51-533: Wilhelmina " Mina " Harker ( née Murray ) is a fictional character and the main female character in Bram Stoker 's 1897 Gothic horror novel Dracula . She begins the story as Miss Mina Murray, a young schoolmistress who is engaged to Jonathan Harker , and best friends with Lucy Westenra . She visits Lucy in Whitby on July 24 of that year, when schools would have closed for the summer. Unlike her best friend, Mina
102-812: A boy who caught flies in a bottle might be a clue for the later development of the Renfield character in Dracula . On 8 November 2012, Stoker was honoured with a Google Doodle on Google's homepage commemorating the 165th anniversary of his birth. An annual festival takes place in Dublin, the birthplace of Bram Stoker, in honour of his literary achievements. The Dublin City Council Bram Stoker Festival encompasses spectacles, literary events, film, family-friendly activities and outdoor events, and takes place every October Bank Holiday Weekend in Dublin. The festival
153-569: A great-grandnephew of Bram Stoker, decided to write "a sequel that bore the Stoker name" to "reestablish creative control over" the original novel, with encouragement from screenwriter Ian Holt, because of the Stokers' frustrating history with Dracula's copyright. In 2009, Dracula: The Un-Dead was released, written by Dacre Stoker and Ian Holt. Both writers "based [their work] on Bram Stoker's own handwritten notes for characters and plot threads excised from
204-471: A level of detailed realism to the story, a skill which Stoker had developed as a newspaper writer. At the time of its publication, Dracula was considered a "straightforward horror novel" based on imaginary creations of supernatural life. "It gave form to a universal fantasy ... and became a part of popular culture." According to the Encyclopedia of World Biography , Stoker's stories are today included in
255-766: A mistake. He was named University Athlete, participating in multiple sports, including playing rugby for Dublin University . He was auditor of the College Historical Society ( the Hist ) and president of the University Philosophical Society (he remains the only student in Trinity's history to hold both positions), where his first paper was on Sensationalism in Fiction and Society . Stoker became interested in
306-437: A safe. The rest of the novel deals with the group's efforts to spare Mina a vampiric fate by tracking and attempting to kill Dracula. When Van Helsing attempts to bless her by placing a host against her forehead it burns her flesh, leaving a scar, thus proving that Dracula has made her unholy. Mina slowly succumbs to Dracula's influence, switching back and forth from a state of consciousness to one of semi-trance, during which she
357-505: A standard work. Furthermore, he possessed an interest in art and was a founder of the Dublin Sketching Club in 1879. In 1878, Stoker married Florence Balcombe , daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel James Balcombe of 1 Marino Crescent. She was a celebrated beauty whose former suitor had been Oscar Wilde . Stoker had known Wilde from his student days, having proposed him for membership of the university's Philosophical Society while he
408-514: Is telepathically connected with Dracula. Mina then uses her inherent telepathic abilities to track Dracula's movements under the hypnotism of Van Helsing. Dracula later flees back to his castle in Transylvania , followed by the entire group who split up. As Van Helsing takes Mina with him on his journey to Dracula's castle to slay the Brides of Dracula , the rest of the party attempt to locate and raid
459-450: Is about to stake the first bride, he's stopped by her beauty and hesitates. But is snapped out of it by a "soul wail" from Mina though is unsure if he imagined it or she used some of her newfound power to help him. When the party kills Dracula just before sunset, Dracula's vampiric spell is lifted and Mina is freed from the curse. The book closes with a note written seven years after these events about Mina's and Jonathan's married life, and
510-426: Is an orphan who never knew her father or mother. After Mina's fiancé Jonathan escapes from Count Dracula 's castle, she travels to Budapest and joins him there. Mina cares for him during his recovery from his traumatic encounter with the vampire and his brides , and the two return to England as husband and wife. Back home, they learn that Lucy has died from a mysterious illness stemming from severe blood loss as
561-415: Is much more spry and active to the doctor's disturbance. While Mina and Van Helsing are at camp, Helsing finely crumbles a sacred wafer in a circle around Mina as she sleeps during the daytime. Upon waking, she is unable to cross the circle at all. Van Helsing does this as a test; if Mina is unable to exit the circle, he reasons that vampires would be unable to enter, as well. This is confirmed when, later in
SECTION 10
#1732858944759612-483: The Carpathian Mountains . However this claim has been challenged by many including Elizabeth Miller , a professor who, since 1990, has had as her major field of research and writing Dracula , and its author, sources, and influences. She has stated, "The only comment about the subject matter of the talk was that Vambery 'spoke loudly against Russian aggression.'" There had been nothing in their conversations about
663-730: The Theatre Royal in Dublin. Irving invited Stoker for dinner at the Shelbourne Hotel where he was staying, and they became friends. Stoker also wrote stories, and "Crystal Cup" was published by the London Society in 1872, followed by "The Chain of Destiny" in four parts in The Shamrock . In 1876, while a civil servant in Dublin, Stoker wrote the non-fiction book The Duties of Clerks of Petty Sessions in Ireland (published 1879), which remained
714-473: The "tales of the terrible Dracula" that are supposed to have "inspired Stoker to equate his vampire-protagonist with the long-dead tyrant." At any rate, by this time, Stoker's novel was well underway, and he was already using the name Dracula for his vampire. Stoker then spent several years researching Central and East European folklore and mythological stories of vampires . The 1972 book In Search of Dracula by Radu Florescu and Raymond McNally claimed that
765-555: The British Empire. He was an admirer of Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone , whom he knew personally, and supported his plans for Ireland. Stoker believed in progress and took a keen interest in science and science-based medicine. Some of Stoker's novels represent early examples of science fiction, such as The Lady of the Shroud (1909). He had a writer's interest in the occult, notably mesmerism , but despised fraud and believed in
816-519: The Count in Stoker's novel was based on Vlad III Dracula . However, according to Elizabeth Miller , Stoker borrowed only the name and "scraps of miscellaneous information" about Romanian history; further, there are no comments about Vlad III in the author's working notes. Dracula is an epistolary novel , written as a collection of realistic but completely fictional diary entries, telegrams, letters, ship's logs, and newspaper clippings, all of which added
867-507: The English coastal town of Whitby in 1890, and that visit was said to be part of the inspiration for Dracula , staying at a guesthouse in West Cliff at 6 Royal Crescent, doing his research at the public library at 7 Pier Road (now Quayside Fish and Chips ). Count Dracula comes ashore at Whitby, and in the shape of a black dog runs up the 199 steps to the graveyard of St Mary's Church in
918-465: The English coastal town of Whitby , Stoker drew inspiration for writing Dracula . He died on 20 April 1912 due to locomotor ataxia and was cremated in north London. Since his death, his magnum opus Dracula has become one of the best-known works in English literature and the novel has been adapted for numerous films, short stories and plays. Stoker was born on 8 November 1847 at 15 Marino Crescent , Clontarf in Dublin, Ireland. The park adjacent to
969-534: The Fair" who was pursued by the "Sacred Ancestor" (revealed in the English dub of the first film to be "our sire Count Dracula"). It is implied that she may be the mother of D (the son of the Sacred Ancestor). In the 1997 manga series Hellsing , a character referred to only as "She" is eventually revealed to be Mina Harker's corpse. She died before Dracula (later Alucard ) could be defeated, but because he did not die,
1020-690: The Gardens of Rest. His ashes are still stored in Golders Green Crematorium today. Stoker was raised a Protestant in the Church of Ireland . He was a strong supporter of the Liberal Party and took a keen interest in Irish affairs. As a "philosophical home ruler", he supported Home Rule for Ireland brought about by peaceful means. He remained an ardent monarchist who believed that Ireland should remain within
1071-608: The Kilmarnock Arms Hotel. The guest book with his signatures from 1894 and 1895 still survives. The nearby Slains Castle (also known as New Slains Castle ) is linked with Bram Stoker and plausibly provided the visual palette for the descriptions of Castle Dracula during the writing phase. A distinctive room in Slains Castle, the octagonal hall, matches the description of the octagonal room in Castle Dracula. Stoker visited
SECTION 20
#17328589447591122-632: The White Worm (1911). He published his Personal Reminiscences of Henry Irving in 1906, after Irving's death, which proved successful, and managed productions at the Prince of Wales Theatre . Before writing Dracula , Stoker met Ármin Vámbéry , a Hungarian-Jewish writer and traveller (born in Szent-György, Kingdom of Hungary now Svätý Jur , Slovakia ). Dracula likely emerged from Vámbéry's dark stories of
1173-422: The birth of their first-born son; who they name Quincey in remembrance of their friend, Quincey Morris ; who was killed by Dracula's Roma minions during the final confrontation. The birth of Jonathan and Mina's son signifies hope and renewal of life as the close of the novel ushers in the 20th century. Mina has appeared in most film adaptations of Stoker's novel. In Stoker's original novel, Mina recovers from
1224-479: The categories of horror fiction, romanticized Gothic stories, and melodrama. They are classified alongside other works of popular fiction, such as Mary Shelley 's Frankenstein , which also used the myth-making and story-telling method of having multiple narrators telling the same tale from different perspectives. According to historian Jules Zanger, this leads the reader to the assumption that "they can't all be lying". The original 541-page typescript of Dracula
1275-536: The cause of death to overwork, others to tertiary syphilis . His death certificate listed the cause of death as " Locomotor ataxia 6 months", presumed to be a reference to syphilis. He was cremated, and his ashes were placed in a display urn at Golders Green Crematorium in north London. The ashes of Irving Noel Stoker, the author's son, were added to his father's urn following his death in 1961. The original plan had been to keep his parents' ashes together, but after Florence Stoker's death, her ashes were scattered at
1326-722: The course of Irving's tours, Stoker travelled the world, although he never visited Eastern Europe , a setting for his most famous novel. Stoker enjoyed the United States, where Irving was popular. With Irving he was invited twice to the White House , and knew William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt . Stoker set two of his novels in America, and used Americans as characters, the most notable being Quincey Morris . He also met one of his literary idols, Walt Whitman , having written to him in 1872 an extraordinary letter that some have interpreted as
1377-671: The curse was still active in her, which the Doctor exploited to create Millennium 's vampires. The 2003 video game Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow features Mina Hakuba, a childhood friend and love interest of protagonist Soma Cruz , who is later revealed to be the reincarnation of Dracula . Mina's given name and family name bear a clear resemblance to Mina Harker's name, and the relationship she shares with Soma parallels that of Dracula and Harker. Mina also appears in Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow , but cannot be interacted with, only appearing in
1428-478: The degree of Master Mason on June 20, 1883." Stoker however was not a particular active Freemason, spent only six years as an active member, and did not take part in any Masonic activities during his time in London. The short story collection Dracula's Guest and Other Weird Stories was published in 1914 by Stoker's widow, Florence Stoker , who was also his literary executrix . The first film adaptation of Dracula
1479-463: The destruction of the negative and all prints of the film. The suit was finally resolved in the widow's favour in July 1925. A single print of the film survived, however, and it has become well known. The first authorised film version of Dracula did not come about until almost a decade later when Universal Studios released Tod Browning 's Dracula starring Bela Lugosi . Canadian writer Dacre Stoker ,
1530-649: The expression of a deeply-suppressed homosexuality. Stoker was a regular visitor to Cruden Bay in Scotland between 1892 and 1910. His month-long holidays to the Aberdeenshire coastal village provided a large portion of available time for writing his books. Two novels were set in Cruden Bay: The Watter's Mou' (1895) and The Mystery of the Sea (1902). He started writing Dracula there in 1895 while in residence at
1581-493: The house is now known as Bram Stoker Park. His parents were Abraham Stoker (1799–1876), an Anglo-Irishman from Dublin and Charlotte Mathilda Blake Thornley (1818–1901), of English and Irish descent, who was raised in County Sligo . Stoker was the third of seven children, the eldest of whom was Sir Thornley Stoker , 1st Baronet . Abraham and Charlotte were members of the Church of Ireland Parish of Clontarf and attended
Mina Harker - Misplaced Pages Continue
1632-506: The intro and ending, though a doppelganger of Mina is killed by the main antagonist midway into the game in order to try and force Soma into becoming the new dark lord of the castle. In the 2005 manga series Dance in the Vampire Bund , the central female vampire protagonist is named "Mina Țepeș", a reference to Vlad Țepeș , one of the inspirations for Dracula. Bram Stoker Abraham "Bram" Stoker (8 November 1847 – 20 April 1912)
1683-430: The night, the brides come to the camp, but are unable to cross the ring around Mina and Van Helsing. The brides beckon her to join them but fail to do so (which Van Helsing is relieved at when he notices how Mina looks at them with fear and disgust, and he realizes she isn't like them yet); with that, they fly back to Dracula's castle before sunrise, where they meet their demise at Van Helsing's hands. Curiously, when Helsing
1734-493: The notes was created by Elizabeth Miller and Robert Eighteen-Bisang in 1998. Stoker was a member of The London Library and conducted much of the research for Dracula there . In 2018, the Library discovered some of the books that Stoker used for his research, complete with notes and marginalia. After suffering a number of strokes, Stoker died at No. 26 St George's Square , London on 20 April 1912. Some biographers attribute
1785-459: The original edition" along with their own research for the sequel. This also marked Dacre Stoker's writing debut. In spring 2012, Dacre Stoker in collaboration with Elizabeth Miller presented the "lost" Dublin Journal written by Bram Stoker, which had been kept by his great-grandson Noel Dobbs. Stoker's diary entries shed a light on the issues that concerned him before his London years. A remark about
1836-405: The other protagonists. The result is the epistolary novel itself. Mina and Jonathan then join the coalition around Abraham Van Helsing , and turn their attention toward destroying the count. The party uses this information to discover clues about Dracula's plans and further investigate the locations of the various residences he purchases as a means to track him and destroy him. Each subsequent action
1887-414: The parish church with their children, who were baptised there. Abraham was a senior civil servant. Stoker was bedridden with an unknown illness until he started school at the age of seven, when he made a complete recovery. Of this time, Stoker wrote, "I was naturally thoughtful, and the leisure of long illness gave opportunity for many thoughts which were fruitful according to their kind in later years." He
1938-446: The party takes is recorded by the various members and added to the collection of events surrounding Dracula. After Dracula learns of this plot against him, he takes revenge by visiting - and biting - Mina at least three times. Dracula also feeds Mina his own blood, dooming her to become a vampire should she die. Afterwards, he kills Renfield and destroys all of the copies of their compiled records except for one, which Dr. Seward kept in
1989-519: The result of repeated attacks by an unknown, blood-drinking animal. The animal, they learn, was none other than Dracula taking a different shape. It is because of Mina that the party learn of the count's plans, as she is the one who collects all of the relevant information regarding the Count—including the various characters' journals, letters, and newspaper clippings—places it in chronological order, and types out multiple copies, giving them to each of
2040-480: The shadow of the Whitby Abbey ruins. Stoker began writing novels while working as manager for Irving and secretary and director of London's Lyceum Theatre, beginning with The Snake's Pass in 1890 and Dracula in 1897. During this period, he was part of the literary staff of The Daily Telegraph in London, and he wrote other fiction, including the horror novels The Lady of the Shroud (1909) and The Lair of
2091-399: The ship Dracula is using, to ambush him. As time goes on, Helsing's ability to hypnotize Mina to obtain intelligence on the whereabouts of Count Dracula diminishes significantly. Her appearance and manner become more vampire-like, to the point where she even loses her appetite as well as her ability to stay awake during the day despite multiple attempts by Van Helsing to wake her. But at night,
Mina Harker - Misplaced Pages Continue
2142-908: The superiority of the scientific method over superstition. Stoker counted among his friends J. W. Brodie-Innis , a member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn , and hired member Pamela Colman Smith as an artist for the Lyceum Theatre, but no evidence suggests that Stoker ever joined the Order himself. Like Irving, who was an active Freemason , Stoker also became a member of the order, "initiated into Freemasonry in Buckingham and Chandos Lodge No. 1150 in February 1883, passed in April of that same year, and raised to
2193-548: The theatre while a student through his friend Dr. Maunsell. While working for the Irish Civil Service , he became the theatre critic for the Dublin Evening Mail , which was co-owned by Sheridan Le Fanu , an author of Gothic tales. Theatre critics were held in low esteem at the time, but Stoker attracted notice by the quality of his reviews. In December 1876, he gave a favourable review of Henry Irving's Hamlet at
2244-403: The vampire's curse upon Dracula's death and lives on with her husband, Jonathan. However, in some media, Mina is killed at some point in the story, while in others, she becomes a full vampire and keeps her powers after the death of Dracula. In the light novels (also later adapted into two anime films and a manga series) Vampire Hunter D , the ancient vampire Count Magnus Lee refers to a "Mina
2295-482: Was F. W. Murnau 's Nosferatu , released in 1922, with Max Schreck starring as Count Orlok. Florence Stoker eventually sued the filmmakers, and was represented by the attorneys of the British Incorporated Society of Authors. Her chief legal complaint was that she had neither been asked for permission for the adaptation nor paid any royalty. The case dragged on for some years, with Mrs. Stoker demanding
2346-564: Was an Irish author who is best known for writing the 1897 Gothic horror novel Dracula . During his lifetime, he was better known as the personal assistant of actor Sir Henry Irving and business manager of the West End 's Lyceum Theatre , which Irving owned. In his early years, Stoker worked as a theatre critic for an Irish newspaper and wrote stories as well as commentaries. He also enjoyed travelling, particularly to Cruden Bay in Scotland where he set two of his novels. During another visit to
2397-404: Was believed to have been lost until it was found in a barn in northwestern Pennsylvania in the early 1980s. It consisted of typed sheets with many emendations, and handwritten on the title page was "THE UN-DEAD." The author's name was shown at the bottom as Bram Stoker. Author Robert Latham remarked: "the most famous horror novel ever published, its title changed at the last minute." The typescript
2448-527: Was important for Stoker and through him, he became involved in London's high society, where he met James Abbott McNeill Whistler and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (to whom he was distantly related). Working for Irving, the most famous actor of his time, and managing one of the most successful theatres in London made Stoker a notable if busy man. He was dedicated to Irving and his memoirs show he idolised him. In London, Stoker also met Hall Caine , who became one of his closest friends – he dedicated Dracula to him. In
2499-533: Was president. Wilde was upset at Florence's decision, but Stoker later resumed the acquaintanceship, and, after Wilde's fall, visited him on the Continent. The Stokers moved to London, where Stoker became acting manager and then business manager of Irving's Lyceum Theatre in the West End , a post he held for 27 years. On 31 December 1879, Bram and Florence's only child was born, a son whom they christened Irving Noel Thornley Stoker. The collaboration with Henry Irving
2550-485: Was privately educated at Bective House school run by the Reverend William Woods. After his recovery, he grew up without further serious illnesses, even excelling as an athlete at Trinity College, Dublin , which he attended from 1864 to 1870. He graduated with a BA in 1870, and paid to receive his MA in 1875. Though he later in life recalled graduating "with honours in mathematics", this appears to have been
2601-596: Was purchased by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen . Stoker's inspirations for the story, in addition to Whitby, may have included a visit to Slains Castle in Aberdeenshire , a visit to the crypts of St. Michan's Church in Dublin, and the novella Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu . Stoker's original research notes for the novel are kept by the Rosenbach Museum and Library in Philadelphia . A facsimile edition of
SECTION 50
#1732858944759#758241