JONATHAN HARKER'S JOURNAL

(Kept in shorthand.)

19 May.—I am surely in the toils. Last night the Count asked me in the suavest tones to write three letters, one saying that my work here was nearly done, and that I should start for home within a few days, another that I was starting on the next morning from the time of the letter, and the third that I had left the castle and arrived at Bistritz. I would fain have rebelled, but felt that in the present state of things it would be madness to quarrel openly with the Count whilst I am so absolutely in his power; and to refuse would be to excite his suspicion and to arouse his anger. He knows that I know too much, and that I must not live, lest I be dangerous to him; my only chance is to prolong my opportunities. Something may occur which will give me a chance to escape. I saw in his eyes something of that gathering wrath which was manifest when he hurled that fair woman from him. He explained to me that posts were few and uncertain, and that my writing now would ensure ease of mind to my friends; and he assured me with so much impressiveness that he would countermand the later letters, which would be held over at Bistritz until due time in case chance would admit of my prolonging my stay, that to oppose him would have been to create new suspicion. I therefore pretended to fall in with his views, and asked him what dates I should put on the letters. He calculated a minute, and then said:—

"The first should be June 12, the second June 19, and the third June 29."

I know now the span of my life. God help me!

JONATHAN HARKER'S JOURNAL

(Kept in shorthand.)

18 May.—I have been down to look at that room again in daylight, for I must know the truth. When I got to the doorway at the top of the stairs I found it closed. It had been so forcibly driven against the jamb that part of the woodwork was splintered. I could see that the bolt of the lock had not been shot, but the door is fastened from the inside. I fear it was no dream, and must act on this surmise.

Hello! Editor Matt here; this is Dracula Weekly, the ‘subcriber-only’ email. Today we’ll recap the reading, share some links, and claim your merch!

I’m sending the preview of this to everybody just in case you want a peek at these emails. I won’t do it every time or spam your regular Dracula experience. :)

First of all: thanks for signing up! This is the Enhanced Dracula Experience; this is a much smaller group than Dracula Daily, so if you’ve got feedback on what would make this more fun or interesting, send it my way. I’m pretty open to feedback here.

RECAP

OK! We’re just a the beginning of Dracula, so you can’t be that far behind in the reading yet. As always: no judgement, but look out for spoilers for the book so far. I let a few weekends go by before I started this recap, to get us in a better rhythm for timing. SO here’s what’s happened so far!

On May 3, we meet Jonathan Harker. He’s a young man on a business trip, and he’s making delightful observations about his journey from Munich to visit his new client in Transylvania. He’s keeping a new journal in shorthand. He recaps the last three days of his journey, from May 1 through today. He tries some new foods, and notes that he must collect the recipes for Mina (whoever that is). The highlight is Paprika Hendl, which makes him thirsty and gives him queer dreams; we are forced to conclude that Paprika is the most powerful spice that this Englishman has ever tasted.

He observes the locals (the men are picturesque, the women are pretty until you get near them), wonders about their superstitious customs, and resolves to ask the Count about them. He arrives at Bistritz, finds his hotel, and upon checkin receives a letter from the Count, welcoming him to the Carpathians. Whether Jonathan should believe this letter might depend on how you interpret a note that ends with, “Your friend, DRACULA.”

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