NovelGuide: Dracula: Novel Summary: Chapter 9

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Chapter 9

Summary
In a letter to Lucy written at Budapest, Mina writes that she has been reunited with Harker, who is weak and suffering from shock. He does not remember anything that has happened to him in Transylvania. Sister Agatha tells Mina that he raved in his delirium about terrible things, but she refuses to elaborate, merely crossing herself when asked. She says that Harker has done nothing wrong, but that "His fear was of great and terrible things, which no mortal can treat of."
Harker gets a notebook out of his pocket. He tells Mina that husband and wife should have no secrets from each other, that he does not know whether what happened to him was a dream or reality, and that the secret is in the notebook. He hands the book to her, saying that she may read it if she wishes, but that she is not to tell him what she reads there unless "some solemn duty" makes it necessary.
A clergyman is sent for, who marries Harker and Mina. Mina seals up Harker's notebook and tells him that as a sign of trust, she will never open it unless for his sake or "for the sake of some stern duty."
Lucy sends Mina a letter of congratulations from Whitby, where Holmwood is visiting her. She adds that she herself is soon to be married, and that she is well and has stopped sleepwalking.
Seward's diary records that Renfield now has periods of calm, when he merely murmurs to himself that he can wait. He no longer wants a cat: he has "more to think of now." He develops a pattern of being violent all day, then quiet from sunset to sunrise, "as if some influence came and went." A few days later, he escapes and once more is found pressed against the chapel door at Carfax. When approached by Seward and his men, he tries to attack Seward, but calms down when a bat is seen flying nearby and allows himself to be taken back to the asylum.
Back at Hillingham, her family home in London, Lucy begins to keep a diary. She feels weak and fearful. In the night, she notices something scratching and flapping at the window. She suffers bad dreams and her throat hurts. She is also 'air-hungry,' a sign of anemia or loss of blood.
Holmwood, concerned at Lucy's decline, writes to Seward asking him to examine her. Seward is to come to lunch at Hillingham the next day, so as not to arouse suspicion in Mrs Westenra, who still does not know that there is anything wrong with Lucy. Equally, Lucy does not know that Mrs Westenra has a terminal heart condition, though Mrs Westenra has told Holmwood. Holmwood departs to see his father, who has grown worse.
Seward writes to Holmwood to say that he cannot find anything specifically wrong with Lucy, although he is shocked at how much weaker she is. He believes that she has lost blood, but does not know how. Seward writes to his former teacher, Professor Van Helsing, in Amsterdam, to ask him to come and examine Lucy.
Van Helsing arrives and examines Lucy. Like Seward, he cannot find any specific cause of Lucy's illness, but agrees that she has lost much blood. He asks Seward to keep him informed about Lucy's condition by telegram and goes back to Amsterdam.
Seward records in his diary that Renfield is catching flies and eating them once more. Renfield laments that "He has deserted me." However, that night, as the sun sets, Renfield grows calm and throws away his flies, saying, "I am sick of all that rubbish!"
After a brief period of improvement, Lucy grows worse, and Seward sends a telegram to Van Helsing asking him to come immediately.
Analysis
Harker's and Mina's attitude to the notebook is symbolic of the Victorian attitude to everything that the Count represents: sexual depravity, and man's savage and bestial nature. Harker knows that it contains the secret of his brain fever, but does not wish to know it, and Mina agrees that she will also avoid examining it, and seals up the book. However, the "stern duty" that she anticipates is soon to come upon them in the form of Van Helsing's plan to eradicate the vampires from London, when the notebook provides vital data.
Lucy's recent calm may be attributable to the fact that she is with her fianc�, Holmwood, or more likely to the fact that that she is attaining some degree of sexual satisfaction from her encounters with the Count. If it is the latter, then rather than a sign of her improving health, as she and Mina undoubtedly assume, her calmness is a sign of her increasing depravity. It must be seen in context with Renfield's periods of calm at night, "as if some influence came and went." This influence, of course, is the Count, though Seward is still unaware of this.
The epistolary technique of narrative enables us, the readers, to know more than individual characters at any one time - since we can put different people's pieces of the jigsaw together when they do not have this opportunity. We therefore have a better sense of the danger they are in than they do, which heightens the suspense.
This chapter introduces the character of Van Helsing. He, alone of all the characters, is able to bridge the gap between the old, dark world of superstition represented by the Count, and the new age of science. Science has turned its back on ancient truths and "irrational" beliefs and is thus limited in its power to deal with them. Seward's mind is closed to the old, dark world and he is therefore unable to discern the cause of Lucy's illness or what the Count is up to. Seward says of Van Helsing, "He is a philosopher and a metaphysician, and one of the most advanced scientists of his day; and he has, I believe, an absolutely open mind." He is therefore unusually equipped to fight the powers of darkness and a worthy opponent of the Count.