Dracula

Mina recounts her visit to the town of Whitby. Lucy takes her to a cliff by the seashore where they talk to Mr. Swales, a longtime resident of Whitby who disdains superstitions and legends. He also tells them that there are many empty graves in the Whitby cemetery because so many of the sailors memorialized there were lost at sea. When he leaves, Lucy tells Mina the plans for her wedding, and Mina confides her fears about Jonathan, whom she has not heard from in a month.

Dr. Seward gives another report on Renfield, whom he classified as a zoophagous (life-eating) maniac. Renfield loves animals, although this is not obvious from his treatment of them. He has the habit of trapping flies with sugar as bait and then using the flies to lure spiders. After catching the spiders, he uses them as bait for sparrows. Renfield sees him eating a blowfly, and later an orderly reports that he ate a bird and spit the bloody feathers out. Renfield claims that the animals make him strong and vital. Then he asks for a cat, claiming that it is the key to his salvation.

Mina writes about her continued worry for Jonathan. She also describes Lucy’s troubling new habit of sleepwalking. During a walk, she encounters Mr. Swales again. He suspects that his death is near, but he is not afraid. They see a ship drifting haphazardly by the coast. It appears that no one is steering it.

Chapter 7 begins with two newspaper stories about the ship the Demeter. During a storm the ship washes ashore. Its crew is missing. The Demeter’s captain is lashed to the wheel holding a crucifix. When the ship stops at the shore, a massive dog bolts from below decks and escapes. There is nothing on the ship except for dozens of large wooden boxes.

The captain’s log describes the Demeter’s terrible voyage. The story begins with unease among the crew, because a crewman vanishes ten days into the voyage. Another man tells the captain that he saw a tall stranger onboard. They search the ship but find nothing. Men begin disappearing regularly, and soon there are only four left. An inexplicable fog arises and surrounds the ship, making it impossible to approach the harbor. When only the captain and first mate are left, the first mate throws himself into the sea. The captain lashes himself to the wheel.

Mina writes a new entry about Lucy’s continued sleepwalking. She and Lucy attend the captain’s funeral. Lucy is agitated but it is unclear why. Mina suspects that it might be the death of Mr. Swales bothering her; he was found dead on the cliff with a broken neck and a terrified expression on his face.

Mina wakes in the night and sees that Lucy’s bed is empty. Mina finds her outside on a bench in the churchyard where they usually sit. When she gets closer, Mina sees a figure with a pale face and red eyes leaning over Lucy, but when she reaches her Lucy is alone. Lucy is short of breath. After she gets Lucy home, Mina notices two small, pinprick-like wounds on Lucy’s neck.

Lucy tries to sleepwalk the next two nights, but Mina locks the door to keep her safe. One evening, they go for a walk at sunset. While passing a graveyard, they see a figure near a tombstone. Lucy notices that the sunset has tinged the figure’s eyes red.

That night, Lucy sits up in bed, asleep, and points at the window. A large bat circles outside, fluttering its wings against the glass. Lucy grows pale, weak, and sickly over the next few days, and the wounds on her throat grow larger.

A brief piece of legal correspondence follows, providing an invoice for fifty boxes of earth to be delivered to Dracula’s house.

Mina’s final journal entry of the chapter contains two pieces of news: Lucy’s health is improving, and Jonathan has surfaced in a hospital in Budapest, delirious with brain fever.

Chapter 8 concludes with another report from Dr. Seward. Renfield has grown aggressive and arrogant. He tells Seward, “The Master is at hand” (105). Renfield escapes that might and goes to a mansion in Carfax. Seward and several orderlies find him against the door, calling out for his master. They return him to his cell. Straitjacketed and subdued, Renfield begs his master for patience.

Mina recounts her journey to Jonathan. Jonathan is now “a wreck of himself” (109) and does not remember the past few weeks. Jonathan gives her his notebook, and asks her to keep and hide it. He says she can read it if she feels the need, but he doesn’t want to know what is in it.

A chaplain comes to his bedside and marries them. She seals the book with blue ribbon and wax. It will be their symbol of trust. Lucy writes that she is no longer walking in her sleep and congratulates Mina on her marriage.

Seward provides an update on Renfield: He grows violent during the day but serene at night. In a reversal, he refuses offers of a cat, saying he has more important matters now. He escapes again during an inspection of his room. They find him by the chapel again. His agitation fades and he grows calm when he sees a bat in the sky.

Lucy records her bad dreams in a diary. One night she tries to stay awake but fails. In the morning her throat hurts. She struggles to breathe and recalls that, in her dream, something scraped at her window at night. Seward examines Lucy, but realizes that her condition is beyond his expertise. He asks his teacher, Van Helsing, to examine Lucy and give his opinion.

Seward describes Van Helsing’s visit with Lucy. Van Helsing said it was a life and death situation. He charmed her and said she looked wonderful. He also said that she was missing blood, although she was not anemic. Van Helsing refuses to say more, except that he must think.

Renfield briefly resumes capturing flies. But when Seward visits him, he throws the flies out, saying that he is finished with them.

Seward telegrams Van Helsing three times. The first two telegrams report on Lucy’s improvement. The third begs him to become because she her condition has worsened terribly.