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Chapter 1

Summary
The opening chapters of the novel are told from the point of view of Jonathan Harker, in the form of his journal. Harker is a young solicitor (lawyer) from England, who is sent by his employer to the castle of a noble, Count Dracula, in Transylvania, a mountainous region of modern-day Romania. Harker's assignment is to arrange the purchase of a property in London for the Count. He plans to take notes on his journey so that he can share his experiences with his fianc�e, Mina Murray.
We join Harker in a hotel in a Transylvanian town en route to the Count's castle. He feels that he has left the West and is now in the East. He has tasted some exotic dishes whose recipes he plans to obtain for Mina. He has researched the country at the British Museum and knows that his destination is in the remote Carpathian mountains, "one of the wildest and least known portions of Europe." The Count is a member of an old Transylvanian family, the Szekelys. The Szekelys claim to be descended from Attila the Hun, who ravaged the European continent during the 5th century AD. Harker has also found out that the Carpathians are the center of "every known superstition in the world." That night, he sleeps badly: he has strange dreams and can hear a dog howling under his window.
The next day, he travels to Bistritz, the town nearest the Count's castle. He goes to the hotel that the Count recommended and the hotelier gives him a letter of welcome from the Count. The Count writes that the next day, he will send his carriage to collect Harker at the Borgo Pass and bring him the rest of the way to the castle. When Harker tries to question the hotelier about the Count, he and his wife refuse to speak further and only cross themselves. Just before he leaves, the wife comes to Harker's room and begs him not to go. She says that today is St George's eve, when at midnight, "all the evil things in the world will have full sway." She begs Harker to wait a day or two before starting. Harker believes she is being ridiculous, but feels uncomfortable. He tells her that he is on business, and must go. She places a rosary with a crucifix around his neck for protection.
As Harker is boarding the coach, the hotelier's wife discusses him with the coach driver. Their conversation seems to cause the gathered onlookers to pity Harker. He makes out some words of the people's talk - words meaning Satan, hell, and vampire. As Harker's coach starts off, the people make the sign of the cross and point two fingers towards him - a sign which a passenger explains is a charm against the evil eye.
Harker travels through beautiful forested countryside. He notes peasants kneeling devoutly before shrines. As it grows dark, the other passengers ask the coach driver to go faster, and he whips the horses to urge them on. The passengers offer gifts to Harker, which he believes are charms to ward off the evil eye. The coach arrives at the Borgo Pass, where Harker is to meet the Count's carriage, but no carriage is there. The driver mutters something which Harker believes to mean that they are an hour too early. The driver encourages Harker to travel on with the others to Bukovina, and then to return to meet the Count's coach in a day or two. But suddenly, a small carriage drawn by four black horses appears, terrifying the coach horses and prompting the passengers to cross themselves. The carriage is driven by a tall man with a long brown beard and a hat covering his face. The man remarks to the coach driver that he (the coach driver) is early, and says that he knows the coach driver wanted Harker to go on to Bukovina. He warns the coach driver, "You cannot deceive me, my friend; I know too much, and my horses are swift."
Harker boards the carriage, which sets off for the castle. He is perturbed by the fact that the coach seems to be covering the same ground over and over again. Dogs begin to howl from nearby farmhouses. Then, wolves begin to howl. The carriage driver gets out and quietens the frightened horses, as if by some special power. From time to time, they pass a flickering blue flame, and the driver gets out, inspects the flame, and marks the place with some stones. During one of these stops, Harker becomes aware that a pack of wolves has circled the carriage. He tries to frighten them away by making a noise, but then the driver reappears and makes the wolves retreat simply by waving them away. Harker feels paralyzed by fear at these strange events. Finally, they reach the castle.
Analysis
Dracula, published in 1897, is a late example of a so-called Gothic novel, a genre that became popular from about 1760 to 1820. The Gothic novel is characterized by mystery and supernatural horror, and is often set in a dark castle or medieval house.
The first chapter establishes the typical Gothic atmosphere, building up fear and suspense. This is partly accomplished by emphasizing the strange, threatening and supernatural aspects of Transylvania and its inhabitants, and partly by making the protagonist embody the opposite quality of rationality. Harker's way of educating himself about Transylvania is to research it at the British Museum, and when he learns about that country's superstitions, he plans to ask the Count about them, just as one might ask a scientist to explain a theory. The woeful inadequacy of these approaches is soon to become apparent: he will find himself not studying ancient beliefs, but trapped helplessly within a reality alien to his experience.
Harker's journey confronts him with many strange and frightening happenings which build up an ominous atmosphere. The sense of strangeness and alienation is heightened by the fact that Harker does not speak the language and only with some difficulty is able to work out what people mean. While he is staying in a hotel, a dog howls beneath his window. In Bistritz, the local people react with terror when they learn that he is going to the Count's castle, and the hotelier's wife insists on giving him a rosary with a crucifix for protection. While Harker thinks she is being "ridiculous," he cannot help but become uneasy at her response. Then the coach driver attempts to save him from going to the Count's castle by persuading him to go on to the next town. But despite the fact that they arrive at the Count's rendezvous an hour early, the driver of the Count's carriage has somehow foreseen both this and the coach driver's attempt to divert Harker.
On the final leg of the journey to the Count's castle, the mystery and fear are heightened further. The carriage seems to be covering the same ground again and again. The carriage driver repeatedly disembarks to inspect mysterious blue flames that appear around them, and at one point Harker realizes that the carriage driver's body does not obstruct the view of a flame behind him - meaning that the carriage driver is transparent. Finally, the carriage driver seems to have the ability to control wolves and to calm horses. Harker is not equipped to understand any of these events and can only explain them by surmising that he must have fallen asleep and have been dreaming. Subsequently, he goes into a kind of paralysis from fear. Once again, Harker's inability to make conscious sense of these alien experiences adds to the suspense. Will he be able to survive the onslaught of threats from a world completely alien to his own?