Delving further into the castle: warnings should be taken heed of.

Confined within stone barriers of the castle our hero is definitely a veritable prisoner, having to abide by all that is desired by the count. JH feels himself degradaing and is aware that he has "behaved much as a rat does in a trap". The count is obviously the highermost attainment of the hierarchy amongst the two and the protagonist is merely on base levels if comparisons are to be drawn. Stoker explains his need to mention the country's history through Dracula who speaks with much pride and invoked spirit of his legendary predecessors who were kings during their era. It is very likely that the historical background has a bearing on matters that we have not been given light upon yet.

JH is getting more and more overpowered by the Count and is on the verge of complete defeat. Although speaking with much formality, the Count's use of imperatives make him a very hostile and ill-intentioned character. 'Then write now, my young friend.' is a good example of the deception in his sentence constructions where he is asking for the letter to be written with imposed force while at the same time referring to Harker as a friend. Innocence is definitley not an attribute of the Count. As is expected, Harker is forced to write letters that are moreso letters from the Count himself as everything he writes is the Count's word, embedding with his pen surrogate words. The Count also seems more busy now as he is venturing off during the night as well in important business. Also, his deep questionings of the system in keeping lawyers and interest in import us an idea of his motive to transport things of value to him to England

The hero who is an exact opposite of our menacing villain, innocent and easily mislead, is warned of taking tour in the castle and falling asleep beyond his allocated chamber. What happens? He manages to do exactly what is prohibited and falls asleep in a newly discovered room beautifully lit by the moonlight. New acquaintances are made with three sensuos ladies, resident vampires of the castle. The sensuality is induced with words like "voluptuous" and a constant mention of "lips", "mouth", "tongue", "throat" and "teeth". In this very raw encounter JH is saved from getting bit by the "fair lady" as the Count appears right in time. Harker's inability to make a distinction between reality and dream here brings in the notion of Gothic mystique.

The fury that possesses the Count here is a very essential component of the chapter for here the evil within him can be referred to with hell and the devil. "Positively blazing" eyes "as if the flames of hell blazed behind them", "face was deathly pale", " the thick eyebrows that met over the nose now seemed like a heaving bar of white-hot metal" are evidence enough to tell us what idea or imagery we are to associate it with. The boredom seized hero in travelling around the castle also manages to find a window from which he sees Dracula making an exit from the castle crawling down face down from the windows like a lizard, his cape spread like the wings of a bat. Are there still any confusions of the Count's being? I think not!

The castle is a veritable prison, and I am a prisoner!

From where I last took halt, it has been disclosed that the unexplained rush of the carriage driver was in acknowledgement of Harker's reception by a strange and mysterious personality, the Count himself in disguise. As a caleche rider he comes in with forceful speed just in time to stop Jonathan Harker from being taken away, supposedly to safer grounds , and immediately is set on track to take him to the castle, the destination originally sought out for by the protagonist. The count is well concealed as he is enveloped by darkness and his face veiled by the hat, but no sooner does he smile than the lamplight fall on his hard-looking mouth revealing lips red and teeth sharp"as white as ivory" . The focus of the journey made during the dark hours of nighttime, directed towards a castle atop a winding hill is all in effect for a very gothic feel towards the buildup of the much awaited meeting with Count Dracula. Several incidents that take place during the ride in the caleche such as the howling of dogs in succession and then the wolves causing fearful anguish amongst the horses, going around the same circle deliberately and the prominent blue flame maintain the gothic nature that is very vital to this book.

The caleche driver, the alias, exits in haste before Jonathan is met by Count Dracula at the castle door. Jonathan notes of his handshake being very cold, almost like shaking hands with a dead body, and long holding with the same sort of strength as was found before in the driver. For a slight moment Jonathan thinks of the resemblance between the two, considering if both were not the same. It could be asserted that there is a link here with Dr.Jekyll and Mr.Hyde who are split personalities from another gothic novel. The peculiar way in which Dracula first speaks sounds rehearsed and ambiguous of intentions as it is said politely but sounds very malicious and menacing at the same time, almost deceptive. 'Welcome to my house! Enter freely and of your own will!'. 'Welcome to my house. Come freely. Go safely. And leave something of the happiness that you bring.' Is he really true to his words?? Reference points can be drawn here between this weird speech and the letter written earlier to Jonathan by the Count which sounds very unrealistic as well, stressing on the fact that they are friends when they have not ever met before.'My Friend.......-your friend, Dracula'. Upto now whatever image of Dracula that we have been given stimulation to is not much on the positive side. The fact that Dracula's appearance is described as being clad in black with sharp canine teeth on either side like the fangs of a bat and a pale face with unevenly distributed hair and some growing out of his hands as well does not lighten up the Count at all. If anything it only brings upon the Count a more sinister and fearful outlook.

The castle is inevitably a gothic architectural masterpiece being abode to a noblety of the country. Clearly, Jonathan is awestruck by the beauty of the place finding himself within a hospitable confinement and the words of the Count friendly. But within this grandeur we find the beginning of much horror and obscurity. At first it does not concern him much that his host is unable to eat with him during meals but in due course he notices that the Count never actually eats or drinks with him, having made one excuse or another. It is also very peculiar that the Count is only available during hours of the night where he finds comfort in chatting with the young solicitor until the approach of dawn. It may strike ones fancy in learning of Dracula's strong desire to learn English properly like it is spoken in normal and his apt knowledge of England and the property which he is looking forward to buying. The degree of interest is certainly a ponderous matter.

The second chapter gets most exciting when Jonathan's discomfort within the castle is revealed for it is not without reason that such a change is invoked. His annoying naivety is finally disposed of. The absence of mirrors all over the castle has been mentioned with much surprise by him and hence, the confrontation between him and Count Dracula when he takes out his shaving glass is quite intense. Jonathan finds out in much shock that Dracula does not have any reflection on the mirror and startled by his finding cuts himself with the razor. Instantly Dracula is swept upon by an animalistic instinct and grabs hold of his neck, moving in closer as if to savour the blood trickling from the helpless guest, or in this case victim. He only gains self-control after an accidental contact with Harker's crucifix and fiercely throws the shaving glass from one of the windows, smashing the glass into a thousand pieces, his reason being- mirrors are instruments of vanity. No reflection in the mirror? Fear of the crucifix? All these facts definitely propose the idea that Dracula is actually a being of evil and supernatural forces, a vampire! It cannot be forgotten that our prime gothic character is also invested with amazing strength and an ability to communicate with animals (soothing the horses and the wolves). The chapter comes to an end with Jonathan discovering that his decision to come and stay in the castle has been a grave mistake for he feels more like living within a prison with doors locked everywhere and the windows the only means to escape. The castle and the Count have both seem to put on a facade for an easy deception and the underlying motive and what actually lies beneath the fake exterior is beyond our protagonist's comprehension.

Beginning the book with the first few pages.

The very first paragraph of the book states of the novel as papers that have been assembled sequentially without any reference to the past or future, existent only upon the then contemporary present. Underlying within these words lurks that captivating sense of the supernatural and unknown that is to manifold gradually further along the read. We find ourselves at first plunging into Jonathan Harker’s memories of his journey to Transylvania as we recount his journal. Mina is introduced quite early on by means of a note to himself to get for her the recipe of a chicken dish he had while at the Hotel Royale in Klausenburgh. It cannot be asserted for sure as of yet whether Mina is his wife or sister or just a friend. Although, his need to mention her every now and then as memos tell me she could be his wife. The historical brief of Transylvania and the ethnic groups residing within the country was a bit confusing for me but the pastoral description of these picturesque people, their unique attires and the beautiful landmarks held strong for the feel of entering into a domain that is visually and culturally very different from what I and a lot of people are used to seeing.

German seems to be the dominant language around here as is said on his journal. Jonathan Harker seems to have some knowledge of the language if not a proper fluency, with which he makes do. Notions of the supernatural are put forward with the mention of him heading to Castle Dracula which happens to be located somewhere within the Carpathians, the congregation of all known superstitions in the world. The exact location of the castle is unknown to Harker himself. “Queer dreams” as have been described in his journal follow the hoist for the supernatural feel but is dismissed very quickly by reasoning it with too much paprika in his dinner and a dog howling all night long. Count Dracula, his awaiting host at the castle is disclosed as a noble of the country responsible for giving name to the district Bistritz. It comes in as a bit of a wonder then as to why Harker’s hosts at the Golden Krone Hotel are struck with a resounding fear on learning of his visit to the castle. Could it be that the castle is enveloped in some deathly superstition, possibly causing harm?

The journey through the endless “serpentine” hills, the hostess at Bistritz forbidding him from continuing his journey and offering her rosary in compensation for his decision against her word, people blessing him on his journey with gestures of the cross for good luck, pathetic fallacy with the ghostly clouds, the movement of the carriage in unreasonable haste and the growing excitement as the darkness creeps in are definitely symbolic of a gothic encounter to be revealed as I find my way line by line through the pages. I wonder if the use of foreign words associated with evil such as “Ordog” and “stregoica” are deliberate for a more mysterious air. Contrarily, Jonathan’s need to keep making notes on the food he has eaten worries me of his health and weight issues. Jokes aside I wonder how people interpreted this book during the time it was first published. The reaction then must have been quite different considering the fact that we are living in a world of dominating science. The world was much more open to superstition then and in having lost most of it at present, I also wonder if much of our imagination has been lost.

auf Wiedersehen! until the next entry then, unless you decide to go and visit the Count yourself.