Dracula - Chapter One
I read the first chapter of Dracula last night for the Infinite Summer Dracula-in-October group read. Things I noticed:
*I forgot how quickly the text throws you into things. Right away it’s Jonathan Harker on his way to Dracula’s castle. *The east vs. west divide. From the first chapter, it seems that the east is being set up as being connected to magic, superstition, chaos (and paprika), while the west is order, business, and punctual trains. *Also, trains! Everywhere! I forgot the importance of trains in this text. *It also drags a bit - Stoker throws you into the middle of the action, then stops and tells you all about the foliage, which is fine and sets a scene and everything, but I’m only one chapter in and I already feel like I get it - dogs are howling and it’s dark. *Is there some kind of meaning to the speaking German? Is Germany functioning as some kind of mystical mid-point between England and Transylvania? Is German the way to translate the two cultures?
So far, so good. The schedule seems absolutely doable and I think there really is a lot of meat to this text, so it should be an interesting month.
