#helward

I felt all the dogged argumentativeness of my nature awake within me as I answered him: —

"Nuh uh."

in the hospital. straight up "slurpin it". and by "it", haha, well. let's justr say. My professor's blood

more beneath the cut!

Jack's appearance and personality is of one slowly unravelling, slowly becoming more unhinged. He cannot get over Lucy's rejection and instead uses Renfield as a distraction. He gets invited out with the boys but we don't hear him talk about it, it's almost as if another Jack Seward got invited. He talks about how vivisection was misunderstood and maniacly plans to let Renfield escape so he can study him further. The audience can feel he is spiraling though he does not want to admit it.

And yet when Lucy is sick, Jack does something unexpected - he asks for help. He reaches out to his old friend and mentor, and it softens him into a different person. When he writes to Arthur about Van Helsing, his arrogance about the hierarchy of man melt away into earnestly describing how incredible his former professor is. And in turn we see how quickly Van Helsing drops everything to go see him.

Not only that, it changes our perception of Jack as well! When Van Helsing teases Jack and confuses him with his vague statements, he's still so accepting. In the next few entries, we will see Jack's character diverge from being a brooding "mad doctor" type to being pathetically loveable. He becomes less sure of himself, yet somehow more vulnerable, more impartial, more sympathetic.

But I think it's much funnier if we assume that Jack has, in fact, spoken to Arthur about Van Helsing approximately twelve million times before. I'm just imagining Arthur receiving this:

I have written to my old friend and master, Professor Van Helsing, of Amsterdam, who knows as much about obscure diseases as any one in the world.

oh here we go

Van Helsing would, I know, do anything for me for a personal reason

yes, we all know that, Jack

He is a seemingly arbitrary man, but this is because he knows what he is talking about better than any one else.

yes, Jack, I know

He is a philosopher and a metaphysician, and one of the most advanced scientists of his day; and he has, I believe, an absolutely open mind.

yes, Jack, I KNOW

This, with an iron nerve, a temper of the ice-brook, an indomitable resolution, self-command, and toleration exalted from virtues to blessings, and the kindliest and truest heart that beats—these form his equipment for the noble work that he is doing for mankind—work both in theory and practice, for his views are as wide as his all-embracing sympathy.

"Professor, let me be your pet student again."

to yelling and smiting the table with

"Dr. Van Helsing, are you mad?"

to

[Van Helsing] raised his head and looked at me, and somehow the tenderness of his face calmed me at once.