Quotation:
“As usual Van Helsing had thought ahead of everyone else, and was prepared with an exact ordering of our work. […] in all probability, he does not know that such a power exists to us as can sterilize his lairs, so that he cannot use them as of old. We are now so much further advanced in our knowledge as to their disposition, that, when we have examined the house in Piccadilly, we may track the very last of them. […] He is confined within the limitations of his earthly envelope. […] And so we have this day to hunt out all his lairs and sterilize them.” (255)
Comment:
I find it interesting that Van Helsing always has a well-thought-out plan for dealing with vampires while all of the other characters seem almost oblivious to some of the most basic vampire principles. I talked a little bit about this in my commonplace book last week, but the legend of the vampire had been around long before Stoker even considered writing Dracula, so it feels odd that the majority of the characters have little to no frame of reference when it comes to this topic. Meanwhile, Van Helsing, who just happened to be called by Dr. Seward about Lucy’s condition, knows exactly what is going on, presumably from the start, and how to handle every situation that arises because of it. Even though Seward explained that Van Helsing is a professor who is educated in a wide range of subjects, if no one else had any interest in the topic of vampires, what would make Van Helsing decide this was a necessary area of study?
Question:
Why is Van Helsing the only person who seems to know anything about how to keep vampires away and how to kill them? Why does he have this information in the first place? What does this have to do with Stoker’s intentions for his novel?
