Endnotes

^[1] This debate was detailed in my paper ‘Stoker’s Banana Skins: Errors, Illogicalities and Misconceptions in Dracula,’ in Dracula: The Shade and the Shadow, edited by Elizabeth Miller, (Desert Island Books) 1998.<<

^[2] Readers who wish to explore the many popular misconceptions concerning the writing of Dracula are recommended to consult Elizabeth Miller’s Dracula: Sense & Nonsense (Desert Island Books) 2000, 2006.<<

^[3] This preface was penned by Stoker one year after the novel’s publication in the UK, but before its publication in the USA, in which it did not appear. I am grateful to Richard Dalby for providing it.<<

^[4] ‘Jacob the disemboweller’ has elsewhere been translated as ‘Jack the Ripper’.<<

^[5] From Hamlet I, iv. (The quotation should read ‘heaven and earth, Horatio’).<<

^[6] Hommy Beg – ‘Little Tommy’ – was the nickname of Bram Stoker’s long-time friend Hall Caine, a popular novelist in his own right. Caine was a Manxman (from the Isle of Man), and Hommy-Beg is a Manx expression. It appears to be a variant of ‘Hommy Veg’, which is how Caine’s grandmother called him. Stoker’s dedication may also contain a pun. During the 1890s, theosophy was all the rage in Britain and America. Invented by Madame Blavatsky, it offered an esoteric doctrine that included belief in an occult brotherhood of disembodied spiritual adepts or Mahatmas to be found in Tibet. One of these Mahatmas was called Koot Hoomi. The September 1891 edition of Punch fiercely satirised these ideas, even inventing its own Mahatma, which it named Koot ‘Hoomiboog’. The editor is grateful to Clive Bloom for the above information.<<

^[7] The first page of Stoker’s manuscript is unnumbered, but ‘48’ is crossed out. There are two types of shorthand – the personal kind, as instanced in the diaries of Samuel Pepys, whose essence is secrecy, and the secretarial kind, whose essence is speed. Being a private journal, we might expect Harker’s to be the former. In fact, it is the secretarial kind. The most likely version is Pitman, invented in the 1830s and still the most widely used today.<<

^[8] Today, Bistritz is part of Ro[u]mania. In Stoker’s time it belonged to Hungary. As Harker employs the German spelling ‘Bistritz’ instead of the Romanian ‘Bistrita’ or Hungarian ‘Besztercze’, we may presume that Stoker accessed Germanised maps and guides. His important source, Boner, for example, uses ‘Bistritz’ in the text and in a map.<<

^[9] Stoker’s notes detail the stages of Harker’s journey across Europe. His Exeter law-firm had received a telegram from Dracula on Monday, 24 April. Harker departed next day, leaving London at 8.05 p.m., arriving in Paris at 5.50 a.m. on Wednesday, 26th, and in Munich at 8.35 p.m. that same night. Harker therefore spent five nights in the Bavarian capital, but since this is a business trip, this makes sense only if Munich, not Transylvania, was Harker’s original destination. Stoker’s notes show this to be the case.<<

^[10] Harker’s train left Vienna at 8.25 a.m. Meticulously observed timetables are a feature of Dracula and reflect Stoker’s duties as business manager of Henry Irving’s Lyceum Theatre Co. ‘Travel agent’ was just one of many functions he had to perform.<<

^[11] Harker doesn’t know it, but he is destined to spend many weeks in Budapest.<<

^[12] According to Stoker’s notes, the train ‘arrives Buda-Pesth 1.30 p.m., leaves 2 p.m.’ Harker was taking a risk venturing outside the station at all, considering he had so little time at his disposal.<<

^[13] entering the East. Though still within the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Harker senses he is leaving the known world and entering the unknown. Good, the sun, and the Three Wise Men come from the East, but so does Evil, an echo of Babylon.<<

^[14] Count István Széchenyi (1791-1860) masterminded the first suspension bridge over the Danube.<<

^[15] Having conquered Hungary, the Turkish westward advance was halted at Vienna in 1529. Ottoman rule presented Europe with an anti-Christian foe.<<

^[16] Harker arrived at 10.34 p.m. on Tuesday, 2 May. Klausenburgh is the German (Saxon) name for the town Romanians know as Cluj and Hungarians as Kolozsvár.<<

^[17] The ‘Royal Hotel’ is fictitious, though there existed at that time a ‘Royal Matthias Hotel’, named after the 15th century King Matthias Corvinus.<<

^[18] By ‘national’ dish, Harker means Hungarian or German. This dish would probably be chicken ‘paprikash’ or, in Romanian, ‘tocana de pui’. Stoker’s fiction ordinarily has little to say about food and drink. Paprika hendl is described in two of Stoker’s source books – Magyarland and Crosse (pp.224-25). Crosse was less than impressed, noting: ‘the [visitor] had better like it, for his chances are small of getting anything else.’<<

^[19] Carpathians. Horseshoe-shaped mountain range with the ‘open end’ to the west. They are scenic rather than spectacular, with slopes covered by forests of oak, beech, fir and pine. The highest peak is Gerlachovka in Slovakia (8,707 feet). The Carpathians are sub-divided into several constituent ranges, among them the Transylvanian Alps.<<

^[20] Harker’s ‘smattering of German’ is both puzzling and crucial. Puzzling, because we never learn where he learned it. German was not commonly taught in English schools in the late 19th century. Nor could he have picked it up on previous visits: this appears to be his first trip abroad. Crucial, because it enables him to communicate with locals. In Stoker’s early notes Dracula insists that the English lawyer sent to him cannot speak German, presumably so that locals cannot warn him of his peril. But by allowing Harker to speak German, and shrug off these warnings, Stoker enables Harker to enter the enemy’s lair with his eyes open. He is therefore not entirely free from blame for what happens. Guilt will weigh heavily upon him.<<

^[21] Harker had one day (Tuesday, 25 April) to do this background reading. The fact that he seeks enlightenment from the British Museum suggests that the books and maps he sought were not available in Exeter. It also suggests that Stoker, likewise, undertook research in the British Museum.<<

^[22] Transylvania (Latin: ‘land beyond the forest’) was originally part of Dacia but was conquered by Hungarians (Magyars) in the 11th century. Succeeding centuries brought waves of German settlers. In 1526 the Turks overran Hungary, establishing Transylvania as an autonomous province within the Ottoman Empire. In 1691 the region was retaken by the Hapsburgs. In 1867 the Austro-Hungarian Empire split in two – establishing the so-called dual monarchy – with Transylvania administered by Hungary. This was the geopolitical situation in 1893 as Harker journeys forth. Not until after World War I was Transylvania reconstituted as a province of modern Romania. In this sense, Dracula appears to be Hungarian, not Romanian, though he will shortly be specific, describing himself as a ‘Szekely’.<<

^[23] Evil comes from the East; extreme evil comes from the ‘extreme east’.<<

^[24] Moldavia was, in 1893, and is today part of Romania. Its eastern portions, however, were annexed by the Soviet Union after World War II. Today they constitute the independent state of Moldova.<<

^[25] Bukovina, wedged to the north of Transylvania and Moldavia, was in 1893 an autonomous duchy administered by an Austrian governor.<<

^[26] Stoker sites Harker’s destination as the back of beyond, where few foreigners ventured, and where anything might happen. Transylvania is to Stoker what the ‘Lost World’ is to Arthur Conan Doyle.<<

^[27] The castle does not exist, except in Stoker’s imagination, though the lack of detailed maps gives him a convenient cover.<<

^[28] Ordnance Survey maps are a British institution, and are widely regarded as the finest publicly available maps in the world. They cover the whole of Britain in meticulous detail. Though the original purpose of the maps was military, that role has long since disappeared. No hiker today would be without one.<<

^[29] Post towns served as the local hub from where mail was collected and delivered.<<

^[30] According to Stoker’s notes, Harker omits all business matters from his journal.<<

^[31] Here and in much of the historical sections that follow, Stoker lifts chunks of material from his named sources, often verbatim. This particular passage about ‘four distinct nationalities’ comes from Johnson (pp.205-6).<<

^[32] As Stoker observed in Magyarland, ‘Magyar’ is pronounced ‘Mad-yar’.<<

^[33] Crosse spells this ‘Szekler’ (p.205) and Wilkinson ‘Szeckler’ (p.161). Stoker’s spelling identifies his source as Johnson (pp.205-6), though Johnson accents the first ‘e’, as in Székely.<<

^[34] From Johnson, pp.205-6. Introducing Attila as an ancestor lends Count Dracula a fearsome pedigree. Attila was the fifth century ruler of a nomadic Asian Tartar race that overran much of Europe. The Huns gave their name to Hungary.<<

^[35] Stoker wastes no time in introducing queer dreams. There are many more to come.<<

^[36] ‘Mamaliga’ and ‘impletata’ come from Johnson (p.120): ‘Favourite dish of peasant ‘Mamaliga’ – maize flour stirred in water’ … ‘Egg plant stuffed with chopped meat is National Dish and called “Ua Impletata”.’<<

^[37] These memoranda suggest that Mina is both a competent and an adventurous cook. As we shall see, she has many other talents besides.<<

^[38] It is 75 miles from Klausenburgh to Bistritz, yet according to Stoker’s notes Harker does not reach Bistritz till 8 p.m., a journey of twelve hours. Harker shortly confirms his arrival on ‘the dark side of twilight’.<<

^[39] Emily Gerard noted in The Land Beyond the Forest: ‘Railway communications are very badly managed’ (p.16). Stoker chastises other nations for their inability to run trains on time, a popular yardstick by which to measure progress and civilisation. The idea may have been implanted by Jules Verne’s Around the World in Eighty Days.<<

^[40] Harker’s jest is misplaced. Chinese railways of the time were engineered by Western companies and were well-managed. Under communist rule they are admirably punctual.<<

^[41] Stoker’s times suggest an average train speed of six or seven miles per hour.<<

^[42] Hilltop towns are generally found in warmer climates, such as Italy or Spain, not in mountainous regions such as the Carpathians, which are snowbound in winter. Citadels are another matter, and may be strategically sited as high as is practicable.<<

^[43] Stoker’s landscape exists in his mind and is shaped by scripture. Water is a cleansing agent. Strength of water is a symbol of God’s power.<<

^[44] This unflattering appraisal of Transylvanian women comes from Johnson (see pp.118-19), who notes: ‘Among all the women, however, I saw nothing like a pretty face.’ On a deeper level it might sum up everything about Transylvania – beauty is skin deep.<<

^[45] Slovaks are defined by Johnson as Transylvanian peasants (p.244).<<

^[46] Paraphrased from Johnson (pp.244-45) and Magyarland (p.191).<<

^[47] Harker’s train had left at 8.30 that morning. He must be tired, and before he goes to bed he has to write up this whole entry in his journal.<<

^[48] The Borgo Pass has assumed mythical status as Dracula’s refuge. Stoker read about it in Boner: ‘Borgo Prund to E of Bistritz’ (p.417) … ‘Pass into Moldavia, scenery increases in picturesqueness – good road. Near Prund is a territory continuously fought for by Wallachians and Saxons’ (p.419). The map in Boner also shows the ‘Borgo Pass’.<<

^[49] Stoker’s detail on the turbulent history of Bistritz comes from Boner (p.377), who remarks that the siege of 1602 lasted 20 days, and lists five conflagrations between 1836 and 1850. Encyclopaedia Britannica mentions an even more recent fire, in 1857.<<

^[50] This presumably refers to the telegram Dracula sent on 24 April (see note 3). It cannot refer to Harker by name, as is implied, since the Count is not expecting Harker at all, rather his employer. Dracula would be unlikely to recommend any particular hotel unless he exerts some control over it. Moreover, unless he has entrusted the sending of the telegram to another, Dracula must have sent it personally, presenting himself at Bistritz telegraph office. Even vampires have to keep abreast of modern technology. As for the name of the hotel, krone is German for crown. If an inn of that name existed in Bistritz at the time, Stoker could hardly have known of it. One may be found today, of course, to nourish and accommodate Dracula pilgrims passing through.<<

^[51] This says more about Harker than it does about the old woman.<<

^[52] The old woman speaks German. Otherwise Harker would not know what she said. Note that it is an ‘Englishman’ who is expected, not Harker personally.<<

^[53] ‘My Friend’, not ‘My dear Mr Harker’, since Dracula is expecting someone else.<<

^[54] At 3 in the afternoon.<<

^[55] diligence. A stage-coach, originally of French design. Baedeker’s Southern Germany and Austria, Including Hungary and Transylvania – which Stoker surely consulted – states that a diligence could accommodate twelve passengers comfortably. Harker thereby transfers from train to stage-coach for the rest of his journey.<<

^[56] Harker availed himself of rail tickets only, from London as far as Bistritz. From there onwards he is in Dracula’s hands.<<

^[57] This brief letter raises many questions. It is written in English in Dracula’s hand, and is one of only two such documents in the novel. Better for Harker to have tucked it inside his journal, rather than copy it out, which implies he has destroyed it. The letter is suspiciously friendly when it should be businesslike, and is signed ‘Dracula’, not Count Dracula. Whether or not the letter was sealed, it will be unintelligible to the locals, since it is written in English. It might even have been delivered by Dracula in person. He is not a hermit in his castle but is well known in Bistritz and surrounding towns. By day, no one has need to fear him.<<

^[58] Another letter from Dracula. Harker can know its contents only if told by the landlord – in German. The ‘best place on the coach’ is by the window, facing the direction of travel, to enjoy the view. Tickets for this seat might be more expensive.<<

^[59] The money would be coins, not bank-notes.<<

^[60] This concern for Harker makes it all the more puzzling that Dracula should insist that the Englishman stay at the Golden Krone. A lesser character than Harker might have taken to his heels and fled back to England.<<

^[61] This is likely to be Hungarian or Romanian. The latter, having Latin roots, would present the occasional recognisable word. Hungarian, on the other hand, is unrelated to any other mainstream European language.<<

^[62] Saint George, who died around AD 303, is the patron saint of England and protector of other places, including Bavaria, Venice, and Constantinople. His life was obscured by legend, the most famous of which was his confrontation with Satan, in the guise of a dragon, whom he overcame. The name Dracul translates both as ‘devil’ and ‘dragon’, though it is not known if Stoker knew of any ‘dragon’ connection. In 1222 the Council of Oxford ordered that George’s feast be celebrated on 23 April as a national festival. Harker, however, is writing on 4 May. The reason for the discrepancy is that in 1752 Britain switched from the Julian to the Gregorian Calendar. Russia and Greece did not switch till after World War I. Several countries affiliated with the Greek Orthodox Church still retain the old, Julian Calendar for the celebration of church feasts.<<

^[63] St George’s shield is at its weakest on the eve of his feast, when evil spirits are at their most malevolent. Gerard writes: ‘the eve of which is still frequently kept by occult meetings taking place at night in lonely caverns or within ruined walls.’ (Origins p.114).<<

^[64] The old woman must wonder why Dracula insisted that the English newcomer stay at her inn. There is much useful information to be extracted from the inn-keepers.<<

^[65] The woman implies that it is safer to visit Castle Dracula after St George’s Eve. The text offers nothing to support this. Dracula is not beholden to superstition and is malevolent at all times. Stoker is motivated simply to add atmosphere.<<

^[66] Twice in a few lines Harker has spoken of the need to conduct ‘business’. We shall later note the nuances of the word as Stoker employs it.<<

^[67] Harker is the first, but will not the last character to emphasise his ‘duty’.<<

^[68] English Churchman. Otherwise known as an Anglican, or adherent to the Church of England, which became the established English church under King Henry VIII. It encompasses a multiplicity of views. The ‘High Church’ shares many features of Roman Catholicism; the ‘Low Church’ prefers less emphasis on ceremony, a partial consequence of the Reformation.<<

^[69] A crucifix, unlike a simple cross, contains an embossed image of the crucified Christ. It is this that Harker finds idolatrous. The old woman presses her crucifix upon him because she feels his need is greater than hers.<<

^[70] Ironically, both Harker’s parents are assumed dead (see p.201).<<

^[71] Harker wrote both his first, and this – his second – journal entry in the Golden Krone hotel. Later, we deduce that he now posts a letter to Mina before catching the diligence.<<

^[72] of course, late. Dracula’s letter said the diligence would leave at 3 p.m., but Stoker’s notes say it leaves at 2 p.m. These times are hard to reconcile with the coach leaving late. Either way, the driver will try to make up for lost time.<<

^[73] Harker has accepted the aid of Catholic symbols, which serves to undermine his own Anglican faith.<<

^[74] Harker does not say what this ‘book’ is. It might, for example, be a proper diary, unused till May, or a special wide-lined shorthand book. In fact, it is just an ordinary note-book, as will become clear.<<

^[75] Fleeting thoughts of death cross Harker’s mind almost from the outset.<<

^[76] The morning sun is in the east, where the horizon is ‘jagged’. Stoker contradicts this in the climax. Harker is looking out from his room at the castle, which must therefore face east, towards the border with Bukovina.<<

^[77] This sounds double-Dutch. Harker means he wishes to be allowed to wake in his own time.<<

^[78] Dates in Dracula indicate when events occurred, not when they are written up. Here, for example, though Harker is writing on 5 May, he is referring to his journey to the castle late on the 4th. He has had no sleep; his nocturnal existence has begun.<<

^[79] who reads them. As Harker writes in shorthand, his secrets are safe from almost everyone except Mina. He adds authenticity by detailing what he eats and drinks.<<

^[80] Harker refers to his mid-day meal while waiting for the diligence.<<

^[81] This description of ‘robber steak’ is taken from Crosse, p.84. Stoker perhaps plays upon the name, for Satan is a ‘robber’.<<

^[82] cat’s meat. Horse flesh.<<

^[83] Taken from Crosse, p.120. ‘Golden Mediasch … produces an agreeable prickling on the tongue.’ Mediasch is a Transylvanian town south-west of Bistritz.<<

^[84] word-bearer. From Magyarland: ‘Szohordok – word-bearers – bench outside peasant house.’<<

^[85] polyglot dictionary. Nowadays one finds multi-lingual dictionaries for major European languages – French, German, Spanish, Italian – but Harker’s version apparently includes weird expressions from obscure languages such as Hungarian and Romanian.<<

^[86] Ordog and pokol are Hungarian words. They are taken from Magyarland, p.77.<<

^[87] Stregoica, the feminine of strigoi, is a Wallachian term and comes from Wilkinson, p.213. It should properly be spelled ‘strigoaica’.<<

^[88] Servian. Serbian. Serbia is a Balkan state whose capital is Belgrade. Serbia was pivotal in sparking World War I and later became part of Yugoslavia.<<

^[89] From Baring-Gould, pp.114-15, though Stoker’s ‘vrolak’ should read ‘vrkolak’. This is the first appearance of the word ‘vampire’ in the novel.<<

^[90] Harker’s journal doubles as a memo pad.<<

^[91] Harker has unwittingly become the local entertainment.<<

^[92] This particular passenger speaks German, but he only bothers to do so once he discovers that Harker is English.<<

^[93] The evil eye has scriptural foundation. ‘If thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness.’ (Matthew 6:22-23). Folklore prescribes countless ways to ward off the evil eye. Stoker does not say which two fingers were used, various permutations being acknowledged in Romanian folklore (Wolf, Essential Dracula, pp.10-11). Stabbing the air with index and little fingers extended, is one way. Dracula, of course, is the evil eye.<<

^[94] From Johnson, pp.238-39, though Johnson writes ‘gatza’, not ‘gotza’. The driver sits alone, with no one alongside him.<<

^[95] ‘Four abreast’ is an unusual combination in Britain, less so in Europe. Stoker’s notes give the source of this (Crosse). Four horses indicates the size of the diligence, which is not dissimilar to a Wild West stage-coach.<<

^[96] Given that it is St George’s Eve, it is surprising to find any passengers headed through the Borgo Pass. They obviously feel themselves to be safe against whatever terrors may lurk.<<

^[97] Mittel (middle) land. This comes from Boner, p.418. ‘A ridge of low hills rising in the Vale between the highest mountains.’<<

^[98] On a winding, pitted road, uphill virtually all the way, the labouring horses could not have travelled much faster than 6 m.p.h. It would have been a bone-shaking journey at the best of times.<<

^[99] These conditions make travelling even slower. At least Harker can enjoy the view and practise his German.<<

^[100] From Wilkinson, p.166. Hospodars (not Hospadars) is a corruption of Gospodars – Governors of Wallachia and Moldavia from the 15th century until 1866. Harker has not yet benefited from Dracula’s personal tutorials on Transylvanian history. He most likely picked up bits and pieces from the British Library.<<

^[101] From Johnson, p.261. Stoker even duplicates Johnson’s four descriptive colours.<<

^[102] From Johnson, p.261. ‘[The rocky crags] towered range above range … They are almost inaccessible, and their steep and rocky sides are cut by numerous chasms, through which descend the waters which fertilise Transylvania.’ Though Johnson may not be writing specifically of the Borgo Pass, he portrays a landscape alternating between rolling beauty and jagged mystery. An actual journey through the Borgo Pass does little to merit his atmospheric description. Rocky crags do not tower range upon range. The actual ascent is gradual and nowhere rises above the tree-line. The top of the Pass is open and exposed, offering expansive views of distant hills and pine forests. To find examples of jagged landscape, such as around the Bicaz Gorge, one needs to travel some distance from the Borgo Pass.<<

^[103] Isten szek. From Johnson, p.261, though he spells it ‘Isten-Szék’. The actual feature is less imposing than the writer suggests, being an anonymous conical hill rather than a forbidding refuge for the gods. Johnson also says the peak is ‘the abode of eternal snow’. In May, when the editor visited, God’s Seat was entirely free from snow.<<

^[104] Not too reverently, one trusts, since the passengers could have stayed at home on this feared night. They are travelling by choice, not like Harker, who will not allow himself to be deflected from this important business trip.<<

^[105] Harker is travelling eastwards. The sun, setting behind him, would show the Borgo Pass at its best – or worst.<<

^[106] From Johnson, p.269. ‘… highest snow peaks had flesh tints as sun set’.<<

^[107] From Wilkinson, p.167. Goitre is a swelling in the neck caused by an enlarged thyroid gland.<<

^[108] From Johnson, p.249. Crosses in Transylvania are not those familiar to the West, but are generally topped with a graceful arch.<<

^[109] The peasants are out and about as dusk approaches on St George’s Eve. They will doubtless hurry home once their devotions are complete and secure their doors with garlic.<<

^[110] From Crosse, p.91.<<

^[111] From Crosse, p.106. Leiter-wagons are pulled by one horse or buffalo, and are still in common use in Transylvania. In the final chapter Stoker spells it ‘leiter-waggon’.<<

^[112] A leiter-wagon is not a people-carrier. It has no seats, other than for the driver. Those hitching a lift sit anywhere along its length, upon logs or whatever else is being carted, dangling their legs over the side. Given that the roads are rutted and narrow, and leiter-wagons long and cumbersome, overtaking in a diligence with four horses abreast is a hazardous manoeuvre.<<

^[113] These peasants show no urgency or fear. Don’t they know what day it is?<<

^[114] From Crosse, p.359.<<

^[115] From Johnson, p.110. ‘Grey moss in abundant festoons from fir-trees – weird and solemn.’<<

^[116] From Crosse, p.271. ‘It is curious to notice sometimes in the higher Carpathians how the clouds march continuously through the winding valleys.’<<

^[117] Should an incline prove too great for the horses, some or all (male) passengers would ordinarily climb down to lighten the load. This is not a matter of courtesy, but of practicality. Otherwise the carriage would never get going again.<<

^[118] Carriage lamps offered little illumination when compared with today’s car head-lights. In the absence of street-lights the horses have only a poor view of the road ahead, and have little choice but to travel slowly.<<

^[119] Speaking to the driver is unlikely to be for the benefit of other passengers – since they presumably know what they are doing – but for Harker’s.<<

^[120] Borgo is known in modern Romanian as ‘Birgau’. To be precise, Harker is probably passing through the Tihuta Pass, 1,200 metres above sea level.<<

^[121] We shall soon learn what these gifts are. The passengers presumably retain more of the same, for self-protection.<<

^[122] In other words they are now through the pass, which they are leaving behind them. Escape beckons, and the horses can pick up speed downhill as they head towards Bukovina.<<

^[123] Thunder and lightning are more frequent in summer than in spring. Harker has already told us how cold it is, and it will shortly begin to snow. The thunder, therefore, most likely has another explanation – the first sample of Dracula’s powers. The Borgo Pass separates two atmospheres, the good and the bad, west and east, the Christian and the pagan.<<

^[124] White steam rises from the horses, who have been labouring uphill for hours. The Borgo Pass begins at Borgo Prund, 14 miles from Bistritz, and extends for 33 miles.<<

^[125] Stoker’s notes say: ‘Arrive Borgo Pass at 9 p.m. (one hour early).’ This is pretty fast, particularly since the diligence left Bistritz late.<<

^[126] We are not informed of the diligence’s destination. Vatra Dornei is the first big town on this route. The Borgo Pass is nearer Vatra Dornei than to Bistritz. See note 132.<<

^[127] Stoker’s notes say horses are disturbed at the approach of Dracula and smell blood.<<

^[128] The ‘passengers’ have suddenly become ‘peasants’. Harker, of course, has no idea who his fellow-travellers are. One suspects that they are mostly townsfolk. The diligence would be too expensive for peasants, who would in any case have little reason to travel so far, and little inclination to do so on this of all nights.<<

^[129] A calèche (sometimes ‘calash’) is another type of Continental carriage. It is distinguished by small, low wheels and a folding top, and is ordinarily pulled by one horse, not four. Stoker’s note is taken from Wilkinson: ‘Boyars use German caleche chiefly – gaudy carriage with poor harness and horse and Gypsy driver in rags is common’ (p.91).<<

^[130] Four ‘splendid’ horses, compared with the four ‘small’ horses pulling the diligence. For Harker, escape is pointless. Stoker also plays upon the folk-belief that black horses are attuned to vampires. According to superstition they may be led around a graveyard in search of buried vampires and will rear up at a suspect grave.<<

^[131] A mystery. We shall be reminded of this long brown beard in due course.<<

^[132] It will come as no surprise to learn that the coachman is Dracula himself, whose armoury of talents includes the ability to mind-read. By describing his luminous eyes, Harker highlights Dracula’s animalism from the outset.<<

^[133] Dracula is as familiar with timetables of diligences as Harker’s fiancée is of trains (see p.228), and he has no doubt ridden in them himself many times over the years.<<

^[134] Evidence of Dracula’s telepathic powers. The exchange suggests he and the driver are acquainted. Certainly, the driver, who takes this route regularly, knows who he is talking to. But though he is scared, he is not scared for his life. Neither are the passengers. Otherwise they would have stayed well away from the Borgo Pass on St George’s Eve. They know their armoury of crucifixes and folkloric precautions keeps evil at bay. So does Dracula. That is the crux; that is why he seeks pastures new. Note, too, that Dracula does not indulge in gratuitous violence. He is thwarted from sucking the passengers’ blood, but not from breaking their necks, should he choose. The cheeky driver, who sought to outwit him, is not even afraid of that.<<

^[135] Gottfried August Bürger, who died in 1794, was a celebrated German poet. The exact words given by Harker do not appear in his works, the nearest being: ‘The Dead ride fast’. It is, of course, doubtful that the peasant knows the source of the lines. That Harker does suggests he takes an interest in German verse. ‘Lenore’ was first translated into English in 1796.<<

^[136] Dracula has many guises. Here he acts as a common highwayman, the Dick Turpin of the Borgo Pass. One momentarily wonders whether the driver and passengers, having failed with persuasion, might try to protect Harker by force of arms. But as Harker is determined to go with Dracula, there is little point.<<

^[137] They are heading back the way they came, westwards into the Borgo Pass.<<

^[138] According to Baedeker, the diligence’s likely destination is Suczawa (nowadays spelled Suceava), a journey of 23 hours from Bistritz. But wherever it is headed, the coach is unlikely to arrive before midnight, when all hell will break loose. Assuming the passengers survive St George’s Eve, word of the strange Englishman’s fate will spread like wildfire among local villages.<<

^[139] As Harker’s German is sketchy he is unlikely to know when it is spoken perfectly. As we shall see, Dracula speaks good English. The driver addresses Harker in German merely to disguise his identity.<<

^[140] Dracula alludes to himself as a count only obliquely. Here the title is spoken by the mouth of the ‘driver’. Later, Dracula adopts the pseudonym ‘Count de Ville’ and instructs a box to be labelled ‘Count Dracula’ (see p.473).<<

^[141] From Crosse, p.8.<<

^[142] A turn of 180 degrees, reversing their tracks.<<

^[143] Harker is being disorientated, though as he has no opportunity of escape it seems unnecessary. Here as elsewhere, Stoker injects atmosphere for its own sake.<<

^[144] As Harker carries matches he is presumably a smoker – as most men were in those days.<<

^[145] The diligence set off some time after 3 p.m., Harker has already been buffeted about in horse-drawn carriages for eight hours or more. By the sound of it, much of this time has been spent to-ing and fro-ing in the calèche.<<

^[146] Farmhouses exist in the vicinity of Castle Dracula! The fact that their occupants are not vampirised or exterminated reaffirms that locals may safely disregard Dracula’s menace. Of course, there is no reason why a barking dog must belong to a farm, whose existence Harker merely presumes. The jagged terrain portrayed in previous pages seems inappropriate to arable or livestock farming.<<

^[147] One wonders how the untravelled Harker distinguishes between the howl of dog and wolf. He is unlikely ever to have heard the latter in the wild.<<

^[148] In modern parlance, Dracula exhibits the talents of a ‘horse whisperer’. One by one, Harker discovers the extraordinary talents of the ‘driver’ – his prodigious strength, his control over animals. Harker has also seen evidence of the power to summon thunder, though he as yet does not attribute this to human agency.<<

^[149] The calèche has been going back and forth so often it is not clear whether ‘to the right’ means branching north or south. In fact, it is south.<<

^[150] A ‘tunnel’ is unusual for a track. Perhaps the road was busier in former times.<<

^[151] Harker describes peculiar weather conditions. ‘Powdery’ snowfalls require still air, yet he writes of branches crashing together, akin to a blizzard. The ‘tunnel’ of trees, moreover, would collect the snow to prevent it falling.<<

^[152] This depends on wind-direction, which distorts the distance of sounds.<<

^[153] Stoker learned about blue flames in Emily Gerard’s ‘Transylvanian Superstitions’ (see Origins p.115). Dracula will shortly explain their significance.<<

^[154] Another oddity about the driver, though Harker cannot trust his own senses.<<

^[155] These are the ramblings of a terrified man. What with fatigue, the wind, the winding road, his disorientation, Harker hasn’t a clue what is going on.<<

^[156] Scudding clouds do not normally carry snow. There is also the tunnel of trees, which in late spring would blot out much of the sky. In which case, little moonlight could squeeze through. As we shall see, in Dracula the moon shines at all times.<<

^[157] White and red. The same colour combination as the driver’s. These colours, together with black, dominate the visual imagery of the novel.<<

^[158] To be trapped in the snow within a circle of death. Stoker repeats this image at the climax.<<

^[159] trap. That is, calèche.<<

^[160] Dracula exhibits an array of commands and gestures by which to control the wolves, of which sweeping his arms is only the first.<<

^[161] The road from Bistritz ascends to the Borgo Pass. As there is more climbing to be done, it must be to the south-east, towards the central massif of that part of the Carpathians known as the Calimani Mountains.<<

^[162] Castle Dracula is not some Disneyesque fortress perched spectacularly atop a mountain, but is accessible by road, by four horses pulling a calèche.<<

^[163] Stoker often breaks chapters not at the end of journal entries, but in the middle.<<

^[164] This pervading doubt – what is real, what is dream? – will be continually played out.<<

^[165] This is the second time Harker has been taken in hand by the driver. Again he makes no comment on its coldness (see Psalm 32; Isaiah 40:12; 48:13; Lamentations 3:3-7).<<

^[166] traps. Luggage.<<

^[167] Because there are ordinarily no visitors.<<

^[168] The English legal system distinguishes between ‘solicitors’ – who prepare cases for court – and bewigged ‘barristers’, who present those cases before a judge. Harker is a solicitor; Stoker qualified as a barrister in 1890 – though he never practised law.<<

^[169] Having to study late into the night for his examinations will not have made Harker the easiest of company for his long-suffering fiancée, Mina.<<

^[170] It sounds as though Harker has been kept waiting for hours, though maybe fear has distorted his sense of time (for ‘morning’ references see: Revelation 22:16; Isaiah 14:12).<<

^[171] Not total disuse. It will be opened several times in the coming pages. If it has not been opened for years, maybe centuries, prior to Harker’s visit, he marks himself as perhaps the first innocent to be summoned to Castle Dracula to meet his fate.<<

^[172] Stoker does not expand on Dracula’s sartorial style, nor for that matter on anyone else’s. Other than a cloak, we never hear anything about Dracula’s normal mode of attire.<<

^[173] One would expect a naked lamp to be quickly extinguished in a draughty old castle with holes in its walls. Proximity to fire is here demonstrated to present no threat to vampires, though Stoker later appears to contradict this (see Revelation 3:20; 21:23).<<

^[174] Harker never places, or describes, Dracula’s foreign accent.<<

^[175] Evil must be voluntarily entered into, as instanced in Goethe’s Faust and Coleridge’s ‘Christabel’. Harker must step over the threshold of his own volition.<<

^[176] These lovely lines are ill served by being uttered by the Prince of Darkness.<<

^[177] The hand of the Count is ice-cold. Harker said nothing about the hand of the driver, though it quickly becomes apparent that Dracula and the driver are one and the same. Since Dracula is clean-shaven, the latter’s brown beard was a disguise. This raises two questions. First, why does Dracula bother with subterfuge when Harker can draw his own conclusions? Second, the brown beard was either false or real. If false, Dracula must keep a supply of wigs. If real, he must have shaved off the beard before opening the door to Harker. But, if so, how do we explain the droopy white moustache?<<

^[178] The title ‘Count’ may be found in the Hungarian nobility but is unusual in the British aristocracy. The historical Dracula, Vlad Tepes, was a Prince, as will be shortly explained.<<

^[179] Dracula addresses Harker by name for the first time. This would appear to be an oversight by Stoker, who, interestingly, removed the words ‘Mr Harker’ from the 1901 paperback edition of Dracula.<<

^[180] A reminder of earlier times, when the castle was properly inhabited.<<

^[181] Harker knows his manners. It is improper for an aristocrat to stoop to behave like a porter.<<

^[182] The corridors are uncarpeted, so no mortal could move about unheard.<<

^[183] Dracula prepared the fire himself while Harker waited outside in the cold. Stoker does not provide a detailed plan of Castle Dracula, so the reader is left to construct one with what clues are provided. We are now one storey above the entrance.<<

^[184] A windowless octagonal room. Its odd shape suggests it may be part of a turret. Either way, it separates Harker’s bedroom from the dining quarters.<<

^[185] Given the castle’s prominent location, smoke from these roaring fires will billow for miles around. Since warm-blooded ‘guests’ are few and far between, the smoke informs homesteads in the vicinity that mischief is afoot. Some anti-Catholic critics might suggest loose parallels with the white smoke emanating from the Vatican to signal a new pope.<<

^[186] making your toilet. To wash and change.<<

^[187] gout. An inflammation of the joints, especially the big toe. It was presumed to have dietary cause and was popularly associated in the 18th and 19th centuries with over-indulgence. As an affliction principally targeting the well-to-do, it was something of a fashionable malady.<<

^[188] Up to this moment Dracula has been expecting Mr Hawkins in person. So why did he welcome Harker by name?<<

^[189] sufficient substitute. These apologetic words pitch Harker headlong into the devil’s jaws. He is the naïve Fool in the Tarot, ready to step out on the quest for Knowledge. The Fool frequently embarks on his quest by accident, shrugging off or failing to understand warnings placed in his path. For further discussion see Dracula: the Novel & the Legend, Chapter 12, ‘The Tarot and the Grail’.<<

^[190] Harker, we shall learn, has worked for Mr Hawkins since leaving school, and has enjoyed his benefaction for most of his life.<<

^[191] instructions in all matters. These unthinking words condemn Harker to slavish obedience of Dracula. But they are hardly necessary. Harker is a man attuned to obey, and this increases the speed with which the net closes around him.<<

^[192] Dracula spares Harker another exotic local dish and serves up salad and chicken. The castle has a serviceable kitchen somewhere, though Harker never finds it.<<

^[193] Tokay. An aromatic sweet wine from the Tokay region of Hungary.<<

^[194] Dracula endeavours to discover to what extent Harker was forewarned.<<

^[195] All? Does Harker divulge the gifts of crucifixes and medicinal plants pressed upon him? It would appear not, for these take Dracula by surprise.<<

^[196] Dracula is a rarity at that time, a non-smoker. One appreciates that he does not eat or drink, as such, but tobacco now joins his list of aversions. The fact that Dracula easily tolerates Harker’s cigar smoke suggests that – unlike garlic – tobacco is no natural antidote to vampires.<<

^[197] physiognomy. The belief that human character may be deduced from facial features acquired quasi-scientific support in the nineteenth century. Though largely discredited by the 1890s, Stoker refers to it frequently – both in Dracula and The Jewel of Seven Stars (see p.87) – in ways which suggest he was not unsympathetic. What follows is the novel’s main physical description of Count Dracula.<<

^[198] aquiline. From Aquila: having the characteristics of an eagle. This somewhat archaic term was popularly taken to mean Roman-featured, especially the nose.<<

^[199] Much of this description is stereotypical, though the notion of scanty hair round the temples is unexpected. Put bluntly, Dracula is going bald. Stoker describes a character in The Jewel of Seven Stars in the same terms.<<

^[200] From Baring-Gould: ‘the were-wolf … may be known by the meeting of his eyebrows above his nose’, see Origins p.147.<<

^[201] No mention of canines. ‘Protruding teeth’ usually refers to incisors, giving a rabbit-like, appearance. In Murnau’s 1922 movie Nosferatu the vampire had pointed incisors, not canines. In fact, it is Dracula’s canine teeth that Harker refers to. The description owes much to Baring-Gould, p.87: ‘canine teeth protruding over lower lip when mouth closed.’<<

^[202] of his age. Harker does not speculate upon Dracula’s age. In reality, upon death the lips quickly lose their colour. The ruddiness of Dracula’s lips is a mocking sign of ‘life’.<<

^[203] Pointed ears is another feature of certain animals – wolves, bats.<<

^[204] This description has attracted much speculation. Who, if anyone, is it modelled upon? The historical Dracula and Stoker’s employer, Henry Irving, are the two names most frequently canvassed. But it is no less probable that Dracula is pure stereotype, of the kind found throughout Gothic fiction.<<

^[205] Dracula makes no attempt to conceal his hands, teeth, and ears, and does not mind Harker drawing his own conclusions.<<

^[206] From Baring-Gould, p.87. The teeth, ears, hands, nails – these all signify a wolf. Stoker makes clear that Dracula is half beast. Folklore often linked vampirism and lycanthropy: were-wolves in life were prone in certain circumstances to becoming vampires in death.<<

^[207] Halitosis is now added to Dracula’s feral nature. The description is at odds with his courtly manners and aristocratic mein. Dracula, balding and smelly, is clearly no romantic libertine. The cinema has added facets that Stoker never intended. Curiously, Harker did not notice any smell attached to the coach-driver.<<

^[208] Harker arrived at night. He has no idea of his whereabouts and cannot know if a valley is nearby.<<

^[209] This beautiful line is ironic. Stoker’s notes say that Dracula has no appreciation of music. The Count’s ‘music’ comes from the beasts he commands – Satan’s dark angels.<<

^[210] Dracula does not know where Harker dwells. Though working in Exeter, he might live in a remote village on Dartmoor. In any case, though labelled a city on account of its cathedral, Exeter in the 1890s was little more than a provincial town.<<

^[211] This crude contrast between urban and rural lifestyles is deceptive. Dracula is not a hunter, as ordinarily understood. He may at some time have enjoyed hunting expeditions, assisted by a bevy of attendants, but nowadays he only hunts humans, and his tactics and weapons are hardly those of the typical hunter.<<

^[212] So where does he go? We shall soon learn what it is that Dracula hunts. But he is not always successful. For the time being he brings back no ‘catch’.<<

^[213] This is the second time Harker contemplates his death. Dawn is breaking on 5 May, and he now writes up everything that has happened since leaving Bistritz the previous afternoon. For ‘doubt’ and ‘fear’ see James 1:6; Romans 14:23; Mark 11:23; 1 John 4:18.<<

^[214] This should be 48 hours. The narrative appears to be continuous, though a day and night has been lost. Harker’s ‘enjoyment’ reveals his oscillating frame of mind.<<

^[215] No details of any breakfasts are given, either in Transylvania or elsewhere.<<

^[216] The fire still burns late in the day, which means chimney smoke is billowing forth in broad daylight.<<

^[217] Dracula dispenses with his name and now signs himself with his initial. This is the final document in the novel written in his own hand. Harker appears not to keep it.<<

^[218] Hampton Court. Palace founded by Cardinal Wolsey in 1515 on the River Thames, west of London, open to tourists.<<

^[219] With no visitors, this is not in itself surprising. There is, after all, no bell or door knocker either. Stoker’s notes state that the castle is devoid of mirrors.<<

^[220] Harker is in many respects Stoker’s alter ego. But whereas Harker is clean-shaven, Stoker appears full-bearded in every known photograph of him.<<

^[221] In the evening of 6 May.<<

^[222] So far, three doors lead off from the dining room – the first through which Harker entered on arrival, the second to the octagonal room leading to his bedroom, and now a third door connecting to the library.<<

^[223] This, the fourth door, is locked. It is never explained and never referred to again.<<

^[224] Harker does not say if there are books on France, Germany or elsewhere. If there are none, that is good news for the inhabitants of those countries.<<

^[225] As Dracula has never been to England, and no one from England had ever visited Dracula, how did he come by the newspapers? How recent was the most recent paper?<<

^[226] Political economy would nowadays be called economics, but in the 1890s the term was only just coming into common usage.<<

^[227] London Directory. A Directory of commercial traders in and around London.<<

^[228] Red books. Directories detailing the English aristocracy and nobility. Blue books. Parliamentary publications, known by their stiff blue paper covers.<<

^[229] Whitaker’s Almanac. Published annually, a treasure trove of miscellaneous information on every conceivable subject. Though Dracula possessed a copy, it appears that Stoker did not, since it would have given him dates of the moon’s phases.<<

^[230] Army and Navy Lists. Directory of serving commissioned officers.<<

^[231] The Law List. Directory of practising lawyers. Although Harker does not say so, this is probably how Dracula picked out Hawkins’ firm.<<

^[232] Earlier, the carpetless castle corridors echoed loudly to footsteps. But now Dracula is able to creep up on Harker unawares.<<

^[233] ‘Hearty’ is one of Stoker’s favourite and over-used masculine adjectives. It seems curiously inappropriate in the case of Dracula.<<

^[234] It would have been more accurate to enquire if Harker had a good ‘day’s’ rest.<<

^[235] Dracula has had the idea of going to London for ‘years past’. As time and money are no object, why hasn’t he gone already? He is clearly preparing the way. If he needs to digest all these books, his learning must be conventionally acquired. He cannot avail himself of any supernatural short-cut.<<

^[236] These graphic lines bring us as near as we get to Dracula’s motive. Barren, under-populated Transylvania, whose population flouts his authority with crosses and garlic, is to be exchanged for teeming London, with its millions of unsuspecting victims.<<

^[237] Dracula’s English is self-taught. Harker is perhaps the first native speaker he has encountered. It is better to learn a foreign language by reading its fiction than by scouring the Law List, but Dracula’s library appears unacquainted with the works of John Polidori or Sheridan Le Fanu, let alone the exploits of Varney the Vampyre.<<

^[238] To prove his point, Dracula lapses into gobbledegook. Fortunately, there are few instances of this.<<

^[239] Dracula again declines to call himself ‘Count’. In Russia, boyar referred to the higher Russian nobility, below the rank of prince, but was abolished by Peter the Great who died in 1725. In Romania, boyar referred more widely to a member of the privileged classes. In Hungary it has no meaning.<<

^[240] This confirms the earlier supposition that Dracula is no mendacious hermit, locked within his castle’s walls. He goes about his domain and is well known to the populace of Bistritz and other towns and villages.<<

^[241] Dracula quotes from the Old Testament. These are the words of Moses’ son Gershom (Exodus 2:22).<<

^[242] Dracula calls men of his acquaintance ‘friend’, as will Professor Van Helsing.<<

^[243] Dracula appears to be feeling his way. He could hardly expect Mr Hawkins to abandon his Exeter law firm in order to stay in Transylvania ‘a while’. But this young rookie is another matter.<<

^[244] Discourse with Harker will not give Dracula an ‘English’ intonation, rather a Devon one. Harker has ‘grown to manhood’ with Mr Hawkins’ law firm, and his west country lilt – which Stoker never mentions – would be the last thing Dracula wants in London.<<

^[245] Harker never records any instance of correcting Dracula’s speech.<<

^[246] that room. The library.<<

^[247] This intriguing sentiment, which Harker does not intuit, suggests the possibility of other realities than those with which the solicitor is familiar.<<

^[248] One wonders to what extent Harker has conveyed his fears to Dracula, and how much he has prudently kept to himself.<<

^[249] ‘pretending not to understand’ may be a Transylvanian habit, since Stoker noticed a similar occurrence in Bistritz.<<

^[250] This confirms the dating error. Harker has spent one night in the castle, not two.<<

^[251] Further confirmation of the above. Had Harker’s dates been correct, Dracula would have had to say the night before last.<<

^[252] From Gerard: ‘In the night of St George’s Day [the 24th of April corresponding to our 6th of May] … all these treasures begin to burn … and the light they give forth, described as a bluish flame resembling the colour of lighted spirits of wine, serves to guide favoured mortals to their place of concealment’ (see Origins p.115).<<

^[253] From Boner, p.419.<<

^[254] The first mention of Dracula’s ‘canines’, though it appears that only his upper, not his lower canines are visible over his lips.<<

^[255] This can hardly be true, since the diligence’s passengers were willing to brave the night outdoors. Had the carriage shed a wheel, for example, they would have been stuck in the Borgo Pass till help arrived the next day. This prospect does not deter them.<<

^[256] Dracula describes himself as a boyar one minute, a peasant the next.<<

^[257] This raises questions about why Dracula sought the buried gold. He has enough of it already. Stoker most probably wrote this scene, like others, for dramatic effect.<<

^[258] The reader is so accustomed to images of Dracula lying in coffins that it comes as a mild shock to picture him stretched out on a sofa.<<

^[259] Bradshaw’s Guide. Timetables of British rail services, published monthly. They were a British institution, for no person of standing would be without one. Harker does not state the year or the month of Dracula’s copy. Nor does he ask how he acquired it.<<

^[260] It is not immediately apparent why the ‘neighbourhood’ of his English house is important to Dracula. But we soon learn.<<

^[261] This is remiss of Harker. The solicitor should advise the client; not the other way round. The area in question is so rural one wonders how Dracula learned much about it.<<

^[262] From Crosse, p. 149. ‘In Hungarian, the Christian name comes last.’<<

^[263] No price is mentioned, nor the method of payment. Hitherto, the estate was said to be in London. Now we are told it is in Purfleet, in Essex, 18 miles east of London on the north bank of the River Thames. In the 1890s Purfleet was little more than a village, but was accessible from London by steamer down the river and by the London-Tilbury-Southend railway line. In summer its population was swelled by day-trippers.<<

^[264] Alas, Dracula’s signature never comes to light.<<

^[265] It is important for legal reasons that this letter is posted and received, otherwise the sale of the property will not be completed. But it appears it never reaches Mr Hawkins.<<

^[266] Dracula had provided Hawkins with a brief, a list of features the estate in question must and must not have. We may surmise that the property must be isolated, but easily accessible to and from London. It must also have a chapel and a nearby mad-house …<<

^[267] The estate is not ‘in’ Purfleet, but near it. This will later be confirmed.<<

^[268] Harker is engaged in the activity known as conveyancing, the legal business of buying and selling property. Stoker’s notes state that Harker investigated the property at Purfleet on 12-13 April, twelve days before set he off for Transylvania. On the Sunday he visited his beloved Mina at her school, which suggests a boarding school.<<

^[269] As the ‘For Sale’ sign is dilapidated, it must have been standing for a long time. Either the price is too high or some other aspect deters potential buyers – the place is haunted, perhaps, or – as we shall see – there are disagreeable neighbours.<<

^[270] The estate has been uninhabited for many years. Harker does not ask himself what Dracula might want with such a run-down ruin, unless he wishes to renovate it.<<

^[271] Quatre Face. This also means ‘the place where four roads meet’. It is under such sites that suicides were traditionally buried, since should they come back to life they would get lost, not knowing which direction to take.<<

^[272] This will enable Dracula to align his sleeping quarters east-west, his head facing the rising sun. Stoker makes the same point in The Jewel of Seven Stars.<<

^[273] 20 acres amounts to 96,800 square yards, or some 300 yards down each side.<<

^[274] When the action switches to Carfax this stream is never mentioned, though Dracula, we learn, cannot cross running water. The stream would flow into the nearby Thames.<<

^[275] Carfax has been added to, piecemeal, over the centuries by previous owners.<<

^[276] keep. The innermost, most impregnable part of a fortress. Harker does not say so, but Purfleet rises sharply from the river-front, and is topped by Beacon Hill.<<

^[277] Harker could not inspect the chapel because the key was missing, but the fact that Dracula will be similarly barred entry does not cross his mind.<<

^[278] In the 1880s George Eastman developed the roll film, which supplanted heavy plates and the need for professional photographers. Harker took pictures of Carfax himself. It is a pity that he did not bring his camera with him and try to snap Dracula. Stoker’s notes say that photos of Dracula would come out black or like a skeleton.<<

^[279] This is odd. A solicitor should not be ignorant of the size of property he is selling.<<

^[280] These throwaway words are the key to Carfax’s appeal. Dracula is attracted by the newly-opened, adjacent mad-house. Small wonder Carfax proved hard to sell.<<

^[281] According to Stoker’s notes, Dracula demanded that his house possess a consecrated church near a river. Purfleet at the time was dotted with worn-out chalk quarries and the riverside was dominated by huge gunpowder magazines housed in reinforced silos. This high-security government arsenal, with attendant barracks, presented an ominous spectacle from the river, but provided work for much of the local population.<<

^[282] A figure of speech, for nothing can ‘kill’ a vampire. It is already dead.<<

^[283] Stoker here delves into uncharted waters. Vampires are ordinarily repelled by any associations with Christ. Not so, Dracula.<<

^[284] In pages to come, Stoker exploits the eroticism of this word, which reads oddly in the present circumstance.<<

^[285] Dracula has the money and the means to have his castle restored, but chooses not to. Harker never enquires about the upkeep of Castle Dracula.<<

^[286] Dracula, we assume, is physically dead. But if he is, as it were, living in death, simultaneously inhabiting both worlds, then it might be asked whether he is more dead than alive, or more alive than dead. If Dracula is really dead, why does he never speak of life beyond the grave, or describe its wonders or terrors? He reflects only on his martial exploits during his pre-vampire existence: he has nothing to say about the four hundred years since he signed up with the devil. The only aspect of Dracula that is dead appears to be his body, for his mind has never travelled beyond the experiences of this earth.<<

^[287] saturnine. A largely obsolete adjective meaning gloomy, bitter, sardonic. Dracula’s speech hints at profound loneliness, though he is excited by prospects of invasion and expansion.<<

^[288] Harker understands the connection with Exeter all too well, since he works and maybe lives there. Whitby, however, is a complete puzzle to him. He cannot know that his fiancée will later holiday in Whitby, for if so he would register alarm.<<

^[289] No more menus are itemised. Is this a hot meal or cold? The same question could be asked about all the meals Harker eats in the weeks ahead.<<

^[290] Harker knows this feeling all too well, having worked and studied through the nights for his examinations.<<

^[291] Cocks are farmyard creatures. Harker’s surmise about dogs barking on a farm is thereby vindicated. People live and work within earshot of the castle.<<

^[292] Dracula’s words convey permanence. He intends to abandon Transylvania for good, but does not ask Harker to try to find an English buyer for his castle.<<

^[293] In other words Harker’s room is one flight up, since he has only climbed one flight of stairs, at the top of which he doubled back to his room overlooking the courtyard.<<

^[294] That is, he has written of Saturday night and Sunday morning.<<

^[295] Harker is too obedient to entertain this thought seriously. He could hardly have dug his heels in and said to Mr Hawkins. ‘Sorry, but I won’t go. Find someone else!’<<

^[296] This implies a quantum leap in Harker’s thinking, without obvious justification.<<

^[297] Harker went to his room at dawn, wrote his diary, and slept for a few hours. It is now late morning.<<

^[298] Dracula makes his first daytime appearance, for Harker is shaving by the window in daylight. Dracula is not solely a creature of the night, as is commonly and erroneously supposed, though in this instance this appears to be an oversight by Stoker. Harker will shortly say he has never seen Dracula in daylight.<<

^[299] Mirrors are a repository of superstition, in England inviting seven years bad luck should one be broken. Mirrors are said to reflect the soul, and are therefore customarily turned to face the wall in the event of bereavement. Vampires, being dead, have no soul and cast no reflection or shadow. For the same reason they cannot be photographed, and it is as well Harker did not try the matter with his kodak.<<

^[300] The blue flames also shone through Dracula’s body in the forest. But the fact that Harker sees no one in the mirror can be interpreted literally. He sees no one because there is no one. He is alone with his madness. Demons, it appears, reside within us, in our minds.<<

^[301] Harker uses a cut-throat razor with shaving cream. It appears he is shaving with cold water.<<

^[302] One hopes Harker brought a medical kit. He is unlikely to find anything suitable in Castle Dracula.<<

^[303] The sight of blood makes Dracula angry, though we might have expected it to give him pleasure. It is its scarcity which makes him so desperate.<<

^[304] Harker has stripped off his shirt and vest, yet kept on the crucifix. He is unlikely to have put it on before shaving, in which case he would have slept with it round his neck. Note, too, Dracula touches the beads without pain or punishment. We should bear this in mind later. Stoker’s notes say Dracula is moved by religious relics older than himself.<<

^[305] One would expect the crucifix to exacerbate Dracula’s rage – both for its symbolism and for barring access to fresh blood. But deeper questions now arise. Were it not for the crucifix, would Dracula have drunk Harker’s blood? If that is to be Harker’s fate, surely Dracula would have manifested it by now.<<

^[306] The shaving glass has blown Dracula’s cover. From now on he has no need for pretence. Harker knows that his host is supernatural.<<

^[307] If so, one wonders how Dracula shaves. We presume he does, for Harker described him as clean-shaven apart from his long moustache. It never occurs to Harker to enquire how his host performs his toilet. Perhaps Dracula is shaved by his wives.<<

^[308] The view to the south is of a precipice, so Harker did not approach the castle from that direction. The bulk of Transylvania’s high peaks do, indeed, extend south and east of the location Stoker describes.<<

^[309] Again, a new chapter does not coincide with a new day. The reason for splitting entries in two is pragmatic. Chapter lengths in Dracula are more or less uniform in length. They are also indications of curtain calls, regular pauses in theatrical performance. From the start, Stoker was alive to Dracula’s theatrical prospects.<<

^[310] The locked entrance agitates Harker, though there is nowhere to escape to except wolf-infested forests. In that sense the door may be secured for his own protection.<<

^[311] A further suggestion that Harker’s mental stability hangs in the balance. He describes himself as someone who panics under stress.<<

^[312] We have already learned – through the coach-driver – that Dracula is adept at mind-reading. Harker’s is the first mention of keeping secrets, numerous instances of which permeate the novel.<<

^[313] This confirms that for normal comings and goings Dracula uses the front door. So why the rust and other signs of long disuse?<<

^[314] From Harker’s description of the castle layout, Dracula has to walk past the library and through the dining room in order to access Harker’s bedroom. Yet Harker fails to hear him walk past. Hitherto, echoing footsteps would have announced Dracula’s approach from afar.<<

^[315] Dracula has ceased to be secretive about making beds and laying tables. If confronted, he would presumably say his domestic staff are away, or otherwise engaged. Stoker’s notes indicate that originally Dracula had two helpers – a silent man and a deaf, mute woman, both English. These were dispensed with as the novel took shape.<<

^[316] We shall see in coming chapters that Dracula likes dressing up. But he can fool only strangers. The driver of the diligence and his passengers clearly knew the identity of the brown-bearded man.<<

^[317] Only now do we learn what these gifts were. Garlic’s efficacy resides in its pungent odour, since demons are said to detest smells more loathsome than their own. The wild rose is thought to have constituted Christ’s crown of thorns. It has long been associated with purity, and by extension as a repellent of evil. Mountain ash, or rowan, was in pagan times sacred to the god of thunder. Its red berries were held to attract lightning and the retribution of the gods. An English north-country rhyme goes: ‘Rowan-tree and red threed, put the witches to their speed’ (courtesy of Bernard Davies).<<

^[318] Harker, like Stoker, was no Catholic. Yet it will be Catholic symbols that prove to be the most potent weapons against Dracula.<<

^[319] In extremis, Harker ponders the virtue of Catholicism over his own Anglican faith. He defers judgment and never again returns to the question.<<

^[320] As, of course, he had.<<

^[321] boyar does not equate with prince, though Romanian princes came from the privileged boyar class.<<

^[322] These ‘human’ qualities give Dracula a lifelike quality not matched by many of the mortal cast later pitted against him. None will tug their moustaches or exhibit other quirky mannerisms.<<

^[323] Dracula describes himself as both a boyar and a Szekely. Johnson describes the latter as inhabiting Transylvania’s eastern frontier, noting that Szekelys were not part of the Hungarian nobility (p.102). Taken with Dracula’s refusal to address himself by any title, it might be inferred that he held no formal rank, only an honorific.<<

^[324] Ugric. Belonging to the Finno-Ugric group of languages, which includes Hungarian. Stoker’s notes describe Magyars as Ugric, from Max Müller’s Magyarland.<<

^[325] Thor. In Norse mythology, the god of thunder.<<

^[326] Wodin. The pre-eminent Anglo-Saxon god.<<

^[327] Berserkers. Norse warriors feared for their frenzy in battle, during which they often wore wolf-skins. Later in the novel we shall find a wolf given this name. Baring-Gould likened berserkers to were-wolves (p.45).<<

^[328] werewolves (or lycanthrops). Wolf-men who, according to legend, switched between man and beast at the time of the full moon. According to certain local legends, on death werewolves were said to turn into vampires.<<

^[329] Scythia. In antiquity an area of eastern Europe and western Asia, north of the Black Sea.<<

^[330] Dracula claims to be a descendant of Attila, King of the Huns in the fifth century. From Johnson: ‘[The Szekelys] claim to be descended from Attila’ (p.102).<<

^[331] Magyar. The original Hungarian invaders. The word means ‘Hungarian’.<<

^[332] Lombard. From Lombardy, an area of northern Italy bordering on the Alps.<<

^[333] Avar. Peoples who settled in Dacia from the sixth to eighth centuries, until crushed by Charlemagne c.800.<<

^[334] Bulgar. Inhabitants of what is now Bulgaria.<<

^[335] Arpad. A Magyar chief who overran Hungary in the ninth century.<<

^[336] Honfoglalas. From Magyarland: ‘The Honfoglalas – Conquest of Hungarian fatherland by Arpad in 9th Century.’ (p.57).<<

^[337] From Johnson: ‘The Szézelys also received certain privileges in return for their having guarded the frontier towards Moldavia and “Turkey-land”.’ (pp.205-06). Gerard applies the term not to any distinct race, but to whichever grouping happened to inhabit the frontier. They were likely to be poor and underprivileged (Land Beyond Forest p.149).<<

^[338] From Wilkinson, p.232.<<

^[339] Four Nations. Harker named these as – Saxons, Wallachs, Magyars, and Szekelys – though Szekelys are neither a race nor a nation.<<

^[340] From Johnson, p. 228. ‘The bloody sword … a signal of national emergency.’<<

^[341] The Hungarian Kings at the forefront of the campaigns against the Turks were: Sigismund (crowned 1387), Albert II (died 1439), Wladislaw III (died 1446), Ladislas (died 1457). The king that Dracula, and Stoker, has in mind is Matthias Corvinus, who ruled from 1458 until his death in 1490. Corvinus’ father, Janos Hunyadi, was a famed anti-Turk warrior, and much of Stoker’s description applies as much to Hunyadi as to Dracula. Both crusaders were awarded the sobriquet ‘devil’ (see Origins p.88).<<

^[342] Cassova. This refers to the second Battle of Cassova, fought in 1448, not the first in 1389. From Wilkinson: ‘The Wallachians … joined … Hungarians in 1448, and made war on Turkey; … being totally defeated at the battle of Cossova, in Bulgaria’ (Origins p.96).<<

^[343] Crescent. The symbol of Turkey and Islam, as distinct from the Christian ‘cross’.<<

^[344] Voivode. From Wilkinson: ‘The Slavonic title of Voïvode, equivalent to that of commanding prince … The Voïvodate was not made hereditary; and although it devolved sometimes from father to son, the successor was obliged to go through the formality of being elected by the chiefs of the nation’ (see Origins pp.94-95). In other words, a voïvode was not a ‘prince’, according to the Western interpretations.<<

^[345] Stoker’s only known source on the historical Dracula is Wilkinson (Origins pp.95-96). Although he identifies the voivode as a Dracula, he does not say which Dracula. Janos Hunyadi, for example, also defeated the Turks, at Nándorfehérvár in 1456.<<

^[346] Count Dracula may have swotted up on Shakespeare, for this expression has echoes of Mark Antony’s words: ‘Here was a Caesar!’ (Julius Caesar III, ii.).<<

^[347] In Stoker’s named sources, only Wilkinson (Origins pp.95-96) ever mentions ‘Dracula’, Wilkinson’s scant references are here repeated in full. Note that the brother in question was Radu, not Bladus, which is a crude translation of Vlad, Dracula’s own name:<<

^[348] It is anyone’s guess who Stoker has in mind here. Wilkinson refers to three Draculas – first the voïvode, then his son, finally another voïvode. Wilkinson was writing in 1820, more than 70 years before Stoker, when information was scant and unreliable. Given that Stoker’s only source book on Dracula was 70 years out of date and was written by a consul not a historian, the reader is wise to skip lightly over details. As Wilkinson makes no mention of Dracula’s real name – Vlad Tepes – or his penchant for impalement, one may assume Wilkinson was ignorant of them. And if Wilkinson was ignorant of them, so was Bram Stoker. In all probability, what really caught Stoker’s eye was Wilkinson’s footnote, that Dracula means ‘devil’ and could be applied to anyone.<<

^[349] Bah. Dracula’s expletive. It has impressive origins, being used by Byron (Beppo xxxii) and Dickens in The Old Curiosity Shop. Dracula repeats the word on p.351.<<

^[350] Mohacs. A battle (1526) where the Turks under Sulaiman the Magnificent defeated Hungary and reduced it to a Turkish province. From Wilkinson, p.54; Johnson p.206.<<

^[351] The real Dracula was not a Szekely, since he was born in Sighisoara, far from Transylvania’s eastern frontier. He was Wallachian.<<

^[352] Hapsburgs. The Austrian ruling dynasty from 1282 till World War I. In Stoker’s time they ruled the Austro-Hungarian Empire.<<

^[353] Romanoffs. The Russian ruling dynasty from 1613 till 1917.<<

^[354] This concludes Dracula’s resumé of his personal and dynastic history. It is so vague and contradictory as to be worthless as an historical portrait. In consequence, it is not unreasonable to assume that Bram Stoker knew little or nothing about the real Vlad the Impaler.<<

^[355] Harker assumes Dracula ‘goes to bed’. He may ‘sleep’, but not in a bed.<<

^[356] Arabian Nights was translated into English in 1885 by Richard Burton, who was known personally to Stoker and described in these striking terms: ‘Burton’s face seemed to lengthen when he laughed; the upper lip rising instinctively and showing the right canine tooth … As he spoke the upper lip rose and his canine tooth showed its full length like the gleam of a dagger’ (Personal Reminiscences 1:355, 359).<<

^[357] Hamlet Act 1, Scene 1, lines 146ff. Hamlet’s father appears as a ghost but fades at dawn – ‘It faded on the crowing of the cock.’ Harker signals his literary knowledge, quoting Bürger and now Shakespeare, but there arises another dating problem. Harker writes his journal around dawn on 9 May, but began the entry with the word ‘midnight’.<<

^[358] This entry begins with the events of the evening of 11 May, in which case two days – 9 and 10 May – have gone missing. Either Harker did not write his journal on those days or the records were later expunged. In Stoker’s notes against 9 May he writes ‘letters home’.<<

^[359] One wonders what distinguishes fact and fancy in the mind of a man who admits he cannot distinguish between madness and sanity, dream and wakefulness?<<

^[360] Stoker presumably knows what is intended by this phrase, but its meaning is not obvious. Which books? Which figures?<<

^[361] Harker, like his host, now leads a nocturnal existence. His ‘day’ ends at dawn and begins around noon.<<

^[362] his room. This is the first we hear of Dracula having ‘a room’. A study? a bedroom? Harker has no idea where this ‘room’ is; nor has Dracula shown him.<<

^[363] Harker presumably means not ‘the day’ but the late afternoon.<<

^[364] Lincoln’s Inn. One of London’s four famed Inns of Court, the others being Gray’s Inn, the Middle Temple, and the Inner Temple – from where Stoker qualified as a barrister in 1890.<<

^[365] These passages, with their heavy legal emphasis, provide the first of many signs that Stoker took the law seriously. Legal angles in Dracula are seldom overlooked.<<

^[366] Dracula is unlikely to know that Hawkins’ premises are indeed overshadowed by Exeter Cathedral, unless Harker told him or Dracula has a gazetteer on his shelves.<<

^[367] 172 miles west of London, to be precise.<<

^[368] Indeed, this is strange. But Harker’s obedient frame of mind never entertains a doubt, not even in the privacy of his journal.<<

^[369] Four major ports on the east coast of England.<<

^[370] This bizarre observation says more about Harker than it does Dracula.<<

^[371] This veiled remark hints that Dracula’s knowledge is not ordinarily acquired, that he can ‘see’ what others cannot, perhaps that the shadow of Exeter Cathedral falls over Mr Hawkins’ offices.<<

^[372] Stoker’s notes say Harker wrote letters home two days earlier, on 9 May.<<

^[373] Harker has already been at Castle Dracula for more than a week. Judging from his purpose in going there, all business should have been long concluded.<<

^[374] This is stretching credibility. Hawkins is expecting Harker’s return as soon as the papers are signed, and will not take kindly to the solicitor swanning about in Europe when he should be back at his desk. Dracula may, of course, be viewed as a precious client, paying so handsomely that Hawkins is prepared to meet any inconvenience to attract further business. But such is Stoker’s demonstrable regard for business probity it is unlikely that Hawkins would deviate from his customary fees.<<

^[375] Harker knows that his continued absence cannot be in Hawkins’ interest. There is nobody else in Exeter to take on Harker’s work-load.<<

^[376] A reminder of Victorian manners. Dracula has been giving courtly bows since he was first introduced. Now the solicitor bows too.<<

^[377] Why three? To Hawkins and to Mina – if Harker has mentioned her to Dracula. But who else has Dracula in mind?<<

^[378] This description of Dracula’s mouth explains much. Animals and humans possess four canine teeth, two on the upper and two on the lower jaw. They function in pairs, pinning the flesh of a victim prior to tearing. Having just two upper canines serves no anatomical purpose, being mere daggers.<<

^[379] Confirmation that Harker’s shorthand is standard, readable to all who have studied it, and not personal, known only to the writer.<<

^[380] Harker retains the third sheet of paper and envelope for possible later use.<<

^[381] Sadly, Dracula’s library contains only reference works and non-fiction. Nothing light or frivolous, or back copies of Punch, to help Harker pass the time.<<

^[382] As we shall see, Stoker has most of the cast scribbling away much of the time. We are given no explanation of the Count’s letters. Nor do they ever come to light.<<

^[383] writing materials. Quill pens died out in the nineteenth century, replaced by metal-tipped pens which still had to be dipped in ink. Though the fountain pen, containing its own ink reservoir, was patented in 1884, it did not become standard till the 1920s.<<

^[384] Harker’s prying contradicts his insistence on acting in Mr Hawkins’ interest. He cannot have it both ways.<<

^[385] Whitby was, and is, a small picturesque port on the Yorkshire coast. Dracula had evidently decided upon Whitby long before Harker came on the scene, and would have found the name ‘Billington’ – as he had ‘Hawkins’ – from the Law List.<<

^[386] Varna. Bulgarian port on the Black Sea.<<

^[387] Coutts. London bankers, founded by Thomas Coutts. Banker to King George III (reigned 1760-1820) and Irving’s Lyceum Theatre. Baroness Coutts was a friend of Stoker.<<

^[388] Dracula enjoys eccentric financial arrangements. He is clearly familiar with the banking system, not in place during the age of Vlad the Impaler, yet likes to hoard piles of gold in his castle. Harker does not comment on the language in which the envelopes are written – Romanian, Hungarian, German, or English. Budapest has several cameo roles in Dracula. Harker wandered its streets between catching trains, Dracula banks in the Hungarian capital, and it will feature again several times.<<

^[389] The letters to the two Continental bankers are unsealed, presumably because Dracula wishes to add something to them.<<

^[390] The upstanding Harker is about to sneak a look at Dracula’s mail.<<

^[391] Dracula adds a fifth, unidentified, letter to the pile. It was written elsewhere, for Dracula does not wish the solicitor to know to whom it is addressed.<<

^[392] This is introduced purely as theatre. As anyone knows, there is no time to rearrange matters if someone comes marching into a room.<<

^[393] Philatelists would enjoy a sight of Hungarian stamps circa 1893.<<

^[394] Dracula implies a meal is ready, though Harker does not mention eating. His early journal entries were full of Dracula’s domestic chores – cooking, building log fires in the hearth, making beds. These details are now disregarded. No fresh supplies are ever brought to the castle, no one dusts the rooms, Harker’s clothes are never laundered.<<

^[395] Dracula’s warning indicates that for the moment he wants no harm to befall Harker, though he can be sure Harker will disregard it. Harker is not confined to his own room, but may relax within the dining room, library, or the octagonal room. This wing of the castle constitutes his suite, and he is safe within from whatever dangers lurk elsewhere.<<

^[396] Gestures are culture specific. The act of washing one’s hands – in the manner of Pontius Pilate – is unexpected from Dracula.<<

^[397] Harker shrugs off Dracula’s warning, and is prepared to sleep where he wishes. The reader anticipates that this is not wise.<<

^[398] Incredibly, Harker removes Christ’s protection from around his neck. Paradoxically, Dracula had told him he was safe in his own bed, where there is no need for a crucifix. For once, Dracula was telling the truth.<<

^[399] Harker returns to the main body of the castle and ascends a second flight of stairs. He is now two levels up from the courtyard.<<

^[400] When Harker speaks of ‘window’ it is not always clear whether he means with or without glass. The window in his own room has glass, those elsewhere in the castle may be no more than rectangular holes, long since exposed to the elements.<<

^[401] Harker describes looking down to his own level, but at the other end of the castle. As the window faces south, and Harker is looking left, Dracula’s room is in the east wing, from where he would be alerted to the rising sun.<<

^[402] stone-mullioned. A slender vertical stone member dividing the window into two.<<

^[403] In this instance there is no glass in the window, just a rectangular cavity.<<

^[404] Harker does not record what is so distinctive about Dracula’s neck. The necks of others attract Dracula’s attention; now his neck attracts Harker’s.<<

^[405] This insight will be repeated when the reader is introduced to the madman Renfield.<<

^[406] A drawing of this spectacular image appeared on the covers of the 1901 abridged edition of Dracula. Much of Dracula’s persona is derivative from literature or folklore, but crawling head-first down the castle wall is Stoker’s invention.<<

^[407] Dracula has taken off his shoes and socks to perform this acrobatic manoeuvre. He is not moving like an insect, upside down across a ceiling, by some form of suction, but as a rock-climber, searching for finger and toe-holds. Human rock-climbers, of course, prefer to stay the right way up.<<

^[408] Harker never asks himself why Dracula scales the walls of his castle in this odd fashion, rather than use the stairs. Nor is there any textual reason for Dracula to do so, since we later learn that at night he can fly as a bat. Stoker serves up this scene, as with many others, simply for effect.<<

^[409] What manner of man is this? (Mark 8:27). Oddly, it is Dracula’s feat in climbing face-down a castle wall, rather than casting no reflection in a mirror, that convinces Harker that he is in the presence of the anti-Christ. Yet scaling walls is the least ‘supernatural’ of Dracula’s accomplishments, and will shortly be emulated by Harker himself.<<

^[410] some hundred feet down. Harker has climbed only a couple of flights to reach his vantage point. As the room Dracula enters is below ‘ground level’ it cannot be easily accessed from the courtyard. Moreover, it is night and Dracula is wearing a black cloak. He would be hard to see.<<

^[411] Harker cannot know this. It is no less likely that Dracula has taken a favourite short-cut to some otherwise inaccessible quarter.<<

^[412] comparatively new. Locks have no use for vampires, and there is no indication that other curious mortals have stayed at Castle Dracula prior to Harker. So why the new locks? If Dracula bought them to curtail Harker’s rovings, they would have been ‘new’, not ‘comparatively’ new.<<

^[413] An erroneous deduction which has untold consequences. Front door keys are seldom kept in someone’s ‘room’. They are usually hung up somewhere, in a janitor’s cubby-hole or some other convenient place. Dracula could secret the key anywhere he likes.<<

^[414] Harker does not know where Dracula’s room is, far less which door leads to it.<<

^[415] Apart from its location – overhanging a precipice – the castle is constructed on neat and orderly lines. Harker does not remark on any obscure passageways or staircases leading hither and thither in unexpected directions. These small rooms by the entrance have obviously seen few human visitors. As everything in the castle is old, we must presume that Dracula purchased new linen and bedclothes for Harker’s room, and aired it thoroughly before he arrived. Otherwise the musty smell would have drawn adverse comments in his journal.<<

^[416] Though Harker appears to be at ground level, this room does not seem to be accessible through the main entrance, but only by means of a staircase.<<

^[417] Confirmation that this suite is in the south-west corner of the castle, furthest away from Dracula’s wall-gymnastics.<<

^[418] Assuming Harker’s bearings are correct, the only access to the castle by road must be to the north.<<

^[419] culverin. A medieval musket or heavy cannon dating from the 16th and 17th centuries.<<

^[420] Huge windows, obviously glassed, adorn this, the safest part of the castle. For that reason it was likely to accommodate the ladies’ quarters.<<

^[421] Harker is looking west towards Bistritz, whence he came. His descriptions return again to Johnson’s ‘jagged mountains, rising peak upon peak’. Insofar as any part of the Carpathians merits such a description, it would not be the environs of Bistritz.<<

^[422] This presents a problem to Dracula, for mountain ash and thorn are anathema to vampires. In effect, his castle is surrounded by a ring of purity, so when taking a stroll he needs to guard against being pricked. Harker has the eyes of an owl. It is night, he is looking over the vastness, yet he can discern thorns growing in cracks and crevices.<<

^[423] Moths appear to be the only living creatures outside Dracula’s control. Otherwise he would instruct them to leave the furniture alone. This is clarified on p.276.<<

^[424] Harker has entered from the stairway, and though he comments on the suite of elegant rooms that extend from it, he does not appear to have explored them. He has remained in the first room, brushing the dust from the oak table, at which to write his diary. The fact that he has his journal with him shows it to be a note-book, which ‘lives’ in his jacket pocket. He is sitting with his back to the window, so that the moonlight might act as a writing lamp. There is a soft poignancy in this scene that contrasts with the harshness of the rest of the castle.<<

^[425] This line comes as a jolt, implying that Western modernity – which shorthand represents – does not know all the answers.<<

^[426] Strait-laced Harker is the last person one expects to entertain this notion. Stoker introduces similar sentiments in other works – for example, The Jewel (Chapter 16).<<

^[427] The previous entry was dated 15 May and was therefore written before midnight.<<

^[428] Stoker projects this blurring of dream and reality, sanity and insanity, with such intensity that vampires may indeed exist only in the nightmares of the mad. The sane need not concern themselves with vampires.<<

^[429] This lovely twist – Harker having to turn to Dracula for protection – is the classic technique of mobsters and satraps.<<

^[430] More Shakespeare, this time King Lear, ‘O, that way madness lies!’ III, iv, lines 21-22. Harker beseeches merciful God, but does not go on his knees to pray, least of all for forgiveness for having compromised his faith by accepting idolatrous gifts.<<

^[431] For a second time, Harker quotes Hamlet. In fact, the words from Act I, Scene V, lines 107-8 are misquoted and should read: ‘My tables – meet it is I set it down, That one may smile, and smile, and be a villain.’ Harker’s variant is likely to reflect Henry Irving’s stage adaptation of Shakespeare, with which Stoker was intimate, and which George Bernard Shaw condemned as ‘Bardicide’.<<

^[432] Nowhere does Harker say this is his first attempt at diary-writing. It takes months of familiarity with shorthand to become reasonably fast and fluent. In which case he is presumably a practised diary-writer, but nothing in the text supports this.<<

^[433] Harker is wearing his jacket. It would not be seemly to go around in shirtsleeves. Happily for him, he must have found ink in the ladies’ room.<<

^[434] pleasure in disobeying. Much of the novel’s impact derives from victims’ complicity. Harker has had chances galore to escape the situation he finds himself in, but ignores each and every warning he receives. He is either dim-witted or perverse, or under the vampire’s spell.<<

^[435] The coming of sleep acts as a soporific. Warnings go unheeded.<<

^[436] This is an early indication of Stoker’s simplistic attitude to women – their innocence and purity of spirit. The reader can expect much more of this.<<

^[437] Unless the room is carpeted, or the couch is on runners, this would have made much noise in the still of the night.<<

^[438] These words instantly alert to reader to a dream sequence, though the novel hinges on the passages which follow being real.<<

^[439] Not common whores, but high-bred aristocrats. The distinction is important to a humble solicitor like Harker, who is unlikely to have been moved by the appearance of peasant girls, however comely. Awake or asleep, Harker is clearly fantasising.<<

^[440] The women must be between Harker and the window, having entered through it. They throw no shadow. Harker does not say if their feet disturbed the dust. In this they are unlike Dracula, whose footsteps emphasised his corporeal essence.<<

^[441] Harker says the women ‘came’ – not ‘walked’ or ‘crept’ or ‘tip-toed’, which would render them human and physical. ‘Came’ is purposefully vague, almost as if they glided through mid-air.<<

^[442] The fair woman is the only vampire in Dracula not to possess blazing red eyes, which confirms they are not de rigeur for the Un-Dead. The identity of these three women has attracted much speculation. Are they Dracula’s wives? His daughters? His sisters? The most plausible explanation is that they are sequential wives. Each has progressed from being a blood-donor in life to a vampire on death, at which point they serve no further purpose for Dracula. But there are problems with this interpretation, not least their youth. Dracula is an old man. By rights, his former brides should have aged in death too.<<

^[443] Harker never does recollect, prompting speculation over who she might be. The mystery was solved with the discovery of Stoker’s manuscript, which shows that the resemblance is to Countess Dollingen from Graz, who featured in ‘Dracula’s Guest’. Given more time for editing, Stoker would have been wise to delete all embedded references to this and other expunged episodes.<<

^[444] Voluptuous is Stoker’s favourite carnal adjective. The word will be repeated often in the coming sequence, and in later erotic scenes.<<

^[445] Harker knows it is wrong, but he is prepared to yield to temptation. More ambivalence, guilt mixed with innocence, sowing the seeds of his downfall.<<

^[446] Then why does he note it down? Diaries – particularly in shorthand – are the perfect place to indulge one’s secrets. Mina is the last person he would want to read this. Note, too, the betrayal. First, Harker betrayed his faith; now he betrays his betrothed.<<

^[447] water-glasses. Glasses filled to different heights with water, to produce different notes when their rims are rubbed or tapped. Stoker will repeat this imagery on p.413.<<

^[448] A pecking order exists among vampires. More to the point, Harker is expected to satisfy the yearnings of all three of them.<<

^[449] ‘Kiss’ throughout Dracula is a euphemism for sex. As Harker understands what the she-vampires are saying, they must be speaking in German. Either that, or like Dracula they are self-taught in English, which is improbable. Or they are conversing with Harker in the unvoiced imagery of dream, which is much more feasible.<<

^[450] This is the language of a coy female, peering out from under eye-lashes,<<

^[451] Her breath is honey-sweet, whereas Dracula’s was rank, inducing feelings of nausea. Not all vampires suffer from halitosis. Vampire seduction has the power to sweep away all constraints.<<

^[452] Ordinarily, blood has no smell, which is why the victim of an accidental cut can remain unaware of it. Large quantities of congealed blood, as on a battlefield or in a slaughterhouse, is another matter. But if it is blood that Harker smells, whose can it be? Not the fair vampire’s, since vampires have no blood of their own. Not that of a recent victim, since – as we shall see – the she-vampires have drunk no blood for some time. That is why they crave Harker’s.<<

^[453] She is kneeling beside the couch, in which case she must have disturbed the dust beside it. Gloating, not because Harker is a fine catch, a fine specimen of manhood, but because he is a man. Beggars can’t be choosers.<<

^[454] Dracula and the she-vampires share animalistic qualities and carnal appetites.<<

^[455] For the first time, the throat is signposted as the site of vampire operations. If the fair vampire simply wanted blood, she could have nipped Harker’s ear, nose, cheek, fingers. Seeking out the throat, which is relatively inaccessible, carries overwhelming erotic undertones. As Harker is clothed, he must have loosened his collar and turned his head to welcome her embrace. He ought to be wearing his protective crucifix, but of course he has taken it off, leaving it hanging over his bed, where it serves no purpose.<<

^[456] Despite her ladylike refinement, she is as animalistic as the Count. This turns Harker on!<<

^[457] hot breath. How can a cold-blooded vampire have hot breath? Except in a dream!<<

^[458] She is teasing Harker, toying with him, bringing him to a crescendo of passion. If she has been denied blood for years, quenching her thirst would be paramount. But this scene is all about seduction, which must be played out slowly.<<

^[459] Most people, one suspects, draw the line at having canine teeth pressed to one’s throat. Which two teeth can Harker feel? The upper canines, or a pair on either side? The cinema has conditioned us to accept the former, which is aesthetically more pleasing though practically useless for biting purposes. It is hard to picture the fair vampire trying to kiss lopsidedly out of just one side of her mouth.<<

^[460] Harker is seconds from being vampirised – at his own instigation. He engineers the situation and in no sense is being assaulted. Had the fair temptress not lingered, stretching out the moment of consummation, Harker would have been beyond redemption.<<

^[461] Harker has his eyes shut, yet is conscious of the Count’s presence. Another instance of Dracula permeating consciousness by extra-sensory means. We are given no idea whether he came in through the door, through the window, or what alerted him in the first place.<<

^[462] This image – of a man separating by main force a vampire and her victim – will be repeated (see p.204).<<

^[463] As her eyes are blue, it is her cheeks instead which blaze red. All Stoker’s vampires, it seems, are endowed with quick tempers.<<

^[464] Harker notices this wealth of facial detail in the black of night. In reality the moon would have continued its slow journey across the sky and no longer flooded the room with light.<<

^[465] The language must be German. Dracula would not address the women in English.<<

^[466] As Dracula had already ‘forbidden it’ he must be in regular contact with the women. His life is not totally detached from theirs. But this is not ‘pillow talk’. Dracula sleeps in coffins, wooden boxes, or mausoleums. Not beds.<<

^[467] In what way does Harker ‘belong to me’? Not in a homoerotic sense, not as food or drink, but as a handy English tutor. Only afterwards will he be gifted to the ladies.<<

^[468] Stoker’s manuscript shows the following words crossed out: ‘was straightening her dishevelled dress’.<<

^[469] These intriguing words, confusing love with lust, hint at sexual tensions operating between Dracula and his wives. He ignores their physical needs.<<

^[470] Harker can only know that Dracula is looking attentively at him if he is once again peering out from under his eyelids. Otherwise, he must be playing possum. He remains prone upon the couch, where the women found him, not daring to leap to his feet to try to escape.<<

^[471] This exchange explains much. The vampire operates sexually only with the living. Between vampires there is no love, nor lust. The she-vampires remind Dracula of how it used to be, harking back to the time when they were warm-, not to say hot-blooded, passionate women. But note that the fair woman’s flesh is not cold, like Dracula’s hand. Indeed, her breath was ‘hot’. A frosty kiss to the throat would dampen anyone’s ardour. In fact, cold-bloodedness in vampires appears illogical. If they drink only the warm blood of the living, then they ought logically to be warm-blooded too, since fresh blood would warm them up – like swigging brandy.<<

^[472] This suggests Dracula has further need of Harker. Then the she-vampires can enjoy him at their leisure.<<

^[473] If Dracula brought this bag with him, it is unlikely he scaled the walls upside down, but sensibly came up the steps and in through the door.<<

^[474] Dracula, the once famed warrior, is reduced to catching babies. He does not kill the child on finding it, but brings it back for the women to kill, while its blood is warm. This passage sums up Dracula’s malaise. Transylvania’s adult population protects itself with crucifixes and garlic, and the best he can provide for his family is an infant. One baby will not go far among three women, presuming Dracula does not partake of the snack. What riches the unsuspecting millions of London hold in store for him. The passage also condemns the she-vampires. Rather than follow the approved motherly role, suckling babes at the breast, these callous creatures devour them. This will be paralleled later by Lucy.<<

^[475] Confirmation that the women came and left through the window, and that they take phantom form. It is not clear how the baby in the bag could likewise dematerialise.<<

^[476] This entire episode has been couched in the language and imagery of an erotic dream. Ludlam records that Dracula was conceived during a Stoker dream, following ‘a too generous helping of dressed crab’ (p.112). There is no evidence to support this claim, though the seduction sequence just described is so graphic that it could easily have been a genuine dream. It is not implausible that this dream registered so powerfully in Stoker’s mind that it formed the centrepiece of the novel. In that sense, the character of Dracula is immaterial. It is the she-vampires who are the progenitors of Dracula.<<

^[477] For the third time Stoker splits a journal entry in order to introduce a new chapter. Harker writes up the entire seduction sequence back in the safety of his own room.<<

^[478] Even now, Harker is not sure if his experience was a simple nightmare. Though he has left his crucifix hanging over the bed-frame, the sight of it does not make Dracula dump his guest on the floor and flee. In fact, Harker never mentions the crucifix again.<<

^[479] A pocket watch, not a wrist-watch.<<

^[480] Harker is evidently a domesticated man accustomed to petty routines.<<

^[481] Harker switches into legal mode of thinking: the quest for proof. Without it, he falls back on what lawyers call ‘circumstantial evidence’.<<

^[482] Dracula has no need to hurry. He does not suspect Harker to be a diary writer. Or if he does, he has no need to fear it. Harker’s days are numbered.<<

^[483] To steal the journal would have provided Harker with the proof he seeks, that he had been carried to bed and searched.<<

^[484] Harker’s reasoning turns turtle. Previously he could not bear to be in his quarters, because of the Count’s proximity. Now it becomes a haven.<<

^[485] Those ‘awful women’ were not so awful a few hours earlier.<<

^[486] Harker cannot know this. Blood-sucking has played no part in the book so far, and during his seduction Harker never entertained the idea. The probable fate of the child may have opened his eyes.<<

^[487] Two days have passed since Harker last wrote. Whatever else he lacks, he does not lack courage.<<

^[488] The door to the ladies’ quarters is at the ‘top’ of some stairs, but is ‘down’ in relation to Harker’s bedroom. This indicates a separate quarter of the castle, without connecting corridors, but accessible by its own staircase.<<

^[489] Had he gained access to that room a second time, what might Harker have found? Would the couch have been pushed back into the corner? Would footprints other than his own have disturbed the dust on the floor? Was there scuffing of female knees on the floor next to where the couch was? Or would everything be just as he first found it? If so, Harker would know he had been dreaming. In this sense it is a pity he cannot get back in. Dracula has nothing to lose by confronting Harker with his own madness.<<

^[490] Another three letters. Harker still has one that was left from the first three, which he appears to have forgotten.<<

^[491] ‘Dead men tell no tales’. Harker attributes criminal mentality to Dracula. There will be more of this later in the novel.<<

^[492] This is shrewd thinking, recommended for those in hostage situations. Try to play it long.<<

^[493] The diligence from Bukovina to Bistritz might stop to collect mail from the Borgo Pass, to save a journey into Bistritz, but the driver would be most reluctant to stop.<<

^[494] Harker has been at the castle just a fortnight. 12 June is more than three weeks in the future.<<

^[495] These letters are presumably addressed to Mr Hawkins. Altogether Harker has written five letters from the castle, four to Hawkins, one to Mina.<<

^[496] A nine-day interval between entries. Harker spends his time reading and writing and looking out of the window, knowing that his fate draws ever nearer. Dracula must still be cooking Harker’s meals, making his bed, doing his laundry – there is no one else to do so – though Harker makes no further reference to catching the Count performing domestic duties.<<

^[497] The arrival of newcomers to the castle must come as a great shock to Harker, who has hitherto been all alone with Dracula and those ‘awful women’.<<

^[498] This ‘book’ may refer to notes that Harker took while visiting the British Museum, scribbled in his journal.<<

^[499] From Crosse, p.146. ‘Gipsies hang on to Magyar Castles and call themselves by names of the owner [‘Dracula’s Dragons’, perhaps] and profess his faith, whatever it be.’ Like Crosse, Stoker preferred ‘gipsies’ to ‘gypsies’, but was not consistent about this.<<

^[500] If they speak only their own tongue, the gypsies cannot communicate with others, far less with Harker. Dracula, however, clearly speaks their language. In reality, their nomadic lifestyle means gypsies know something of many languages.<<