Portrait of Mina
“you, their best beloved one, are now to me flesh of my flesh; blood of my blood; kin of my kin; my bountiful wine-press for a while…”
Mina Murray Harker, equal parts beauty, kindness, integrity, and intelligence… who honestly, imo, should’ve been brought into the loop much sooner by her male counterparts rather than kept at bay for her own protection. Silly boys.
This classic, gothic tale leans into the sentiment that women, in general, are more easily subdued by Count Dracula, in part due to their stereotyped feminine weaknesses – but then comparing Mina’s mind to that of a man (“Ah, that wonderful Madam Mina! She has man’s brain—a brain that a man should have were he much gifted…”) – and who was still subdued by the Count, kinda puts a big wrench in that idea.
I feel this is glossed over, but I’m glad at least the notion exists in the tale even if minute and/or unintentional. In my mind then, this means that Dracula could have easily preyed upon Jonathan Harker in the same fashion as Mina, if he so desired. And I would read/watch the hell out of that version.
