The last page of Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula is weird. There is no other way to describe the ending of this wild, interesting, and anxious piece of Victorian Literature. The goal of this blog post will be to analyze the “Note” in the context of Eve’s Sedgwick’s theory of homosocial desire.
Jonathan and Mina choose to name their son after not only Quincey but the rest of the group of men as well, “His bundle of names links all our little band together; but we call him Quincey” (Stoker, 402). This is the first many times in the final section of the novel were Stoker makes great effort to permanently link the group together. In more modern installments in the horror genre, Stephen King for example, it is enough that the group of hero’s are bonded by their shared experience as monster hunters. Yet, in this case that is not acceptable. Stoker goes to great lengths to link the men beyond their connection as destroyers of evil, and maintainers of the status-quo. Instead, the story must have links such as the name of Jonathan and Mina’s son.
These links serve two purposes in the novel: first it allows for the separation of acceptable homosocial bonds, and unacceptable homosexual or homoerotic bonds between the main male characters. The second being that they rely on each other to rationalize their experience. If just one of them had seen the actions Dracula or the Weird Sisters it would read as the ravings of a mad man, yet their combined telling provides legitimacy to the narrative.
This secondary reason is a main theme of the last page of the novel. The group revisits the scene of their final battle or crime, depending on your perspective, of the book seven years in the future. Jonathan, in his recounting, states that the castle and everything else is as it was on the date of their great triumph. His recounting reads as an attempt to convince not only the reader, but himself of what occurred there. The last paragraph of the novel further affirms their uncertainty about their experience:
“’We want no proofs; we ask none to believe us! This boy will some day know what a brave and gallant woman his mother is. Already he knows her sweetness and loving care; later on he will understand how some men loved her so, that they did dare much for her sake’” (402).
First, Van Helsing excepts no one to believe their story because of how outlandish it is. Yet, the reader is also presented with interesting language about the cause of their journey. That the reason the men went to Transylvania is because of their love of Mina. Which in turn implies that their bond is formed out of concern for the safety, and future of a woman they love. Thus, Stoker presents further evidence that the only way men can comfortably interact with each other or have any kind of relationship in through women. A Woman must be the reason why the men are brought together. Thus, we see the breakdown between homosocial and homosexual desire in Stoker’s Dracula.
Wow. I love your reading of the novel with a lens coming from Sedgwick’s work. In all honestly, your concluding paragraph ties together your points beautifully and concisely. I feel that the only way you could build on this would be to include some quotations from Sedgwick to really strengthen and fortify your argument. I would also incorporate the fact that the men of the novel are also bound, not just by Mina, but Lucy as well in the blood transfusions. They give parts of themselves to her, yet another incident where the men of the novel must band together, so long as their socks are on. Other than that, really well done.
Your favorite crime,
Jay Walker
This is a great assessment of the arc of homosocial desire throughout Dracula. The necessity of a woman for man to be able to experience desire is communicated throughout the narrative, and adds a depth and complication to the fantastical novel. Your argument feels very reminiscent of the Senf article, where there needs to be some sort of deniability of the story to preserve society as it was or should be. The concluding paragraph, and the quote you draw on really articulate this. The gang is both asserting that all events are true but through a dictation of an inherent unbelievability that allows the story to take place. They both have to assert the validity of their claims while also pointing out inherent doubt. This links to the complex social dynamics your reading details, where the characters have to exist in an in-between reality for these fantastical events and dynamics to play out appropriately.
I absolutely loved reading this, your analyzation of Jonathan and Mina’s (and many others’) child and how each man of the gang had a role in this baby’s creation is such an interesting thought. I think linking it to homosocial and homoerotic desire is more than appropriate, considering in an offhand way the blood of many different men are coming together in this child’s body. I do believe that this argument slightly loses steam once you begin to discuss how the men came together because of their mutual love for Mina, but I find it such an interesting point. I think the argument could be made slightly stronger if you added the gang’s mutual love for Mina into the first part, since the blood in the child’s veins is there because of Mina. I think your post is excellent, this is just a minor suggestion to help the flow of the piece!