#And it's more impressive how there is no humilliation for Jonathan when his answer to that is to play the part to save time | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

immediatebreakfast · 1 year

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Sorry to the person who sent me the ask about the use of those specific adjectives by Mr. Hawkins in his recomendation letter, and how that relates to the newfound abuse that Dracula is starting to subject onto Jonathan. I was writing the response, and tumblr ate the ask when I tried to save it ;-;

But I still want to talk about it :)

It has been said a lot of times, but the adjectives that Mr. Hawkins chose, and used in the letter to describe why Jonathan was the perfect lawyer for Dracula's properties were very... Subjective.

All of those adjectives can be read as compliments since they paint Jonathan as a first time worker who may be new to solicitor stuff in practice, but he will do a very good job thanks to these qualities. However, for someone like Dracula, for someone who has malicious intent in mind. Adjectives like discreet, and silent, along with "shall take your instructions in all matters" paint a different picture of Jonathan.

That letter, at the eyes of Dracula, paints Jonathan as the perfect victim who will not scream, complain, nor try to defy him if he tries to do something to him.

And, that is what exactly Dracula does in the course of three days, three horrible days.

The Count manipulates, and abuses Jonathan in the most realistic manner that one can put on paper. There is no magic, no supernatural powers, nor vampirical events in these three days, just Dracula slowlyyyy tearing apart Jonathan's mind by playing a horrible game of take, and give.

Dracula gives Jonathan amazing food, cultural knowledge, amazing attitude, a smooth legal process regarding the properties, interesting conversations... basic companionship in an isolated castle with no other human around. The perfect host that maybe is a little too familiar with touch.

And in return, what Dracula takes from Jonathan? His boundaries, his sleep schedule, his privacy, his safety, small stuff like the mirror that gives him a sense of routine. Everything that could give Jonathan a sense of relief, anything that could make him stop being on edge since he got in the castle

YET STILL, if you notice, STILL, the narrative itself doesn't infer that Jonathan is lesser, or in the wrong for not fighting back in a traditional masculine way. Neither on the text, nor the subtext. Hell, Jonathan can even compare his situation to the heroine Scheherezade, and it weights in the narrative because it's an actual theme of his character!

#Count Dracula as a villain contains multitudes of themes #From xenophobic ones to class to the old world to humanity #And it's IMPRESSIVE how real it feels when Dracula starts to test Jonathan's boundaries then push them #And it's more impressive how there is no humilliation for Jonathan when his answer to that is to play the part to save time #That is why Jonathan is so cool #dracula daily #dracula #jonathan harker #count dracula

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