Dracula Chapter 21

[NightScribe]

I hope there are some conversant fans of Bram Stoker's "Dracula" out there who can offer an opinion on this. In Chapter 21, a fairly pivotal event occurs, but, to the best of my recollection, every film or tv adaptation I've ever seen portrays it as something else, causing me to spew a torrent of obscenities, usually ending with "Jesus Christ, can't anybody do a faithful and accurate adaptation of this classic?" If you need a refresher, here's a link to the online text: Dracula Ch 21 What I'm referring to starts about halfway down the page.

So the set-up is basically the crew (Van Helsing, Seward, Quincy and Holmwood) entering the Harker's bedchamber to find Mina with the Count while Johnathan is in a stupor.

Kneeling on the near edge of the bed facing outwards was the white-clad figure of his wife. By her side stood a tall, thin man, clad in black. His face was turned from us, but the instant we saw we all recognized the Count, in every way, even to the scar on his forehead. With his left hand he held both Mrs. Harker's hands, keeping them away with her arms at full tension. His right hand gripped her by the back of the neck, forcing her face down on his bosom. Her white night-dress was smeared with blood, and a thin stream trickled down the man's bare chest which was shown by his torn-open dress. The attitude of the two had a terrible resemblance to a child forcing a kitten's nose into a saucer of milk to compel it to drink....

Her face was ghastly, with a pallor which was accentuated by the blood which smeared her lips and cheeks and chin. From her throat trickled a thin stream of blood. Her eyes were mad with terror. Then she put before her face her poor crushed hands, which bore on their whiteness the red mark of the Count's terrible grip, and from behind them came a low desolate wail which made the terrible scream seem only the quick expression of an endless grief. Van Helsing stepped forward and drew the coverlet gently over her body, whilst Art, after looking at her face for an instant despairingly, ran out of the room...

She shuddered and was silent, holding down her head on her husband's breast. When she raised it, his white nightrobe was stained with blood where her lips had touched, and where the thin open wound in the neck had sent forth drops. The instant she saw it she drew back, with a low wail, and whispered, amidst choking sobs.

"Unclean, unclean! I must touch him or kiss him no more..."

"With that he pulled open his shirt, and with his long sharp nails opened a vein in his breast. When the blood began to spurt out, he took my hands in one of his, holding them tight, and with the other seized my neck and pressed my mouth to the wound, so that I must either suffocate or swallow some of the . . . Oh, my God! My God! What have I done? What have I done to deserve such a fate, I who have tried to walk in meekness and righteousness all my days. God pity me! Look down on a poor soul in worse than mortal peril. And in mercy pity those to whom she is dear!" Then she began to rub her lips as though to cleanse them from pollution.

Here's the deal. Everything I've ever seen portrays this as a consensual act. To me, it's a rape, specifically, forced oral copulation. The Count forcing her head to his chest (cock), forcing her to swallow, the blood smeared on her face and neck a substitute for semen. Am I wrong? Am I just a metaphor whore, reading way too much into this? Opinions, please!

[Iggy_lovechild]

Nope, you're not alone. I read the novel in high school and was a big fan of Coppolla's film and it had irked me to find out that all the Dracula and Mina love story crap was essentially made up.

I think the reason it's protrayed as something sexy is because of the way people view the whole Dracula image these days and possibly when you think about the difference in culture...That scene was kinda like the bodice ripper scene of most modern roamnces.

Just some idle disjointed thoughts.

[Keith Inc.]

To me, it's a rape, specifically, forced oral copulation.

Well, with 'compel' and 'forced to drink' and her choice being suffocation or drinking, it's certainly forced.

It's a nonconsensual intercourse, but i'm not sure if it's meant to symbolize forced fellatio. But if it's not, it's a near thing. Dominating the woman, physically harming and restraining her, enslaving her, etc. Rape at the least.

In John Carpenter's movie, Vampire, the Master makes a woman his slave by drinking from her upper thigh. It's a bit more explicit in the modern tradition of sexy vampires.

But i always thought Stoker's Dracula was a monster, not a sex-symbol.

[Hermione Malfoy]

I personally LOVE the book Dracula and read and watched that monstrosity of a film afterwards! I hadn't read the book when someone told me that Dracula was in love with Mina and she with him. So, you can imagine the confusion when I read the book and there was NOTHING of the damn sort in the book.

I am still hoping for a faithful; loving adaptation of the book. I think the closest ANYONE has got to in the Movie industry is Van Helsing... at least they stuck faithful to the Bram Stoker image of Dracula.

There was a ballet on television ages ago called Pages of a Virgins Diary. It was absolutely faithful to the novel.

I suppose that scene could be read as rape, as it was him making Mina do something that she didn't want to do.

[Calanthee]

Dracula lonely and hungry was making her a Vampire by forcing her to drink his blood mostly like mingled with hers from his chest or bosom, of course not consentual on her part. It might be symbolic of sex....All vampires are sensual mental rapist, who control and force their victems to submit so that they can feed on them! As for oral sex... I think not...that organ between his legs was probably so old it had dust and cobwebs on it. The only real Fluid being exchanged between the two was Bloooddd! Mina by drinking his vile infected blood was raped of her humanity Cal

I hope there are some conversant fans of Bram Stoker's "Dracula" out there who can offer an opinion on this. In Chapter 21, a fairly pivotal event occurs, but, to the best of my recollection, every film or tv adaptation I've ever seen portrays it as something else, causing me to spew a torrent of obscenities, usually ending with "Jesus Christ, can't anybody do a faithful and accurate adaptation of this classic?" If you need a refresher, here's a link to the online text: Dracula Ch 21 What I'm referring to starts about halfway down the page.

So the set-up is basically the crew (Van Helsing, Seward, Quincy and Holmwood) entering the Harker's bedchamber to find Mina with the Count while Johnathan is in a stupor.

Here's the deal. Everything I've ever seen portrays this as a consensual act. To me, it's a rape, specifically, forced oral copulation. The Count forcing her head to his chest (cock), forcing her to swallow, the blood smeared on her face and neck a substitute for semen. Am I wrong? Am I just a metaphor whore, reading way too much into this? Opinions, please!