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Book Review Of Dracula - Part 2

 
     
 

 

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Dracula Summary (Part 2)

Strange kidnappings start occurring around Hampstead. Children are found dead or missing with no other  apparent cause of death except for two tiny wounds on their necks. Some people have seen a lady whom they call the ‘bloofer lady’ whom they believe is responsible for these happenings. Mina is upset because Jonathan again seems disturbed and she decides to transcribe her diary which, she has written in shorthand, which  contains what all has happened when she is with Lucy, because she feels that the lives of many people are at risk. Dr. Van Helsing corresponds with Mina and expresses a desire to meet her so that they may speak about the events that have taken place. They meet and Mina gives him Jonathan’s diary to read. After reading the diary, the professor says that indeed all that Jonathan saw and wrote about was true and that the Count was indeed now in England. 

 

The professor now reveals to Dr. Seward that the two holes made in the children’s throat were made by Lucy. Dr. Seward is shocked to here this but the professor tells him that he is going to the graveyard that night and he is welcome to join him. Dr. Seward agrees. They reach the graveyard and the professor begins to open Lucy’s coffin . Sure enough it is empty. To convince Dr. Seward further they keep a strict vigil and sure enough they see a white figure moving among the trees. Unfortunately they are too far behind to see who it is but are in time to save a child which the figure was carrying and has left behind.

The next day they again go to the graveyard in the afternoon and see that Lucy is back in her coffin looking more radiant than ever. The professor pulls back her ruddy lips and shows Dr. Seward her vampire teeth. They decide to carry out their earlier plan of cutting off her head and filling it with Garlic and then driving a stake through her heart so that the vampire will leave her and her soul will rest in peace. Then they tell Arthur Holmwood and Quincy Morris about their plan and succeed in convincing them to come along. 

That night they all go to the graveyard and see that Lucy’s grave is again empty. Van Helsing takes some holy putty and fills the gaps in the door of the tomb so that Lucy will not be able to get back inside. Then they wait for Lucy to return. They see a figure bent over a child. When she raises her head they see that it is indeed Lucy, only now all the sweetness had left her for a voluptuous wantonness. Her lips are full of fresh blood that trickles over her robe. She growls at them and asks Arthur to come to her. Arthur moves forward as if under a spell. But Van Helsing intervenes and holds out a crucifix and she recoils and tries to seek refuge back in her tomb but the professor had sealed it with the holy putty. Finally the professor removes some of the putty and they all watch in surprise as Lucy enters her tomb through a thin chink. Now everyone is convinced that Lucy has to be killed so that she can be restored to her pure state again. They go to the tomb in the daytime and Arthur drives a wooden stake through the heart of what had once been his Lucy but was now a hideous monster and restores her back to her sweet original self. Then they all pledge that they will find the person responsible for doing this to so many innocent people and vow to kill him. 

Dr. Seward is sent by the professor to greet Mina at the railway station. He puts her up in a room at the asylum and allows her to listen to all his personal recordings on his phonograph while he reads Jonathan’s diary. Mina is shocked to hear how her poor friend Lucy died. She and Jonathan get all the evidence together and begin typing it all out in chronological order. Dr. Seward notices how his patient Renfield keeps running to the empty house next door and Dr. Seward starts to suspect that the Vampires may be hiding in this very house. After asking around a bit he verifies that indeed the boxes from the stranded ship have been deposited in the chapel of the old house which Dracula has purchased. 

The men decide that Mina has done her bit and that they will no longer involve her in the morbid task that lay ahead as she was after all a lady and such horrible sights may have an undesirable effect on her. They hold another meeting that evening and the professor tells them about the incredible powers that Dracula possesses. He then tells them that it is their moral duty to try and destroy this unholy creature. Everybody present agrees with him and they plan out a strategy to find all the boxes in which the vampires hide by day and destroy them. That night Renfield begs Dr. Seward to let him out just for that night but since he refuses to reveal the reason for behind this, his request is denied. 

Early next morning they set out to execute the dangerous task of finding the boxes and destroying them. Dr. Seward is able to open the door of the old house with a skeleton key. They reach the chapel where the boxes are supposed to be kept and realize to their dismay that there are only twenty-nine out of the fifty boxes. Suddenly Quincy Morris steps back and they all see a mass of phosphorescence which twinkles like stars and realize that the whole place is becoming alive with rats. But Arthur is prepared for this eventuality and he blows a whistle whereby three dogs come bounding in and chase away the rats.

When they return home that morning, Jonathan realizes that Mina is still asleep but is looking very pale.  Mina vividly remembers what she thinks is a dream where she sees some sort of mist entering into her room. Then her brain gets cloudy and she sees two fiery eyes looking at her and realizes just before she passes out that there is a vampire in her room. But she thinks it is all a dream and does not tell anyone. 

Jonathan manages to find out the name of the person who has transported the boxes to a house in Piccadilly, and they decide to break into the house that night and search for the boxes. Meanwhile Renfield is found lying on the floor with blood all around him, his back broken and the right side of his body paralyzed. Dr. Seward and the professor operate and he manages to regain consciousness. He tells them how Dracula had made Mina his latest victim, which is why she now looked so pale and ill. Renfield is so angry with Dracula for doing this that he tries to kill him but Dracula proves to strong for him and  hurts him fatally. 

When they hear this they rush to Mina’s room and break down the door to behold a terrible sight. Jonathan is lying in a stupor near Mina and the Count is bending over her and drinking her blood. The professor holds out a packet containing the holy water before and he is rooted to the spot. Then the sky goes black and the Count turns into vapor and escapes. Mina regains her consciousness and realizes what has happened and is very upset. 

Now they are even more anxious to find out the various lairs where the Count and his vampires are hiding and destroy them. That night they enter the house in Carfax, which is next to the asylum, and place the holy wafer in each of the boxes so that they become sterilized and the vampires cannot take refuge in them anymore. Then they proceed to the Count’s other house in Piccadilly and find the more boxes except for one main one. They also find the papers containing the names of other houses that the Count has purchased along with keys to all of them. Then they receive a telegram from Mina saying that the Count is headed south of Carfax. Meanwhile Arthur and Quincy Morris find the other boxes in the other houses and sterilize them. 

Then they all wait in anticipation of the arrival of the Count. Sure enough the Count enters but very cautiously, as if he is expecting some danger. Harker tries to attack him but the Count throws him aside and escapes through the window. Since Mina now has come sort of telepathic connection with the Count, being in his power, they hypnotize her to try and get some information on the Count’s whereabouts. They are successful in finding out that he is headed back to Transylvania by sea. Day by day they notice that Mina is changing and her teeth are getting sharper. Since the Count’s hold is getting stronger on her he may also have a hold on her mind and compel her to disclose their plans to him. They decide that henceforth they will not disclose their plans to Mina. 

They leave for Transylvania taking Mina with her as they feel they will be able to protect her better if she is with them. Finally after many days they learn that the ship carrying the box in which the Count sleeps has arrived. They go aboard the ship but are disappointed to find that it’s owner had had it collected at an earlier port by a man named Skinsky. They are baffled because Mina in her hypnotic trances keeps repeating that he is still traveling by water. Then Mina realizes that he is indeed traveling by water, not by sea but by river. Following this significant lead they decide to follow the route he will take by river. Some of them travel by water and the others by land so that he has no chance to escape. They also carry guns in case they have to fight the gypsies who work for the Count. 

They reach the pass near the Count’s castle. That evening the professor who is traveling with Mina notices that she looks better and healthier than ever before and refuses to eat any food saying that she has already eaten. The next day they reach castle Dracula. That evening as the professor and Mina sit by the fire they notice three beautiful women about whom Jonathan had written in his diary. They beckon to Mina to join them but cannot approach any further as the professor has made a circle of holy water around the fire. Meanwhile Dr. Seward sees the gypsies carrying the box in which Dracula lies and follows them. The professor enters castle Dracula and finds the empty tomb of Dracula and lays some holy water on it so he can never reside in it any more. 

The next day he takes Mina and hides her in the safety of a cave. From this hiding place they both see a band of gypsies carrying a box and behind them two horsemen whom they recognize as Dr. Seward and Quincy Morris. From the other side they see Jonathan and Arthur gaining rapidly on the gypsies. There ensues a fight between the Englishmen and the gypsies and the Englishmen manage to overpower the gypsies. However the Quincy Morris is fatally wounded in the struggle. By this time the sun has almost set. Without wasting anymore time Jonathan cuts off the head of the Count while Quincy plunges his knife into his heart. The body of Dracula crumbles to dust and disappears. 

Quincy Morris succumbs to his wound and dies. Mina and Jonathan have a son some years later whom they also name as Quincy. Dr. Seward and Arthur are also happily married. And thus the tale of horror ends in peace and happiness.

Click here for part 1 of the summary of Dracula

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