Mina Should Have Gotten To See Her One Last Time - Blog Posts

barnowlcollector

1 year ago

A digital drawing of a scene from a theoretical ballet version of Dracula. Lucy Westenra and Mina Harker (née Murray) are on stage. It is very dark. Mina is kneeling on the ground, a sealed letter clutched in her left hand, her right arm outstretched toward Lucy. Lucy is in her nightgown, white and ethereal, and has her back to both Mina and the audience, her expression unreadable. She is walking upstage, and is in the process of dropping the scarf that has been present in all other variations. It creates a trail on the ground that leads all the way back to Mina. The image is in greyscale except for the scarf and seal on the envelope, which are both bright red. Minimal background and some Victorian-era floral adornments in the corners create a stage-like atmosphere. End ID.

"Lucy's Illness" coda: 20 September

"And now I have told you my news, let me ask yours. When are you to be married, and where, and who is to perform the ceremony, and what are you to wear, and is it to be a public or private wedding? Tell me all about it, dear; tell me all about everything, for there is nothing which interests you which will not be dear to me."

I know we saw Mina's letters a few days ago, but we didn't know the full story of what happened until today. Is there a more devastating phrase in Dracula than the words unopened by her? That could be up for debate, but truly, reading them for the first time last year absolutely gutted me. Farewell, sweet Lucy, from everyone who loved you with all the moods and tenses of the verb.

As always, full view recommended, with a couple of close-ups under the cut.

[Part 1] | [Part 2] | [Part 3] | [Part 4]

This is the final part of this series… for now, though I would love to draw some more excerpts from my alternate ballet version of Dracula someday!

References used for the costuming and poses. Clipart dedicated to the public domain under CC0 modified and utilized for the corner embellishments.

A closeup of the original image showing Lucy, Mina's outstretched hand, and the scarf. End ID.

A closeup of the original image showing Mina, the letter, and the discarded part of the scarf. End ID.