Mina Harker Explained

Mina Harker
Series:Dracula
Creator:Bram Stoker
Alias:Miss Mina Murray
Madam Mina
Species:Human
Vampire
Occupation:Schoolteacher
Spouse:Jonathan Harker
Gender:Female
Children:Quincey Harker
Nationality:British

Wilhelmina "Mina" Harker (née Murray) is a fictional character and the main female character in Bram Stoker's 1897 Gothic horror novel Dracula.

In the novel

She begins the story as Miss Mina Murray, a young schoolmistress who is engaged to Jonathan Harker, and best friends with Lucy Westenra. She visits Lucy in Whitby on July 24 of that year, when schools would have closed for the summer. Unlike her best friend, Mina is an orphan who never knew her father or mother.[1]

After Mina's fiancé Jonathan escapes from Count Dracula's castle, she travels to Budapest and joins him there. Mina cares for him during his recovery from his traumatic encounter with the vampire and his brides, and the two return to England as husband and wife. Back home, they learn that Lucy has died from a mysterious illness stemming from severe blood loss as the result of repeated attacks by an unknown, blood-drinking animal. The animal, they learn, was none other than Dracula taking a different shape.

It is because of Mina that the party learn of the count's plans, as she is the one who collects all of the relevant information regarding the Count—including the various characters' journals, letters, and newspaper clippings—places it in chronological order, and types out multiple copies, giving them to each of the other protagonists. The result is the epistolary novel itself. Mina and Jonathan then join the coalition around Abraham Van Helsing, and turn their attention toward destroying the count. The party uses this information to discover clues about Dracula's plans and further investigate the locations of the various residences he purchases as a means to track him and destroy him. Each subsequent action the party takes is recorded by the various members and added to the collection of events surrounding Dracula.

After Dracula learns of this plot against him, he takes revenge by visiting - and biting - Mina at least three times. Dracula also feeds Mina his own blood, dooming her to become a vampire should she die.[2] Afterwards, he kills Renfield and destroys all of the copies of their compiled records except for one, which Dr. Seward kept in a safe. The rest of the novel deals with the group's efforts to spare Mina a vampiric fate by tracking and attempting to kill Dracula. When Van Helsing attempts to bless her by placing a host against her forehead it burns her flesh, leaving a scar, thus proving that Dracula has made her unholy. Mina slowly succumbs to Dracula's influence, switching back and forth from a state of consciousness to one of semi-trance, during which she is telepathically connected with Dracula. Mina then uses her inherent telepathic abilities to track Dracula's movements under the hypnotism of Van Helsing. Dracula later flees back to his castle in Transylvania, followed by the entire group who split up. As Van Helsing takes Mina with him on his journey to Dracula's castle to slay the Brides of Dracula, the rest of the party attempt to locate and raid the ship Dracula is using, to ambush him. As time goes on, Helsing's ability to hypnotize Mina to obtain intelligence on the whereabouts of Count Dracula diminishes significantly. Her appearance and manner become more vampire-like, to the point where she even loses her appetite as well as her ability to stay awake during the day despite multiple attempts by Van Helsing to wake her. But at night, is much more spry and active to the doctor's disturbance.

While Mina and Van Helsing are at camp, Helsing finely crumbles a sacred wafer in a circle around Mina as she sleeps during the daytime. Upon waking, she is unable to cross the circle at all. Van Helsing does this as a test; if Mina is unable to exit the circle, he reasons that vampires would be unable to enter, as well. This is confirmed when, later in the night, the brides come to the camp, but are unable to cross the ring around Mina and Van Helsing. The brides beckon her to join them but fail to do so (which Van Helsing is relieved at when he notices how Mina looks at them with fear and disgust, and he realizes she isn't like them yet); with that, they fly back to Dracula's castle before sunrise, where they meet their demise at Van Helsing's hands. Curiously, when Helsing is about to stake the first bride, he's stopped by her beauty and hesitates. But is snapped out of it by a "soul wail" from Mina though is unsure if he imagined it or she used some of her newfound power to help him.

When the party kills Dracula just before sunset, Dracula's vampiric spell is lifted and Mina is freed from the curse.

The book closes with a note written seven years after these events about Mina's and Jonathan's married life, and the birth of their first-born son; who they name Quincey in remembrance of their friend, Quincey Morris; who was killed by Dracula's Roma minions during the final confrontation. The birth of Jonathan and Mina's son signifies hope and renewal of life as the close of the novel ushers in the 20th century.[3]

In other media

Mina has appeared in most film adaptations of Stoker's novel.

In Stoker's original novel, Mina recovers from the vampire's curse upon Dracula's death and lives on with her husband, Jonathan. However, in some media, Mina is killed at some point in the story, while in others, she becomes a full vampire and keeps her powers after the death of Dracula.

Books

On screen

Film

Television

Animation

Characters based on Mina

On stage

Music

Japanese media

In the light novels (also later adapted into two anime films and a manga series) Vampire Hunter D, the ancient vampire Count Magnus Lee refers to a "Mina the Fair" who was pursued by the "Sacred Ancestor" (revealed in the English dub of the first film to be "our sire Count Dracula"). It is implied that she may be the mother of D (the son of the Sacred Ancestor).

In the 1997 manga series Hellsing, a character referred to only as "She" is eventually revealed to be Mina Harker's corpse. She died before Dracula (later Alucard) could be defeated, but because he did not die, the curse was still active in her, which the Doctor exploited to create Millennium's vampires.

The 2003 video game features Mina Hakuba, a childhood friend and love interest of protagonist Soma Cruz, who is later revealed to be the reincarnation of Dracula. Mina's given name and family name bear a clear resemblance to Mina Harker's name, and the relationship she shares with Soma parallels that of Dracula and Harker. Mina also appears in , but cannot be interacted with, only appearing in the intro and ending, though a doppelganger of Mina is killed by the main antagonist midway into the game in order to try and force Soma into becoming the new dark lord of the castle.

In the 2005 manga series Dance in the Vampire Bund, the central female vampire protagonist is named "Mina Țepeș", a reference to Vlad Țepeș, one of the inspirations for Dracula.

Miscellaneous

Notes and References

  1. Dracula by Bram Stoker, Chapter 12.
  2. Dracula by Bram Stoker, Chapter 21.
  3. Experts Milhousen and Frytopen.
  4. Web site: The Dracula Tape – by Fred Saberhagen – OCCULT WORLD .
  5. Web site: Audible.com | Try Audible Free Today. 23 February 2023. www.audible.com.
  6. Web site: Anno Dracula: Under the Shadow of the King of the Vampires . June 2011 .
  7. Book: 55–56. The Vampire Book: The Encyclopedia of the Undead. 2010. Visible Ink Press. 978-1578592814.
  8. Web site: League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Index. 23 February 2023.
  9. Dracula: The Un-dead by Dacre Stoker and Ian Holt
  10. Web site: From the Pages of Bram Stokers Dracula Harker Gn (Sep090564) .
  11. Web site: Rewriting the Classics: European Travel for the Monstrous Gentlewoman by Theodora Goss . 10 July 2018 .
  12. Count Dracula Goes to the Movies: Stoker's Novel Adapted by Lyndon W. Joslin, 2017
  13. Web site: MOVIES & MANIA - Fantasy, Horror, Sci-Fi and Thrillers - News Previews Reviews. MOVIES & MANIA. en-US. 2020-03-19.
  14. Web site: Moviehippo provides the latest news and in-depth reporting on the movie industry, including movie reviews, critics of the latest trailers, and celebrity interviews.. MOVIEHIPPO. en-US. 2020-03-19.
  15. Web site: Bram Stoker's van Helsing (2021) . 2 July 2021 .
  16. Web site: Dracula: The Original Living Vampire (2022) . 24 March 2022 .
  17. Web site: Bill Skarsgard & Lily-Rose Depp to Star in 'Nosferatu', Robert Eggers' Follow-Up to 'Northman' for Focus . 30 September 2022 .
  18. https://www.focusfeatures.com/nosferatu/about
  19. Web site: Luc Besson Gives a Tour of His 'Dracula: A Love Tale' Set, Talks New Muse Caleb Landry Jones & Rewatching His "Mad" Movie 'Valerian'; First Look Revealed . 17 July 2024 .
  20. Web site: Nellie. Andreeva. Jessica De Gouw Lands Female Lead On NBC Drama Series 'Dracula' . Deadline Hollywood. January 18, 2013 . November 24, 2017.
  21. News: Alan. Eyerly. Penny Dreadful recap: "Terrible Wonders". Los Angeles Times. May 12, 2014.
  22. Web site: 'Van Helsing' Series in the Works at CBS from Jonathan Lee, Rob Doherty, Carl Beverly & Sarah Timberman . 26 June 2024 .
  23. The Vampire in Science Fiction Film and Literature(2014) by Paul Meehan, p.173
  24. Web site: The Invitation's Worst Dracula Nod Makes No Sense . . 16 September 2022 .
  25. Web site: The Invitation (2022) . . 12 February 2023.
    • Book: 73 . A Dracula Handbook. Elizabeth Miller. 2005.
  26. Book: 197. Stage Blood: Vampires of the 19th Century Stage. Roxana Stuart. 1994.
  27. Book: 174. The Cambridge Companion to 'Dracula'. Roger Luckhurst. 2018.
  28. Book: Vampires' Most Wanted: The Top 10 Book of Bloodthirsty Biters, Stake-wielding Slayers, and Other Undead Oddities. Laura Enright. 2011.
  29. Web site: Dracula by Northern Ballet. 2021-06-04. Radio Times. en.
  30. Web site: Pegasus Awards - Mina's Song. www.ovff.org. 2020-03-19.