated to be?
A
foreign or jewish - due to xenophobia/antisemitism in London at the time
6
Q
what were Penny dreadfuls
A
small horror stories that you could buy for a penny
7
Q
give 2 possible names for the 1890s
A
the yellow nineties and the fin de siecle
8
Q
give an example of a penny dreadful of the 1890s
A
Varney the Vampire
9
Q
what key gothic element was common in penny dreadfuls
A
home invasion
10
Q
what is the modern day equivalent of penny dreadfuls
A
true crime
11
Q
when was the term psychoanalysis first used and by who?
A
1896 - freud
12
Q
when did freud publish the interpretation of dreams
A
1899
13
Q
what do the psychoanalytical elements of dracula reflect (if not freudian thinking as he hadn’t published works by the time the book was published)
A
- shows a growing fascination with the workings of the subconscious mind
- shows the climate in which psychoanalysis was first coined was the same climate as the one stoker was writing in
14
Q
give 6 examples of technology/innovation used in dracula
A
- train
- phonograph
- blood transfusions
- typewriter
- telegram
- shorthand
15
Q
give an example of a religious weapon used in the novel
A
then crucifix
16
Q
what does harker say about the old centuries?
A
‘the old centuries had, and have, powers of their own which mere ‘modernity’ cannot kill’ (Harker)
17
Q
the denouement of the novel mirrors what in the story
A
the opening
18
Q
what christian denomination is Mina
A
protestant
19
Q
what is mesmerism
A
hypnosis
20
Q
who popularised mesmerism and when
A
franz Mesmer in the early 1800s
21
Q
what was mesmerism used for by victorians
A
entertainment - it had a pop cultural appeal
22
Q
mesmerism was later used in what study
A
psychoanalysis
23
Q
what 3 gothic aspects does mesmerism have?
A
liminality, lack of control over the rational, uncanny
24
Q
mesmerism foregrounds people’s ____. it leads to a sense of ____ and can make people vulnerable to ____. it is uncanny as you are control of your ___but not your ____
A
unconscious
entrapment
manipulation
body
mind
25
give an example of hypnosis in gothic fiction (the book, date of book, author and what happens in the book)
the gothic novel Trilby (1894) by George du Maurier
§ The villain, Svengali, uses hypnotism on Trilby (female character) firstly to cure eye pains but later to seduce her and make her virtually his wife
§ Svengali is now synonymous with manipulation
Showing mesmerism is a gothic feature
26
the name of what villain is now synonymous with manipulation
Svengali
27
give 3 quotes to describe the count before he was a vampire - what trope does he embody?
'soldier' 'statesman' 'mighty brain'
- the renaissance man
28
the fact that dracula used to be a good person taps into victorian fears about what
degeneration
29
the fact that dracula is trying to create a new species links to what scientific idea in the zeitgeist of the victorian period - and what religious idea? give a quote about Dracula's aim to create a new species
- darwinism - spread of vampiric degeneracy
- he could be seen as a kind of anti-christ figure e
- 'father' of a 'new order of beings'
30
what kind of brain does vampire dracula have? (quote)
'child brain'
31
what is dracula doing which is particularly dangerous for humanity?
'experimenting' (using his 'knowledge' and modern science to try and modernise)
- as he is an ancient force and adapting to the modern world this combination makes him very dangerous
32
what is a post colonial angle on the attitude of the main characters to dracula?
○ They must ‘stamp…out’ the foreigner before he catches up and challenges the power of (the main characters? Britain?)
§ Captures anxieties about
□ The end of the British empire
® Queen victoria is dying
□ Britain’s diminishing influence
® Due to end of British empire
□ Fears of reverse colonisation
33
what is the quest to find Dracula being compared to?
'hunting' / 'adventures'
34
in chapter 23 what is Quincey morris described as? why is he described like this?
- In chapter 23 Quincey morris is the ‘dominant spirit’
- Quincey is a model for masculinity
○ This is building him up before he dies
○ In order to make a hero of him
35
how does harker change in the final chapters - give a quote to support this
- becomes more masculine and heroic - gains a 'volcanic energy'
36
the men are ___religion in the final chapters. for example Seward feels the '___ ___' of the crucifix and wafer in his hands. this is an example of ___christianity
weaponising
might power
muscular
37
what 2 animals is dracula compared to?
'panther-like' 'lion-like'
- two apex predators
-using the predator-prey dialectic
38
what animal are the men compared to when interacting with dracula
the men are 'like sheep in a butchers'
39
compare the use of the predator-prey dialectic in Carter vs dracula
- Carter literalises the predator prey dialectic - stoker solely uses simile and metaphor
- also Carter explores the vulnerability of the predator/the nuances of the predator-prey dialectic
40
give a quote showing female weakness is a threat to men
‘your girls that you love are mine already; and through them you and others shall be yet mine - my creatures’
41
give a quote showing mina is excommunicated
'outcast from God'
42
mina does/doesnt have sympathy for dracula - what does this make her?
does
saintly
43
what does mina call dracula in her sympathy with him?
a 'poor soul'
44
does mina believe there is still possible salvation for dracula?
yes - she says that when he is destroyed 'his better part may have spiritual immortality'
45
give an quote about the manichaean dichotomy in Lucy? what does this quote link to in terms of the theme of identity across Carter and stoker?
there is a 'true Lucy' and a a 'false Lucy'
- - This also links to the presentation of identity (as there is a true self and a false one and the false one should be denied
○ Conversely, characters in Carter’s stories are very liminal and their good and evil parts are closely intertwined
○ Carter explores the sinful/bad aspects of a character, not describing them as false but an important aspect of our nature
§ She is interested in the ambiguity of human nature, while Dracula is not
46
dracula has '___' mina by sucking her blood
infected
47
what type of battle does van helsing present the struggle between good and evil as in the story?
a crusade - a holy war for christianity
48
when mina looks in the mirror she is reminded of what - what symbol in carter's works does this link to?
- the scar on her forehead
- mirrors
49
what type of philosophy/thinking is dangerous in the context of the gothic
enlightenment philosophy
50
give a quote about the men being holy and carrying out God's wish
the men are 'ministers of God's own wish'
51
there are direct references to what two pseudo scientists in the novel
nordau and lombroso - showing stoker was definitely influenced by them and social darwinism more broadly
52
what did nordau write
degeneration
53
the story transitions to what genre towards the end
detective fiction - using deduction to predict the count's moves
54
which two characters are presented as particularly heroic at the end of the novel
Quincey and harker
55
give a quote showing harker's masculinity
‘Jonathan’s impetuosity, and the manifest singleness of his purpose, seemed to overawe those in front of him; instinctively they cowered aside and let him pass’
56
to some extent the book tracks the development of what character?
harker - from 'this man belongs to me!' to being the one to kill dracula (along with Morris)
57
who finally kills the count
harker and Quincey
58
what does dracula look like when he is dead - what does his body turn to?
he has a look of 'peace'
'dust'
59
mina loses what when dracula dies - contrasting with the protagonist of the bloody chamber
what does this tell us about the two authors' attitudes to sin?
her scar
○ Stoker sees erasing the sin/transgression as necessary for Mina to have a good future
○ While carter promotes the message that you and society have to learn to live with sin, you can’t erase it
○ Different versions of redemption
60
what is the final word the men say in the novel
'amen'
- showing Christianity wins
61
what are the final two words of the story - what does this reinforce?
'gallant gentleman' (referring to Quincey)
○ Quincey becomes a gentleman through his death
○ This reinforces masculinity, civilisation, aristocratic/upper class men
62
through his death, Quincey becomes what
a gentleman
63
in the epilogue, what is mina described as?
a 'brave and gallant woman'
64
in the epilogue, what does helsing say about mina's child
Helsing says ‘he[the child] will understand how some men loved her, that they did dare much for her sake’
65
the ending is typical of victorian literature - how?
- it is certain and has a strong moral clarity
- it is a combination of death and marriage
66
what triumphs over what in the story? give 4 things
good triumphs over evil, west over east, Christianity over sin, modernity over ancient, masculinity over femininity
67
give a quote showing mina has a dual nature as a vampire
‘if I find in myself…a sign of harm to any that I love, I shall die’
- Shows her sense of duty, self sacrifice and martyrdom
- Suicide is also sinful which is potentially transgressive
68
the mark on mina's forehead is strongly associated with what type of transgression
sexual
69
give a quote about how mina gets the scar on her forehead
- ‘Burned into the flesh’ like ‘white hot metal’
- ‘On your forehead I touch this piece of Sacred Wafer’
70
give a quote from mina about the scar on her forehead
- ‘Unclean! Unclean! Even the almighty shuns my polluted flesh!’
71
mina asks helsing to do what so she can speak freely - what time of day does this happen and why?
‘I want you to hypnotise me! Do it before dawn, for I feel that then I can speak, and speak freely’
dusk/dawn - as they are very liminal times
72
what sport is hunting dracula compared to
6. ‘A pack of men following like dogs after a fox’
- Dogs and foxes is fox hunting
§ This is like sport
§ Which makes it like muscular Christianity
73
dogs are symbols of what
nobility and loyalty
74
foxes are associated with what
cunning - even in the bible
75
the hunt for dracula is also described as what
a 'quest'
76
the idea of dracula infecting mina with vampirism links to anxieties about what
diseases/contamination/leprosy
77
Transylvania as a place is full of what?
'strangeness' and 'occult forces'
78
what are the men described as which links to the crusades
'knights of the cross'
79
what transgressive thing does mina do on the subject of funerals
asks harker to read her the burial service -
- Ars Moriendi
- This is effectively attending her own funeral (she is alive and this should be read once she is dead)
○ This is transgressive
○ The gothic turns Christian sacraments on their heads
80
what is making the trip to hunt dracula possible
'money' - links to marxist reading
81
what christian rite for children do vampires subvert - give a quote to support this
mina 'tainted as she is with that Vampire baptism'
82
what do the vampire women call mina
'sister'
83
what is mina (once she is scarred) compared to
a 'leper'
- links to sin as physical disfigurement
84
harker is prepared to do what to save/be with mina - what kind of pact does this link to?
○ He says ‘if we find out that Mina must be a vampire in the end, then she shall not go into that unknown and terrible land alone’
§ He is prepared to become a vampire to be with Mina
§ He is prepared to give up his soul for Mina
□ This is extremely transgressive
□ This isn’t present in other male characters - it isn’t a strong sign of muscular Christianity
□ He is prepared to make a Faustian pact
® This is a pact to sell your soul to something
® Links to picture of Dorian Gray
□ It marks Harker out as an especially ambiguous, complex and transgressive character
□ This is out of love and devotion (good character to explore on the theme of love and devotion)
85
give 4 christian rites that are subverted in the gothic vampire
○ Marriage
○ The consummation of marriage
○ The Eucharist
○ Baptism
86
when the men look for coffins around London, what case could stoker be capitalising on
the ripper case
87
what is the lack of scar on mina's forehead compared to?
'the snow is not more stainless than her forehead!'
88
