Jonathan be like he may be a horror beyond human comprehension and have me imprisoned in his castle with no hope of escape or rescue but he would make an excellent solicitor I mean what a mind
What makes today’s entry so completely chilling is that. It’s extremely true to life. In the sense that if an abuser wants to keep their victim isolated, helpless, and dependent, taking away their documents and any other resources that might help them escape is a key tactic. (I feel like “abuser” is too light a word for Dracula’s role in all this—“torturer,” really—but it suffices to get my meaning across.)
And look at what documents Jonathan specifically points out as being missing: “[his] memoranda relating to railways and travel, [his] letter of credit, in fact all that might be useful to [him] were [he] once outside the castle.” I assume this includes things like maps of the region, his polyglot dictionary, identity documents (such that might’ve existed in the 1890s). What stands out to me in particular is the letter of credit—if you don’t know, these were essentially predecessors to traveler’s checks and credit cards. Gone is his ability to get money from a bank…where have we seen this before?
Additionally! He’s taken Jonathan’s clothes, as well as his overcoat and…rug (I’ll be honest, I couldn’t for the life of me find or figure out what a rug is in clothing but I assume it’s Victorian outerwear). Which reduces his ability to go anywhere by making it dangerous, since he’s completely exposed to the elements. I’ve been reading ahead and I know the other shoe has yet to drop on this one so I’ll leave this here for now.
So Dracula’s not only hindered his ability to navigate the region, he’s made sure it’d be dangerous for Jonathan to go out since he’d have very little clothing protection, and he’s also ensured that he’s not going to be able to seek shelter indoors or get further than the nearest town because he straight up has no money to afford a hotel or a transportation. Like holy SHIT.
Again, I don’t think “abuser” is a strong enough word but my god, the vampire part is secondary at this point—the true horror is being isolated and alone with someone you know means to harm you, someone who has just knowingly and completely hobbled your ability to successfully escape.
‘He got the letter I tried to send for help and then punished me for it’ is still just…oof. Gets me every time.
‘He threw my mirror out the window and tried to imperiously justify it and now I can’t shave’ is funny. The thing with the letters just hits me on a terrifying gut level no matter how many times I’ve read it.
“And he calmly held letter and envelope in the flame of the lamp till they were consumed.”
[ID. A short animation: In the foreground, Dracula’s clawed hand holds out a burning letter addressed to Mina, written in shorthand. As the letter burns with Harker’s green wax seal, the camera zooms in through the flames to a close-up of the man, looking on in despair as the light of the flame shining in his eyes fades. END ID.]
September 1st means #HellaWieners season is upon us once more. A spooky drawing every two days until October 31st. Kicking off with the Count Von Count himself.
