MUMU VS. DRACULA

New intern Mumu finally read Bram Stoker’s venerable tome, DRACULA, and has some thought about one of the book’s themes and what it really is about.   

Bram Stoker’s Dracula documents the struggle within society for the mentally and physically ill, and how it affects not just the patient but also the people around them. Published in 1897, Stoker suffered from illness most of his childhood, which works itself into the book by how he portrays vampirism. I believe that vampirism, although based in folklore, is also given symptoms of anemia and also some sort of mental anguish for being in the presence of the supernatural.

It all started with Jonathan Harker; he had to meet Dracula to help him purchase English land. There are many warnings on the way toward Dracula’s castle, mostly from the locals in the area. One woman gave him her cross for protection. Due to his ignorance, he not only ended up becoming a prisoner within Dracula’s castle, he also did share personal details of his life with him.

To me, that represents how disease can appear non-threatening with symptoms of discomfort and how it can affect or even spread to those who care for the ill. The ill, in turn, have fears of spreading such disease to their loved ones, worrying that they may have infected them. It can cause much mental strain that the ill can do dangerous acts, such as scaling down the castle wall, like Johnathan does to escape.

Then the story cuts to Mina Murray, Jonathan’s fiancee, and Lucy, Mina’s childhood friend. At first, Mina was worried about her fiancee, as he has not written to her lately. Lucy reassures her and tells her of her own romance troubles. But then, things started getting more and more out of control. At this point, Dracula was in England and started to cause more and more issues for Mina and Lucy. Lucy suffered from sleepwalking and dark dreams, causing Mina to sleep in the same room as her and keeping the bedroom door locked, the key resting on her neck. Even then, Lucy figured out how to get the key and escape in her sleepwalking state. Dracula had her in a trance of some sort, so he could feed freely on her as he needed.

Lucy’s sleepwalking and Mina caring for her during those times reflect how many families would try ‘home remedies’ first before contacting any doctor. It was standard back in the day; and in Lucy’s case, she didn’t want to worry her ill mother. Her mother, as Mina confided in her journal, suffered from a weak heart, and therefore they decided to withhold this information from her to spare her body. It doesn’t help that Lucy’s mother never told Lucy that she may have been dying soon, either. Must be a pattern, not sharing symptoms or worries with medical professionals

Eventually, Dr. Seward calls for Van Helsing, who travels to him to help. He prescribed treatments of consistent blood transfusions and garlic flowers to be placed around her room, even around Lucy’s neck while she was sleeping, to fight off whatever illness she has. Although, her choker slipped and Van Helsing did see the vampire bite.

I believe that his suspicions drew him to the garlic flowers at that moment as a way to ward off vampires, as vampires do not like garlic.  Yet, medicinally, garlic flowers also promote a boost in the immune system’s response and cardiovascular health, which Lucy desperately needed in that moment. Unfortunately, her good-natured mother decided to remove the flowers and open the window as it seemed too stuffy in her room. By removing those flowers, it sealed not only Lucy’s fate but also the fate of her mother. Lucy became a vampire and started to hunt children for her to feed. Van Helsing and all of her suitors to end her existence.

During all of these disturbing events, a patient that is under the care of Dr. Seward is in mental anguish due to Dracula. R.M Renfield seemed to have developed symptoms of Psychosis. He was obsessed with Dracula, called him his master as he tried to get the life-force of the food chain. He had increased strength and seemed to drift between mania and despair.

Illness can be mental and affect varying parts of the mind and physical body. Here, it seems that the knowledge of Dracula drove Renfield insane, giving him increased strength from his consuming of life-force of small creatures, as flies and birds. But in the end, Renfield does get a moment of clarity. He attempted to fight Dracula once he found that he was feeding on Mina, wanting to protect her. It costed him his life as Dracula left his back broken and his brain swelling, in a pool of his own blood. Illness can be brutal at times, taking pain and suffering to another level that others cannot understand.

Now that Van Helsing has the disease well documented and knew how to eradicate it completely, he set about ending Dracula, with the help from Jonathan, Mina and all of Lucy’s suitors. In the end, by the setting sun, killed Dracula by slicing his head off and then stabbing his heart. Mina’s symptoms disappeared, and Quincey, one of Lucy’s suitors, dies in the crossfire.

In my opinion, Dracula was nothing more than a disease that needed to be cured. Illness tends to take even the most strong-willed to the grave, and it is grievous for such loss of life, it is also a part of life that will take us by surprise. Although, Van Helsing did with what he could to save those afflicted, with the garlic flowers for Lucy and the blood transfusions, there are times where you must eradicate the disease before it spreads even further. It makes me wonder- if Dracula was rewritten for today’s day and age, would vaccines, blood transfusions and medicine cure vampirism?

Mumu the Tricked loves to read and write. It’s easier to sit still and work with their eyes and hands than move around some days. They are hoping to become a successful author and book reviews are quite fun, too. Thank you!

PLEASE NOTE: The views and opinions of the staff of Memento Mori Ink do not necessarily represent those of Memento Mori Ink or Crystal Lake Publishing. Thank you for understanding.