Episode 148: “Dracula” by Bram Stoker, Ch. 8-11

17 snips

Nov 15, 2022

Dive into the chilling world of 'Dracula' as the hosts unpack the concept of the 'New Woman' versus the 'Angel in the House' in Victorian literature. Explore the symbolic significance of blood and medical practices like transfusions, juxtaposed with tales of science battling superstition through Dr. Van Helsing. Personal stories enrich the discussion, as they unravel Mina and Lucy's complex identities, navigating the shadows of femininity and vulnerability in the face of Dracula's dark powers.

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INSIGHT

Blood Transfusion Discussion

The hosts discuss Bram Stoker's Dracula, Chapters 8-11, focusing on blood transfusions.
They question the characters' willingness to offer blood, setting a morbid yet intriguing tone.

INSIGHT

Education and Thankfulness

Stratford Caldecott connects education with thankfulness, suggesting it's about receiving and giving back.
Cindy Rollins quotes Lewis Hyde on the imagination's procreative nature, emphasizing how art enriches our being and allows us to give more than we receive.

INSIGHT

Misuse of Knowledge

Mortimer Adler, despite his intellect, used his learning to belittle others.
This contrasts with the idea of education as a gift to be shared, highlighting a misuse of knowledge.

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Natural History

Pliny the Elder

Pliny the Elder's Natural History is an encyclopedic work that covers a vast range of topics from the natural world. It is a monumental achievement of Roman scholarship, encompassing geography, zoology, botany, astronomy, and mineralogy, among other subjects. The work is characterized by its comprehensive scope, detailed descriptions, and incorporation of a wide range of sources. While not always scientifically accurate by modern standards, it remains a valuable source of information about the ancient world's understanding of nature and its resources. Its influence on subsequent naturalists and scholars is undeniable, making it a significant contribution to the history of science and knowledge.

The Yellow Wallpaper

Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Published in 1892, 'The Yellow Wallpaper' is a pivotal work of feminist literature presented in the form of a series of journal entries written by an unnamed woman. The story delves into the themes of patriarchal control, the stifling nature of gender roles, and the consequences of denying women autonomy over their own lives. The protagonist, confined to a room by her physician husband, becomes increasingly obsessed with the yellow wallpaper, symbolizing her own feelings of oppression and entrapment. The narrative highlights the harm caused by the 'rest cure' treatment and the societal expectations that subordinated women during the Victorian era.

Gaudy Night

Dorothy L. Sayers

In 'Gaudy Night', Harriet Vane returns to her alma mater, Shrewsbury College at Oxford University, for the Gaudy Night festivities. Despite her initial reluctance due to her notorious past, she is warmly welcomed back by her former professors and classmates. However, her visit is soon marred by a series of malicious incidents, including vandalism and poison-pen letters. The Dean of the college asks for Harriet's help in investigating these events, which escalate into more sinister acts. Harriet, with the eventual assistance of Lord Peter Wimsey, uncovers the identity of the perpetrator and the motives behind the crimes. The novel explores themes such as women's place in society, intellectual integrity, and the balance between duty to the truth and duty to others[2][4][5].

Imaginary conversations

Walter Savage Landor

The Gift

Hafiz

Daniel Ladinsky

This book presents a stunning collection of Hafiz's most intimate poems, translated and interpreted by Daniel Ladinsky. It imparts the wonderful qualities of Hafiz as a spiritual teacher, including an audacious love, profound knowledge, wild generosity, and a sweet, playful genius. The poems explore themes of the beloved, faith, and exposing hypocrisy, and are known for their ability to encourage love, happiness, and a deep spiritual connection. Although Ladinsky's renderings are not traditional translations but rather modern interpretations, they have been praised for their accessibility and timeless appeal[1][3][4].

Dracula

Bram Stoker

The novel tells the story of Count Dracula, a vampire who moves from Transylvania to England to spread terror and create more vampires. The story begins with Jonathan Harker, an English solicitor, who travels to Transylvania to finalize the sale of a property to Count Dracula. Upon discovering Dracula's true nature, Harker barely escapes with his life. Dracula then travels to England, where he targets Harker's fiancée, Mina, and her friend Lucy. A group of characters, including Professor Van Helsing, Dr. John Seward, and Quincey Morris, band together to hunt down and destroy Dracula. The novel explores themes of good vs. evil, modernity vs. tradition, and the fears and anxieties of the Victorian era, including immigration, sexual desire, and the role of women in society.

A dish of orts

George MacDonald

Beauty in the word

Stratford Caldecott

The Women

Kristen Hanna

Welcome back to The Literary Life podcast today and our series on Bram Stoker’s Dracula. This week Angelina Stanford, Cindy Rollins, and Thomas Banks cover chapters 8-11 of the book. Angelina explains both the “New Woman” and “Angel in the House” ideas of the Victorian era and makes some observations about Dr. Seward’s interactions with Renfield in contrast to the nuns ministrations to Jonathan Harker. We are also introduced to Dr. Van Helsing in this section of the book as the foil for Dracula, and we quickly learn that he is more than just a medical man. Our hosts discuss Stoker’s own medical knowledge and both the historical and metaphorical context of the blood transfusion procedures in these chapters.

Thomas will be offering a webinar on Henry VIII and his times, which you can register for at HouseofHumaneLetters.com. Kelly Cumbee will also be teaching a course on The Chronicles of Narnia and medieval cosmology in February, and registration is now open.

Now is the time to get your copy of Hallelujah: Cultivating Advent Traditions with Handel’s Messiah in time for celebrating Advent with your family. You can also get a recording of the Advent to Remember webinar at MorningTimeforMoms.com.

Commonplace Quotes:

Once the imagination has been awakened, it is procreative. Through it we can give more than we were given, say more than we had to say. This is a beautiful double proposition, that art enlarges our repertoire for being, and that it further enables a giving onwards of that enriched utterance, that broadened perception.

Lewis Hyde

The passions are more powerful than the gods. If the gods speak, which they seldom do, the passions drown their voices.

Walter Savage Lander

The gods love blood.

Leconte de Lisle What can the world be to him who lives for thought, if there be no supreme and perfect Thought? None but such poor struggles after thought as he finds in himself? Take the eternal Thought from the heart of things, no longer can any beauty be real, no more can shape, motion, aspect of nature, have significance in itself or sympathy with human soul. George MacDonald A Dream Within a Dream

by Edgar Allan Poe

Take this kiss upon the brow! And, in parting from you now, Thus much let me avow — You are not wrong, who deem That my days have been a dream; Yet if hope has flown away In a night, or in a day, In a vision, or in none, Is it therefore the less gone? All that we see or seem Is but a dream within a dream.

I stand amid the roar Of a surf-tormented shore, And I hold within my hand Grains of the golden sand — How few! yet how they creep Through my fingers to the deep, While I weep — while I weep! O God! Can I not grasp Them with a tighter clasp? O God! can I not save One from the pitiless wave? Is all that we see or seem But a dream within a dream?

Book List:

Beauty in the Word by Stratford Caldecott

The Gifts of Reading by Robert Macfarlane

The Gift by Lewis Hyde

Imaginary Conversations by Walter Savage Landor

A Dish of Orts by George MacDonald

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