Chapter 27 Practice Quiz — Dracula
by Bram Stoker — tap or click to flip
Practice Quiz: Chapter 27
Why do the local villagers react with superstition to Mina as she and Van Helsing travel toward Castle Dracula?
They see the scar on her forehead (the Communion wafer burn) and make the sign against the evil eye. One woman even adds extra garlic to their food.
What answer does Mina give during her hypnotic trances early in the chapter?
"Darkness, lapping water and creaking wood" — indicating Dracula is still being transported by river on a boat.
What alarming changes does Van Helsing notice in Mina as they approach the castle?
She sleeps excessively during the day, loses her appetite, claims to have already eaten, becomes energized at sunset, and can no longer be hypnotized.
How does Mina know which road leads to Castle Dracula at the Borgo Pass?
She claims Jonathan travelled it and wrote about it in his diary, but Van Helsing suspects a deeper, supernatural guidance — a psychic connection to Dracula.
What does Van Helsing create around Mina to protect her near the castle?
A large ring of crumbled Communion wafer on the ground. Mina cannot leave it and the vampires cannot enter it.
What happens when Van Helsing invites Mina to come to the fire outside the holy circle?
She rises obediently but stops after one step and says "I cannot!" — proving the holy barrier works on her too, which means it also keeps the vampires out.
What do the three vampire women say to Mina during the night?
"Come, sister. Come to us. Come!" — they call to her in sweet tingling tones, recognizing her as partially one of them due to Dracula's blood exchange.
How does Van Helsing find the tombs inside Castle Dracula?
He uses Jonathan Harker's diary as a guide to navigate to the old chapel where the vampires' tombs are located.
What does Van Helsing find in Dracula's personal tomb?
It is empty, as Dracula is still being transported in his coffin. Van Helsing places Communion wafer inside the tomb to prevent Dracula from ever returning to it.
How does Quincey Morris die?
He is stabbed by the Szgany's knives while fighting through their ring to reach Dracula's coffin. He dies from the wounds shortly after Dracula is destroyed.
What are Quincey Morris's last words?
"Now God be thanked that all has not been in vain! See! The snow is not more stainless than her forehead! The curse has passed away!"
How does Jonathan Harker destroy Dracula?
He flings the coffin off the wagon, pries open the lid with his Kukri knife, and slashes through Dracula's throat while Quincey simultaneously stabs the Count's heart.
What theme does Quincey Morris's death embody?
Self-sacrifice — he gives his life to save Mina from Dracula's curse, dying so that others may live free of evil.
What does the disappearance of Mina's scar symbolize?
Christian redemption and spiritual purification. The mark of vampiric corruption vanishes the instant Dracula is destroyed, proving the curse is broken.
How does Stoker use the sunset as a symbolic device in the chapter's climax?
Sunset represents the boundary between safety and danger. Dracula would regain his full powers at nightfall, so the heroes must destroy him before the sun sets — making it a race between good and evil, light and darkness.
What is significant about the look of peace on Dracula's face as he dies?
It suggests that even the most damned soul can find redemption and release through death, reinforcing the novel's theme that Christian salvation is universal.
How does Van Helsing's broken English narration create a literary effect?
It creates tension between his intellectual authority and linguistic vulnerability, making the horror feel more immediate and unpolished — like a genuine account rather than a crafted story.
How does Chapter 27 create circular structure in the novel?
The superstitious villagers who ward off evil from Mina echo those who tried to protect Jonathan in Chapter 1. The castle that opened the novel also closes it, creating a narrative ring.
What narrative technique does Stoker use to tell the events of Chapter 27?
Multiple narrators — Mina's journal, Van Helsing's memorandum, Jonathan's journal, and Dr. Seward's diary — each covering different locations and time periods of the same converging events.
Who says "No! No! Do not go without. Here you are safe!" and what is the context?
Mina whispers this to Van Helsing when he tries to leave the holy circle to replenish the fire. She warns him the circle protects him, though her calm awareness of the vampires is itself unsettling.
Who says "Fear for me! Why fear for me? None safer in all the world from them than I am"?
Mina says this during the night when the vampire women appear. Her eerie calm reveals how close she is to becoming one of them — she feels safe because they see her as one of their own.
What single word is inscribed on the largest tomb in the castle chapel?
DRACULA — Van Helsing identifies it as "the Undead home of the King Vampire, to whom so many more were due."