I understand that the vampire ladies appearing in the snow to Mina and Van Helsing is sinister, and that they are a threat of what Mina will become, but it's also an appearance that feels so tragic to me.
We've never seen them leave the castle before, and from the Count bringing them the child, I assume they aren't usually allowed to leave to hunt. The first time we see them out in the world, they go to Mina and call her sister. We know from Jonathan's castle experiences that the Count (most likely) turned them, and keeps them there with him, but also that they say he doesn't love them.
When they go to Mina, I wonder if they see it as welcoming a new family member? They've been where she is now, they know she feels afraid and abandoned by god, and they want her to know she has a place with them. Mina knows they won't hurt her, and tells Van Helsing there is "None safer in all the world from them than I am". She's safe with them, and they feel connected to her.
The word Sister is what's getting to me. Dracula takes women, turns them and places them under his control, and within that, they call each other family. They don't even have names but they have each other. They would have treated Mina as their own. And so it's really sad to me that their final act in the book is to ask her to go with them, only to be met with repulsion. Their interaction with Mina here is a monstrous sign of what is to come for her, but I think it's also a genuine and pitiable bid for friendship and community.
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it's been pointed out on here before that a lot of terf arguments are actually rooted in sexist idealology that feminists fought and died to unnormalise decades ago and that's its own kettle of fish but one thing i also find very frustrating about this so called 'radical' feminism is that it's so... defeatist? like the moment you categorically label an entire section of society as Bad and Inherently Evil then there's also the implication that nothing can be done about it, and it completely takes all accountability away. saying all men are evil is just another way of saying boys will be boys. he raped her because he's a man. he hit her because he's a man. he didn't listen because he's a man - it's almost offensively oversimplified. there's no point trying to fix this issue in society because men are just Like That, okay! so now what? it's not like they're going anywhere, so you just accept that 50% of the population are evil and will forever treat you terribly and there's nothing to be done about it bc they're biologically predisposed to it? like is that fr the argument here? you're soooo radical for that
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