Lucy’s Letter In The Typed Manuscript

Lucy’s Letter in the Typed Manuscript

Lucy’s initial letter contained a lot of content in the typed manuscript Stoker initially submitted to Constable that didn’t make it to the published novel. For the benefit of all the cool people following me who don’t have a New Annotated Dracula, I thought I’d post a copy of the letter with the excised bits reinserted today (shown in bold).

——————

My dearest Mina, I must say you tax me very unfairly with being a bad correspondent. I wrote you twice since we parted, and your last letter was only your second. Besides, I have nothing to tell you. There is really nothing to interest you. Town is very pleasant just now, and we go a great deal to picture-galleries and for walks and rides in the park. As to the tall, curly-haired man, I suppose it was the one who was with me at the last Pop. Kate Lee has evidently been telling tales. I shall have my eye on that young lynx for the future, so tell her to be very discreet and give her a kiss for me.

That was Mr. Holmwood. He often comes to see us, and he and Mamma get on very well together, they have so many things to talk about in common. I almost envy mother sometimes for her knowledge when she can talk to people whilst I have to sit by like a dumb animal and smile a stereotyped smile smile till I find myself blushing at being an incarnate lie. And it is so silly and childish to blush without reason to.

We met some time ago a man that would just do for you, if you were not already engaged to Jonathan. He is an excellent parti, being handsome, well off, and of good birth. He is a doctor and really clever. Just fancy! He is only nine-and-twenty, and he has an immense lunatic asylum all under his own care. Mr. Holmwood introduced him to me, and he called here to see us, and often comes now. I think he is one of the most resolute men I ever saw, and yet the most calm. He seems absolutely imperturbable. I can fancy what a wonderful power he must have over his patients. He has a curious habit of looking one straight in the face, as if trying to read one’s thoughts. He tries this on very much with me, but I flatter myself he has got a tough nut to crack. I know that from my glass. Do you ever try to read your own face? I do, and I can tell you it is not a bad study, and gives you more trouble than you can well fancy if you have never tried it. He says that I afford him a curious psychological study, and I humbly think I do. I enclose a circular for Madame as you wish. I do not, as you know, take sufficient interest in dress to be able to describe the new fashions. Dress is a bore. That is slang again, but never mind. Arthur says that every day. There, it is all out, Mina, we have told all our secrets to each other since we were children. We have slept together and eaten together, and laughed and cried together, and now, though I have spoken, I would like to speak more. Oh, Mina, couldn’t you guess? I love him. I am blushing as I write, for although I think he loves me, he has not told me so in words. But, oh, Mina, I love him. I love him! There, that does me good. I wish I were with you, dear, sitting by the fire undressing, as we used to sit, and I would try to tell you what I feel. That is not love at all – no, nor the least like it. Love is a holy thing. I do not know how I am writing this even to you. I am afraid to stop, or I should tear up the letter, and I don’t want to stop, for I do so want to tell you all. Let me hear from you at once, and tell me all that you think about it. I wish you knew the tall straight-haired [sic] man – he is so noble and brave and good and tender and true – How the girls would laugh in school if they saw this letter. I must stop. I feel so happy that I could go on writing for ever – telling you my secret is just like telling Arthur I love him – only of course it is not quite the same. Mina, if a time should come when, –after he told me that he loved me of course– I should be able to whisper to him “Arthur, I love you!” Mina, I must stop. Good-night. Bless me in your prayers; and, Mina, pray for my happiness. Lucy P.S. – I need not tell you this is a secret. Goodnight again. L.

More Posts from Gendhb and Others

gendhb

2 years ago

Elon Musk bankruptcy arc, likes charge, reblogs cast.

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gendhb

2 years ago

I see people elsewhere comment about how "polite disagreements are healthy to debate" but I just want to put my foot down on one thing.

Whether pineapple belongs on pizza is a debate, and someone saying they are not in favour of it is a disagreement. Whether trans rights are human rights is not a debate, and someone saying trans people should not have basic rights, even if they do so with all of the decorum and politeness in their words, is not a disagreement. It is violence.

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gendhb

2 years ago

he didnt even try. like jack black actually made his voice fit bowser you almost can't tell its him and then you have mario whos like "hey in case you forgot i am voiced by chris pratt who didnt even fucking try and i will talk like this for two hours"

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gendhb

2 years ago

So on the matter of this absurd deflection tactic I'm seeing from antisemitism apologists, where they're like: "Um sweaty, if you play a game with a race of short, hook-nosed goblins who all work at the fantasy bank, and immediately see them as Jews, then that's a YOU problem," I would just like to be crystal fucking clear about something:

We are not "seeing Jews" when we look at the goblins in the Harry Potter universe (or the reptilian Illuminati overlords and diminutive, rat-faced hagglers in your beloved science fiction franchises). Most of us are Jews, and are therefore pretty fucking familiar with how actual Jewish people look and behave (we do not have horns; we do like to share our very strong opinions about how to garnish latkes and hummus). None of us are seeing a Ferengi merchant from Star Trek, or Gargamel from The Smurfs, and thinking "Oh wow, he's the spitting image of my Great Uncle Moishe, and I'm mad about that!" This is not, and has never been, about seeing genuine reflections of the Jewish people.

No, what we're seeing are characters and tropes bearing a strong resemblance to the grotesque antisemitic caricatures that have been used in efforts to dehumanise, disenfranchise, and decimate us for centuries. We know damn well the goblins or dwarves or greedy reptilian space overlords aren't accurate depictions of real Jews—but they are evocative of age-old antisemitic stereotypes, and that's the actual fucking issue here. This isn't some weird thought exercise where we just free associate random things with Jews based on our own skewed self-perceptions. We're saying to you, "Hey, the imagery in this piece of media is uncomfortably reminiscent of the bigoted tropes constantly wielded by our oppressors to hurt us, and that's a problem, because it's both compounding our trauma and subtly reinforcing people's unchecked antisemitic biases," and you're effectively telling us to fuck off in response.

Like, if you don't care about antisemitism I can't change that, but you don't get to accuse Jews of being "the real antisemites" simply for pointing out the similarities between the short, hook-nosed, child-stealing, banker goblins in your shiny new video game and the blatantly anti-Jewish stereotypes used to demean us throughout the course of human history.

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toh

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gendhb

2 years ago

i hope everyone knows that the last wga strike was ~100 days and it's a pretty common phenomenon for strike support to tank after a month or two when it feels like it's dragging on and some writers and talk show hosts are crossing picket lines and trying to "return" to "normal" because of people's livelihoods etc when they're really just scabs. sure hope that we keep that in mind and are prepared for the long haul and aren't just in it while it's convenient for us <3

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gendhb

2 years ago

Oh yeah good time to add I will tag all spoilers with toh spoilers as per usual. And again I'll repeat this is a leak free blog

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gendhb

2 years ago