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Tuesday, Oct. 26, 2004 - 3:58 p.m.
I began to read Bram Stoker's 'Dracula' last night. My orginal plan was to read one classic, then one modern nonfiction book, but the Bronte sisters blew that plan right out of the water with the fabulous books that are 'Wuthering Heights' and 'Jane Eyre'. Now I am resorted to the fact that I want to read every book I feel I should have read before I graduated high school. 'Dracula' orginally wasn't on the list, but I have been longing for a gothic novel of the 'Frankenstein' persuasion. Plus, the Bantam Classics version of the book had a pretty cover.
I was bit worried that 'Dracula' might spook me a bit, since I do most of my reading in the early hours of the morning, when I should be in bed sleeping. After reading the introduction, I learned that the book itself has strong gender issues running throughout it. Stoker's mother was a feminist, and while he was as well for many years, Stoker eventually changed his mind and saw women their pure femininity as equalling good and anything else as abhorent. You know, perfect angel or prostitute and nothing in between, and weak all around. Add highly eroticised images to play out these gender roles and you have the basics of 'Dracula', or so I am told. Thus, I theorize that I won't be so much spooked as I will be interested, leaning toward conceptually pissed off. Not great right before I go to bed either.
But, of course, I have found the prodominant image that I have in my head as I read this book is not of some handsome man, like Brad Pitt or Tom Cruise, playing Count Dracula, but Count von Count of Sesame Street. Let's face it, a purple muppet just isn't scary (unless you're Dave Chapelle, Jeff), and that's the character I think of when I think of vampires.
Besides reading, I have been organizing my graduate school applications, which are on the verge of complete. For being institutes of higher learning, universities and colleges have the worst websites around, especially Columbia University. Columbia's School of Arts, I have found, is terribly disorganized on all counts of the application process, but don't tell them I told you. You'd think, though, they would have their acts together, being an ivy league school and all.
Dinner at friends' tonight. Yum...