A few lessons ago we were looking at chapter five of Dracula. In particular we focused on the importance of letters with in this chapter. There are many benefits to the use of letters, for example the sudden change from Jonathan Harker’s journal to the letters between Lucy and Mina reflect the distance between the two topics, joy of Lucy and Harker’s fear, and of the actual distance between the characters, Transylvania and England.
The use of letters between Mina and Lucy also allows the reader to get to know the characters more quickly. If a narrator simply explained the two characters’ thoughts and feelings and actions, the reader wouldn’t feel as close to them or have as much sympathy for the characters. This is particularly important for Lucy as she becomes ill and then dies fairly early on in the book and this more direct way of communicating with the reader will allow them to feel sorry for Lucy and ultimately her fate.
The reader may be more inclined to believe events that are told to them if it is through letter form. This is because it is not through a narrator and so it seems more direct and real. Lucy and Mina aren’t trying to convince the reader that what they say is true and real, these are private and confidential letters being read. Therefore they have no cause to lie and so this will help to add to the book’s attempts to make us believe that the novel’s events are true.
Letters between Lucy and Mina have the effect of showing a contrast between the two characters. Mina is shown to be very committed and almost, ‘wifely’ to Jonathan, “when we are married I shall be able to be useful to Jonathan.” Whereas Lucy appears to be almost promiscuous, “why can’t they let a girl marry three men?” The closeness of these comments highlights the differences between the two girls.
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