Dracula
Chapter summaries
1 Dracula begins with the diary kept by Jonathan Harker as he makes his way from England
to Eastern Europe. Harker is traveling to the castle of Count Dracula, a Transylvanian
nobleman. In his first diary entry, on May 3, Harker describes the picturesque countryside
of Eastern Europe and the exotic food he has tasted at the roadside inns. As Harker
prepares to leave the next morning, the innkeeper’s wife delivers an ominous warning.
She reminds Harker that it is the eve of St. George’s Day, when “all the evil things in the
world will have full sway.” She then puts a crucifix around his neck. His uneasiness
increases when a crowd of peasants gathers around the inn as he boards the coach. They
mutter many “queer words” at Harker, which, with the help of his dictionary, he translates
to mean “were-wolf” or “vampire.” Harker boards the last carriage and continues toward
the castle. He has the impression that the carriage is covering the same ground over and
over again, and he grows increasingly fearful as the ride progresses. Harker is spooked
several times by the wild howling of wolves. At one point, Harker looks outside the
carriage and sees a flickering blue flame burning somewhere in the distance. The driver
pulls over without explanation, inspects the flame, then returns to the carriage and
continues on. Harker recounts several more stops to inspect similar flames and notes that
at one point, when the driver gathers a few stones around one of the flames, he seems to
be able to see the flame through the driver’s body. Eventually, Harker arrives, paralyzed
by fear, at the dark and ruined castle.
2 The count appears and welcomes Harker. Clad in black, he is a tall old man, who is clean-
shaven aside from a long, white moustache. When the two shake hands, Harker is
impressed by the strength of Dracula’s grip, but notes that the ice-cold hand is more like
that of a dead man than a living one. Harker notices what calls Dracula’s “marked
physiognomy”: the count has pointed ears, exceptionally pale skin, and extremely sharp
teeth. Harker’s nervousness and fears return. The next day, Harker wakes to find a note
from Dracula, excusing himself for the day. Harker explores some parts of the castle and
finds many expensive belongings, but no mirrors. That evening, Dracula joins Harker for
conversation in the library, as he is eager to learn inflections of English speech before
moving to his new estate. Dracula draws out the conversation long into the night, but
abruptly leaves his guest at daybreak. The count’s strange behaviour increases Harker’s
sense of uneasiness. The next day, Dracula interrupts Harker shaving. Harker is startled
and accidentally cuts himself. Glancing at his shaving mirror, he notices that the count has
no reflection. Harker is also startled by Dracula’s reaction to the sight of his blood: the
count lunges for his guest’s throat, drawing back only after touching the string of beads
that holds Harker’s crucifix. After warning Harker against cutting himself in this country,
Dracula throws the shaving mirror out a window. He once again goes exploring, only to
discover one locked door after another. Harker realizes he is a prisoner in the count’s
castle.
3 Over the course of the next several days, the count, in turn, grills Harker about matters of
English life and law. He tells Harker to write letters to his fiancée and employer, telling
them that he will extend his stay in Transylvania by a month. Feeling obliged to his firm
and overpowered by the count, Harker agrees. Preparing to take his leave for the evening,
Dracula warns his guest never to fall asleep anywhere in the castle other than his own
room. Harker hangs his crucifix above his bed and, satisfied that the count has departed,
, sets out to explore the castle. Peering out a window, Harker observes Dracula crawling
down the sheer face of the castle. He wonders what kind of creature the count is and
fears that there will be no escape. Harker forces a locked room open and falls asleep, not
heeding the count’s warning. Harker is visited—whether in a dream or not, he cannot say
—by three beautiful women with inhumanly red lips and sharp teeth. The women
approach him, filling him with a “wicked, burning desire.” Just as one of the voluptuous
women bends and places her lips against his neck, Dracula sweeps in, ordering the women
to leave Harker alone. “When I am done with him you shall kiss him at your will,” the
count tells them. To appease the disappointed trio, Dracula offers them a bag containing a
small, “half-smothered” child. The terrible women seem to fade out of the room as Harker
drifts into unconsciousness.
4 Harker wakes up in his own bed, unsure whether the previous night’s experience was a
dream or reality. Several days later, Dracula asks Harker to write three letters to his
fiancée and employer, and to date them June 12, 19, and 29, even though it is currently
only May 19. The count instructs Harker to write that he has left the castle and is safely on
his way home. Harker passes his secret correspondence to a Gypsy through the bars of his
window. Later that evening, Dracula appears with the letter in hand, declaring that it is a
vile outrage upon his friendship and hospitality, and burns it. Weeks pass. It is now mid-
June, and Harker remains a prisoner. Harker witnesses the count slithering down the
castle wall wearing Harker’s suit. Dracula carries a bundle much like the one earlier
devoured by the three terrible women, which convinces Harker that his host is using the
disguise to commit unspeakable deeds. Later that day, a distraught woman appears at the
castle gate, wailing for her child. A pack of wolves emerges from the courtyard and
devours her. Desperate, Harker resolves to scale a portion of the castle wall in order to
reach Dracula’s room during the day. He manages the feat and finds the count’s room
empty except for a heap of gold. Discovering a dark, winding stairway, Harker follows it
and encounters fifty boxes of earth in a tunnel-like passage. Harker opens several of the
boxes and discovers the count in one of them, either dead or asleep. Terrified, Harker
flees back to his room. On June 29, Dracula promises Harker that he can leave the next
day, but Harker requests to leave immediately. Though his host agrees and opens the
front door, Harker’s departure is impeded by a waiting pack of wolves. In the morning,
Harker wakes early and climbs down to the count’s room again. Dracula is asleep as
before, but looks younger and sleeker, and Harker notices blood trickling down from the
corners of his mouth. Harker takes up a shovel, meaning to kill the vampire, but the blow
glances harmlessly off the count’s forehead. Harker resolves to take some of Dracula’s
gold and attempt to escape by descending the castle wall. His entry ends with a desperate,
“Good-bye, all! Mina!”
5 consists of several letters and a diary entry. In England, Mina Murray and her friend, Lucy
Westenra, exchange letters about their respective romances. Mina is an assistant
schoolmistress whose desire to be useful to her future husband has led her to study
shorthand and typewriting. She happily reports that her fiancé, Jonathan Harker, has
written that he is on his way home. Lucy replies with tales of her own marriage prospects.
She has entertained proposals from several men, including Dr. John Seward—the director
of a lunatic asylum in London—and a rich American named Quincey Morris. Her heart,
however, belongs to a gentleman named Arthur Holmwood, whose proposal she has
accepted.
The women’s correspondence is followed by a diary entry, on phonograph, by Dr. Seward.
The doctor admits his unhappiness at Lucy’s rebuff, but occupies himself with an
interesting new patient, a man named Renfield
6 In her journal, Mina describes her visit with Lucy in the picturesque town of Whitby. Mina
listens to Lucy’s wedding plans and notes sadly that she has not heard from Jonathan for a
