Dracula Reading Guide Chapter 14 (13 pages) – Before Reading: This chapter contains multiple references to a pseudoscience where it is believed that you can judge “physiognomy,” someone’s personality by the shape of their face and skull. Charcot was a French neurologist who believed in using hypnotism to deal with mental disorders. Some terms that might be unfamiliar: redress to fix or improve – à deux mains a French expression meaning both hands” – “with verbatim a Latin expression meaning for word” – “word finis a French expression meaning or end” – “finished” “the buoyancy literally: floating; figuratively; to be in good spirits – cicatrise an old-fashioned medical term for a scarring over – conjecture an educated guess – Questions: How is Mina characterized in the first half of the chapter? Include at least two quotations woven into your paragraph. What does Van Helsing mean on page 156 when he calls Lucy poor lily girl?” (How might his choice of “that metaphor be significant?) On page 156, after Van Helsing asks to read her diary, Mina shows him the document she has written in shorthand, knowing that he won’t be able to understand it. She writes, could not resist the temptation of mystifying him a bit “I – I suppose it is some of the taste of the original apple that remains in our mouths [….]” Comment on the significance of this allusion. What is the effect of Van Helsing’s long string of rhetorical questions on his listener (Dr. Seward)? At the end of the chapter, Van Helsing quotes an American he once heard say that faith us to believe things “‘enables which we know to be untrue.” Is that a good definition of faith? If so, how? If not, how would you define faith? Write at least three sentences.
Dracula Reading Guide – Chapter 14 (13 pages) Before Reading: This chapter contains multiple references to “physiognomy,” a pseudoscience where it is believed that you can judge someone’s personality by the shape of their face and skull. Charcot was a French neurologist who believed in using hypnotism to deal with mental disorders. Some terms that might be unfamiliar: redress – to fix or improve à deux mains – a French expression meaning “with both hands” verbatim – a Latin expression meaning “word for word” finis – a French expression meaning “finished” or “the end” buoyancy – literally: floating; figuratively; to be in good spirits cicatrise – an old-fashioned medical term for a scarring over conjecture – an educated guess Questions: How is Mina characterized in the first half of the chapter? Include at least two quotations woven into your paragraph. What does Van Helsing mean on page 156 when he calls Lucy “that poor lily girl?” (How might his choice of metaphor be significant?) On page 156, after Van Helsing asks to read her diary, Mina shows him the document she has written in shorthand, knowing that he won’t be able to understand it. She writes, “I could not resist the temptation of mystifying him a bit – I suppose it is some of the taste of the original apple that remains in our mouths [….]” Comment on the significance of this allusion. What is the effect of Van Helsing’s long string of rhetorical questions on his listener (Dr. Seward)? At the end of the chapter, Van Helsing quotes an American he once heard say that faith “‘enables us to believe things which we know to be untrue.” Is that a good definition of faith? If so, how? If not, how would you define faith? Write at least three sentences.