[2025-07-26] [spoilers]

a classic for a reason. what stood out to me this time around, unexpectedly, was mina. her letters to lucy were especially tender and lovely to read; details of her consideration extended to jonathan, like learning shorthand so as to help him in his work, are quite touching; she is reliably useful, from knowing train timetables by memory (again, to aid jonathan's work) to singe-handedly tracking count dracula's possible movements using just a map and her secondhand knowledge of romania. mina figures out that jonathan's ordeals might be related to lucy's, and contacts van helsing — her intervention is, at numerous junctures, critical for their final victory.

this is a novel about kind, brave people saving the ones they love, saving the world from an evil as intelligent and persistent as they are. horror stories are always more satisfying when each actor is rational and capable — here, they are that and more. mina's transgressive involvement in 'men's work' is never punished; rather, she is immediately appreciated by those around her for her contributions. her character is so well-developed and loveable that, when others eventually go to extreme lengths to save her, it feels completely right.

what a classic gains in persuasive ethos, it loses in the element of surprise. even with the novelty of the vampire myth scrubbed out, stoker's still has so much to offer: in particular, an endearing and unforgettable heroine.