Women’s & Gender Studies

The Letters of Mina Harker

The book, “The Letters of Mina Harker” by Dodie Bellamy is about specific occurrences that happened in author’s life. The author also gives a narration of intimate affairs that she had with other men other than her husband Kelvin Klein. These men include Dion and Quincy. In her book, she also remembers the life of her close friend Sam D’ Allesandro who died of AIDS. Dodie gives a description of her relationships in an embarrassing detailed manner. The story is not narrated by Dodie but it is told by Mina Harker, a vampire who possesses her body. Mina confesses the most intimate details about her relationships with four different men through letters written in the past (Bellamy & Cooper, 2004). Sensuous and captivating, the letters of Mina Harker describes a woman’s great effort with finding the right words to elucidate her desires and fears without incarcerating herself to one identity.

The book is structured by the writer in a manner that the story is narrated through letters that are addressed to her friends and lovers. The letters can be called confessional texts for they contain information about different occurrences in Mina’s life. The author used the epistolary style by writing letters about her past to different persons. It is through the letters that the reader is able to know the story about Mina’s past sex life. For instance, in the book, Mina describes an event when she had sex with her husband Klein by saying that “Then we had sex on top of the letter, I climbed on my hands and knees and he fucked me from behind which made me think” (Bellamy, Cooper, 2004, 12). The author uses present tense in her book to represent the time that the letters were written. In most of epistolary novels, the letters are supposed to be replied but in this case the letters cannot be replied. They are rather like messages or even imperative messages that are sent out with an anticipation of return.

The main character of the book is Mina, who is portrayed in the story as the companion of Count Dracula. Mina is believed to have haunted the body of the author, Dodie Bellamy. There are other characters in the novel other than Dracula and Mina Harker. They include Kelvin Klein who is Bellamy’s husband, Quincey the cowboy and Dion. Quincey and Dion are men who are involved in extra marital affairs with Mina. In the entire story, Mina gives a description of her sex relationships not only with her husband, but also with these other men.

The author of the book has revealed the relationship between horror, gender and sexuality in the text. In the book, Mina has been brought out as a woman who is involved in a number of intimate relationships with different men purposely to satisfy her desires (Bellamy & Cooper, 2004). The writer of the book has portrayed the role of women in the society as sex objects. This is because in her letters Mina does not describe her life in any other form other than her sex life. The movie is horrific in the fact that the protagonist of the story is a vampire who takes up the body and soul of Dodie Bellamy. The vampire inspires the author into describing her sex life. It can be said that the life that was described in the letters was not the author’s life but it was rather Mina’s. The author integrated horror, gender and sexuality into coming up with the story line.

In conclusion, the book, “The letters of Mina” by Dodie Bellamy is a collection of letters written and signed by a vampire, Mina. In the story, Mina narrates a story about her life. She describes her sexual affairs with her husband Kelvin Klein, Quincy and Dion. The letters were not only addressed to the reader but they were also meant for Mina’s friend and lovers. In the book, the author portrays the role of women in the society as that of a home maker who relies entirely on men for the satisfaction of their daily needs. In return, men use women as sex objects. The author achieved this by making use of Mina to represent other women in the society.

Works Cited

Bellamy, Dodie & Cooper, Dennis, The Letters of Mina Harker, Culver City, CA: Terrace Books, 2004. Print.