Dracula Chapter 9 Summary

Letter from Mina to Lucy, August 24

The chapter opens with a letter from "Mina Harker" to Lucy, dated August 24 in Budapest.
Since Mina's last name has changed, she has clearly married Jonathan already.
She tells Lucy that she was shocked when she first arrived at how bad Jonathan was—the nuns tell her that he'd gone through some kind of shock that brought on the brain fever.
When Mina spoke to Jonathan for the first time, he handed her his diary and told her that he wasn't sure whether his experiences had been real or not, but that she should keep his diary safe in case they ever needed it for anything. She can read it or not, as she chooses.
Mina told him she wouldn't read it unless something happened.
After that conversation, a priest came in and married them.
Jonathan sat up in bed to say his vows since he still wasn't well enough to go to the church.

The chapter continues with Lucy's response to Mina's letter, dated August 30, in Whitby.
Lucy congratulates Mina and Jonathan and sends her assurances that she's getting better and stronger every day.
Arthur is visiting her in Whitby and they go out fishing and horseback riding every day.
She says that her mother, Mrs. Westenra, is getting better, too.
Their wedding will take place on September 28.

Renfield escapes again, and once more goes back to the chapel of the big house next door.
They catch him and bring him right back—this time he doesn't struggle.

Lucy is back in London (the suburb of Hillingham, actually) after their trip to Whitby.
She feels very weak again and is having trouble sleeping. She's also having weird dreams.

Lucy wants her mother to sleep in her bedroom with her, but her mom isn't interested (probably because her mother is sick and is trying to hide it from Lucy).
Lucy remembers hearing a kind of "flapping" noise at the window during the night, but doesn't know what it was from. Probably a bat.
She says her face has gotten very pale and she has a sore throat.

Arthur asks Dr. Seward to come and visit Lucy because she's sick and he's worried.
The letter is followed by a telegram from Arthur to Seward saying that he has to leave Lucy to go see his father, whose illness has gotten worse.

Seward tells Arthur that Lucy doesn't have any real official "disease," but that she's certainly not well.
He also says that Lucy is trying to keep up appearances and hide her sickness from her mother.
He runs a blood test on her (very high-tech for the time period!), but there's nothing wrong with her blood. She just doesn't seem to have enough of it in her body for some reason.
Dr. Seward says he's going to call in an old friend and colleague, Dr. Abraham Van Helsing, who is Dutch and lives in Amsterdam.
Van Helsing is an expert in "obscure diseases" and might be able to diagnose Lucy.

Van Helsing says he'll come as soon as possible—partly to help Seward's friend and partly to help Seward himself. Apparently Seward saved Van Helsing's life one time.

Seward writes again to Arthur to tell him about Van Helsing's visit.
He says that Van Helsing was concerned, but didn't make an immediate diagnosis—he said he had to think about it.
Van Helsing saw Lucy by herself so that they could speak freely. As a result, Seward can't describe much about their visit.
Van Helsing told Seward that he'd come again if needed.

Renfield starts getting "restless" in the middle of the day.
Later in the afternoon, he says that he has been abandoned and that he must "do it for [him]self" (9.33).
Then he asks Dr. Seward for more sugar to start collecting flies again.

On September 4 and 5, Seward sends a telegram to Van Helsing in Amsterdam to tell him that Lucy has improved, but then on September 6, he sends another saying that she's worse and that he should come at once.

READ THE BOOK: Chapter 9