Now see, this really pisses me off (the “kids are resilient” thing, not your response to it) because there has been study after study about what actually happens!!!
If the kid receives support during/after the traumatic event, they get stronger.
If the kid does not receive support during/after the traumatic event, they get fucked up.
True resilience in kids has ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS been the result of the support they receive.
For some books I’m still missing sources, and I know it’s not complete or ✨️Aesthetic✨️. But if there is anything that you think should be on there, let me know.
I have said it before but I’ll say it again because it’s topical: it’s very important to me that Stoker consistently spares his characters the hard choices. Heck, he flinches so hard at times (like here) that it almost becomes a flaw in his writing, but the upshot is: no one in this novel is punished for love.
Dracula left Whitby two days ago, on the 17th. Lucy is doing so much better it’s not even funny. Arthur is at last on his way. Mina’s duty is discharged. And now, only now, does the letter from Hungary arrive. Only now that Mina is free to act on it.
Mina is never forced to choose between Lucy and Jonathan
Mina leaving now does not influence Lucy’s storyline in the least. (The dates for the rest of the month are a MESS, but we’re gonna blame Dracula for that). Mina and Lucy were always going to part ways at the end of the summer, Lucy returning to Hillingham to prepare for her wedding and Mina presumably to Exeter (three hours away by train) to prepare for hers. Lucy’s sleepwalking has ceased and all her color and gaiety has returned - there is no advantage to Mina staying in Whitby and finishing out her vacation (except, maybe, catching a break and having a nice time) now that Dracula is gone.
@thethirdromana calculated that a letter from Budapest to London should take two days and a bit, plus another part of a day down to Exeter and another up to Whitby. What if Jonathan’s letter had arrived the 15th, instead of the 19th, when Mina is too stressed to even diary and Lucy is “as weak as water” and crying in her arms. What would she have done then? And either decision she would have had to live with the guilt of abandoning someone. (Personally I think she would have chosen Lucy, who is actively dying, since Jonathan’s situation is stable and he’s being actively taken care of. Going to Jonathan is the “selfish” choice. So I think she would stay, and hate herself for it).
But Stoker (big ol softie that he is) spares her the choice. She can do the “selfish” thing with no consequences, because our man Bramothy refuses to punish his characters for loving each other
