Dracula Chapters 1 - 4
Johnathan Harker is sent to Transylvania to liaise with a certain Count Dracula by his employer, a solicitor in London who is procuring an estate in London for the nobleman. Johnathan is a clerk to the solicitor and has just recently passed his solicitor exam. He is engaged to a woman named Mina, for whom he makes note of special dishes that he encounters during his strange Journey. He arrives at the Carpathian, where all superstitions are said to be present, and receives a message from the Count, informing him that arrangements have been made for his travel. He lodges for the night at a local inn, and the lodger’s old wife begs him not to go to his destination. His limited understanding of their language doesn’t quite reveal why she wishes him not to go, but he agrees to allow her to put a crucifix on his neck.
Johnathan prepares to leave the inn with the wagon, and strangers form a crowd, evidently speaking about him. He catches certain words that he can translate, the most notable among them being Vampire, Satan, and evil. They make the cross at him before the wagon departs. The driver hurries the wagon to the pass where the count’s men are to receive the English man. They arrive early and the wagon driver tries to hurry Johnathan away, but a mysterious Calash arrives for Johnathan. The driver of the calash appears to intimidate the locals, all of whom give Johnathan certain items before he departs. The driver helps Johnathan come off the wagon, and he notes that the driver has a steel vice-like grip. Johnathan is extremely uncomfortable during the trip, and he feels uncomfortable around the driver, who often stops the wagon to chase after mysterious blue lights. They are chased by the sound of howling wolves and at one point the wolves surround the wagon, but the driver somehow gets rid of them with a brief gesture.
Johnathan finally arrives at his destination, which is the massive and dilapidated Castle Dracula. He is welcomed to the residence by the Old count, himself, who appears quite stately, dressed in black with his neatly trimmed white mustache. The nobleman shows him to comfortable quarters and deals with him most charmingly. Johnathan cannot help but remark on some of the Count’s odd features, such as the sharpness of his protuberant and almost canine teeth, his pointed ears, and sharp fingernails. The Count allows Johnathan to rest, and he goes to bed just as the sun begins to rise.
The following day, Johnathan finds the breakfast laid out and he begins to familiarise himself with his surroundings. He notes that there is no piece of mirror within the quarters, and immerses himself in the large collection of English books that he finds in the library. He is found in deep reading by the Count, who begins by learning about the details of his newly acquired property in London. The old building is close to a newly built asylum for lunatics and has several trees within its ground. Johnathan is surprised by Dracula’s knowledge of the neighborhood and notes the avid curiosity with which the Count seeks to learn about England. The Count expresses his weariness for the environs of Transylvania and talks of his plans to move to London. He asks Johnathan to aid him with his intonation, and they retire after a lengthy conversation just as the hour grows very late.
A very strange thing occurs the following morning, just as Johnathan is using his shaving mirror for a shave. He does not notice the Count approach him until he feels a hand on his shoulder. Johnathan is shocked to discover that Dracula has no reflection in the mirror, and he is visibly affected by the blood from a nick that Johnathan had from his shave. Dracula is transfixed by the blood and a transformation seems to occur over his feather. He grabs Johnathan’s throat but catches hold of the cross and the transformation seems to stop. He then turns to the mirror and hurls it out of the window, claiming that it was nothing but a source of evil.
Over the following days, Johnathan comes to realize that although he can leave his room, there is no way out of the castle which begins to seem like a prison. Johnathan decides not to confront Dracula with this fact and attempts to learn more about him. That night Dracula talks of the wars that had ravaged the region in the centuries past, and talks of them as if he had been present there. He tells Johnathan that he is descended from the Huns that had lived and thrived in the region long ago. The next night he asks Johnathan a great deal about the practice of hiring multiple solicitors and asks him to write home that he will stay for a month with Count Dracula. Johnathan is horrified, but he cannot understand how he can resist so he acquiesces. Before departing, Dracula warns him about sleeping anywhere in the castle except in his room.
Johnathan later catches sight of Dracula crawling out over the wall of the castle in the manner of a giant lizard. He cannot believe his eyes and begins to wonder whether he has lost his mind over the odd nocturnal lifestyle he has been leading since he arrived at Castle Dracula. On one other occasion when he sees that the Count has left his rooms by crawling out into the walls, he goes searching through the castle and finds an old part that seems to be disused. He feels comfortable there, out of the room that reminds him just of Dracula, and his sleep is interrupted by the sudden appearance of three beautiful women. They stare at him hungrily and are all of them exquisitely beautiful. He hears them talking about kissing him and continues to keep his eyes closed with anticipation and horror. Just as one of them approaches to kiss his throat, the count arrives and claims Johnathan as his own. Johnathan passes out in fear and wakes in his bed, but he is convinced that none of it is a dream. He continues to bide his time and plays along with Dracula as if he has no recollection of any of these events. Dracula asks him to write three letters indicating different stages of his return journey home. Johnathan believes that the Count wishes to kill him before sending the final letter. As time goes on, a group of gypsies arrives at the Castle for some work carrying large boxes with them. Johnathan tries to appeal to them for aid but receives none.
As the date for the final letter nears, Johnathan climbs out of his window and scales the castle windows to Dracula’s rooms. He finds Dracula in a dead state in one of the boxes, scared beyond belief he returns to his room. On the day before the final letter, Dracula informs him that he will leave tomorrow, and Johnathan later hears him telling the three women that they will soon have him to themselves. The next morning, Johnathan decides that he has no other means to survive but escape. He goes to Dracula’s room in the same manner and attempts to kill the creature but his actions are repelled by the creature’s dark stare. Johnathan takes some gold out of the Count’s rooms and begins to climb out of the castle window to escape at all costs.
Analysis
This first section of the novel introduces the reader to several features that form the cornerstone of the Gothic genre. The tension and fear created in the narrative come primarily from the suspense of not understanding Dracula’s true nature. It must be noted that Vampirism was not a commonly covered subject in the media of Victorian England, unlike the present times. In addition to the mysterious nature of Count Dracula, the feeling of suspense is heightened through the narrative technique. The Epistolary style of the novel also reflects the fragmented composition of the novel, as Bram Stoker famously wrote the novel over seven years.
One of the key scenes in the novel is that of Johnathan Harker and the three women vampires being interrupted by the Count. This scene served as the inspiration for the whole novel and remained in all of the versions that Bram Stoker wrote for Dracula. Sexuality is a deeply entrenched theme of the novel, particularly female sexuality and the danger it poses for men. The three vampires described in this section are perhaps the complete opposite of the ideal Victorian woman and are consequently described as posing a threat to Johnathan’s life. While Johnathan Harker is the typical English man, severely disoriented by the difference between the world with Victorian England.
