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It was all very ridiculous, but I did not feel comfortable. However, there was business to be done, and I could allow nothing to interfere with it.
Upon learning that Harker would be meeting with Count Dracula on the day evil would be the most powerful, the innkeeper begs Harker to postpone the meeting for a few days. Here, Harker dismisses the warning as a foreigner’s superstition, although he admits to feeling uncomfortable continuing with the journey. But, ambitious and new to his law firm, Harker does not let anything stand in the way of getting the job done.
When I found that I was a prisoner a sort of wild feeling came over me. I rushed up and down the stairs, trying every door and peering out of every window I could find; but after a little the conviction of my helplessness overpowered all other feelings. When I look back after a few hours I think I must have been mad for the time, for I behaved much as a rat does in a trap.
After some time in the castle, Jonathan realizes there is no way out and that the Count keeps him as a prisoner. Although he at first tries to find a way to escape, Harker accepts his situation rather easily and reflects on his feelings later in his journal. Although Harker seems naïve early on, here he showcases his ability to remain calm even in the most frightening of circumstances.
It is just as that dear, good Professor Van Helsing said: he is true grit, and he improves under strain that would kill a weaker nature.
After Mina says goodbye to Harker as he leaves for Whitby, she finds comfort in remembering Van Helsing’s words about Harker. Although Harker was tricked into becoming the Count’s prisoner, he learns and grows from that experience and becomes less vulnerable by the time they begin to hunt the Count.
To one thing I have made up my mind; if we find out that Mina must be a vampire in the end, then she shall not go into that unknown and terrible land alone. I suppose it is thus that in old times one vampire meant many; just as their hideous bodies could only rest in sacred earth, so the holiest love was the recruiting sergeant for their ghastly ranks.
Harker writes this thought in his journal after Mina’s forehead burns at the touch of the holy wafer. He vows to join her as a vampire if that must be her fate, showing the depth of his love and devotion. This sentiment also indicates how protective husbands felt of their wives, that he feels even as a vampire Mina cannot survive without him.
Harker smiled—actually smiled—the dark bitter smile of one who is without hope; but at the same time his action belied his words, for his hands instinctively sought the hilt of the great Kukri knife and rested there.
Harker reacts after learning of the delay in the arrival of the Count’s ship. The snag in their plan affects the group to various degrees. Harker’s facial expression indicates a bitter recognition of the inevitable stratagem by the Count to avoid capture. However, Harker remains ready to act. He learned from the Count that he must listen to instinct and cannot rely on logic alone.
