Chapter 14: CHAPTER
Chapter Summary
Dr. Seward and Van Helsing plan to investigate Lucy’s tomb to confirm her state, suspecting she may be undead. They find her body more beautiful than before, with signs of being bitten, and conclude she is not truly dead. Van Helsing proposes to kill her to prevent further harm, but Arthur protests, fearing grave desecration. Van Helsing explains Lucy’s unique condition as an undead in a trance, and they prepare for a night vigil to prevent her from rising again, while contemplating the dangerous forces at play.
Sequence of Events
Chapter: Main Characters (3)
Shows internal conflict between scientific skepticism and acceptance of Van Helsing’s theories.
Displays calm determination and deep conviction in his theories about the undead.
Expresses strong emotional conflict and moral outrage at the idea of grave desecration.
View Profile →Settings & Locations
Churchyard at Kingstead, Lucy’s tomb
Hospital where Lucy was examined,Inn 'Jack Straw’s Castle'
Dark, tense, ominous, and foreboding
Dark night, overcast sky, scattered lamps, decaying tomb, overgrown churchyard
Themes & Connections
Foreshadowing
Plans to kill Lucy suggest imminent confrontation and the potential destruction of the undead.
Chapter Content
# CHAPTER CHAPTER XV DR. SEWARD’S DIARY--_continued_. For a while sheer anger mastered me; it was as if he had during her life struck Lucy on the face. I smote the table hard and rose up as I said to him:-- “Dr. Van Helsing, are you mad?” He raised his head and looked at me, and somehow the tenderness of his face calmed me at once. “Would I were!” he said. “Madness were easy to bear compared with truth like this. Oh, my friend, why, think you, did I go so far round, why take so...