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Moderate: Animal death, Death, Racial slurs, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Classism
Minor: Animal cruelty, Cursing, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Grief, Murder, Alcohol
Graphic: Death, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Stalking, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Racism, Xenophobia
Minor: Animal death, Sexism, Classism
Very slow and long, a bit repetitive at times even. The characters were a bit dumb, they would come to the obvious conclusions too late and act like it was the smartest thing ever and not right in front of them the whole time. Although I can accept that it is representative of its time, my feminist side could not sit super well with the book. Similarly, there were sections of the book that felt prejudiced and bothered me a bit, although one could say it was once again representative of the mindset of high class people of the time.
As usual with classics though, I am nonetheless happy to have read it and looking forward to reading articles about the significance of this book and to better understanding its motives.
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
- Stoker has a severe fear of feminism and women straying from the ideal pure Victorian woman. Throughout Dracula we are given many examples, by the author, as to what happens to women that strays outside of purity and why men should fear it. Lucy being a prime example, when she makes the comment that if she could, she would marry all 3 of her suitors and thus because of such "evil thoughts" she was easily wooed by Dracula.
- Stoker also has a fear of modernism and science and what it was doing to religion (wonder what he would think of 2023). Stoker throws in many examples as to what happens if England continues on its path of putting science first and morals/religion second. We see throughout Dracula that many of the characters cannot conceptualize something like vampires. One character, although having all the evidence, didn't believe until he was face to face with one. This is a problem, per Stoker, that if we can't believe in the unbelievable then we are opening ourselves to evil.
This was a phenomenal read and I could reread it at some point in the future. However, if you are getting into it for a "fast-pace" read it is anything but. While only 400 pages, it took me a few days to get through it. This due to the slow-pacing at times and the over-explaining. We are "told" rather than "showed" most of the plot as the entire book is told through journals, telegrams, sonographs, and news clippings.
Graphic: Death, Gore, Mental illness, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Death, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Murder, Classism
Moderate: Sexism, Death of parent, War
Minor: Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Sexism, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Injury/Injury detail, Classism
The characters however, have much more depth than I expected and it has made me question the later interpretation of some characters. If you are a horror fan and haven't read this one, I recommend putting it on your list just to understand some of the beginnings of our supernatural tales.
I do want to add that for the times Mina seems to be a particularly strong female character. The way she is described by the men is annoying "fair but having the brain of a man" but I understand that for the time that was likely a huge praise. It is her and Van Helsing that put it all together, find all the pieces and track down Dracula. Without her the men would have been lost and that is proved in a major plot point when they try to lock her away for her safety.
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Classism
Moderate: Ableism, Body horror, Child abuse, Terminal illness, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Alcohol, Colonisation
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Forced institutionalization, Medical content
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Mental illness, Sexism, Xenophobia, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Minor: Gore, Suicide, Terminal illness, Antisemitism, Grief, Murder
All in all, an interesting read, but a good bit of the charm and suspense is lost to the changing principals of time.
Graphic: Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Classism
Moderate: Ableism, Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Drug use, Misogyny, Antisemitism, Death of parent, Colonisation