Dracula | Chapter 27 Summary & Analysis | Bram Stoker

Chapter 27 Overview

Journey to Castle Dracula

The chapter begins on November 1st, detailing Mina and Van Helsing's treacherous journey towards Castle Dracula, a place filled with ominous history and danger. The scenery is haunting, with shadows lurking at every turn, creating an atmosphere of dread and anticipation.

Travels and Encounters

• November 1-4: Mina meticulously documents her travels, but her incessant fatigue begins to overcome her resolve, causing her to struggle to continue her writings. This sleepiness serves as a metaphor for the overwhelming darkness they are encountering.

• Van Helsing experiences restless nights, haunted by the weight of responsibility and the knowledge that Mina's safety is precariously in his hands. Despite his brave demeanor, he is deeply aware of the encroaching peril surrounding them.

• November 5: A pivotal day where Van Helsing confides in Seward about his sleepless nights, attributing them to the growing threat to Mina. Concerned for her wellbeing, he takes a decisive step by using crumbs from a communion wafer to create a protective circle around her, drawing on his knowledge of vampire lore.

• As Mina watches, Dracula’s vampire women materialize, their enchanting allure almost entrapping her. However, Van Helsing uses fire alongside the wafer crumbs to repel these supernatural beings, which momentarily protect them as the night ends with dawn’s light, sending the vampires into retreat that dissipates with the morning sun.

Van Helsing’s Defiance

• Van Helsing's November 5 Diary Entry captures his reflections on previous encounters recounted by Harker and Seward, loaded with urgency and determination.

• Leaving Mina safeguarded in her protective circle, he boldly ventures closer to the castle, profoundly aware of both the danger and the seductive beauty that vampires can embody.

• He finds two vampire women in their coffins and feels their seductive pull, but the memory of Mina's distant cries snaps him back to reality.

• In a decisive act, Van Helsing places communion wafer crumbs in a tomb marked with Dracula's name, successfully dispatching one vampire woman while also sterilizing the castle doors to thwart any chances of Dracula returning.

Search for Harker

• November 6: Mina and Van Helsing embark on a desperate search for Harker, moving cautiously near Homewood with the castle looming menacingly behind them, its walls whispering of dark secrets. In this moment, the howl of wolves serves as a haunting backdrop, amplifying the tension.

• Van Helsing spots the Sigani men with Dracula's box and hears Harker and Morris shouting to interrupt their efforts, prompting a frantic struggle to retrieve Harker. As combat ensues, the stakes are raised when Mina is unexpectedly wounded in the fray, heightening the sense of urgency.

• The Sigani ultimately surrender as the sun sinks, but Dracula awakens from his slumber, only to face the fatal attacks of Harker and Morris, marking the climax of their confrontation.

Final Confrontation

• Harker, fueled by desperation and anger, slashes Dracula's throat, while Morris pierces his heart with a stake, ending the vampire’s dark reign.

• In an almost poetic moment of victory, Dracula’s body crumbles into dust, signifying the end of his tyranny. Morris’s last words resonate with the themes of purity and redemption, referencing Mina's courage and the lifting of her curse.

Aftermath and Legacy

• In an epilogue penned by Harker seven years later, he reflects on the birth of his son, Quincy, who arrived on the anniversary of Morris's death, intertwining the past with the future.

• Van Helsing contemplates that Quincy will eventually understand his mother Mina's bravery and the profound sacrifices made during their harrowing ordeal against evil.

Gothic Influences

• This final chapter vividly encapsulates gothic themes, such as eerie moments infused with the allure and temptation of the vampire women. Van Helsing, despite his age and existing commitment, experiences a moment of vulnerability, but is ultimately fortified by Mina’s cry that dispels the seductive power of evil.

Final Battle

• The anticlimactic nature of their battle with the Sigani reflects a lack of significant resistance from Dracula or his ghastly wolves, indicating a shift in power dynamics.

• Dracula’s defeat is both swift and decisive, emphasizing themes of sacrifice and redemption interwoven with the central narrative depicting the ongoing struggle between good and evil.

Enduring Impact

• The character of Dracula has remained a cornerstone of popular culture and literature, symbolizing an archetype of evil. Over a century since its publication, Dracula continues to maintain its prominence as an emblematic figure, ensuring that his legacy endures in the collective consciousness of society.