Mina Harker

“	No one but a woman can help a man when he is in trouble of the heart.	„
	~ Mina Harker

“	Our work is finished here. Hers has just begun.	„
	~ Jonathan Harker telling the boys that their battle is over and Mina Harker's battle is starting; referring to Mina Harker

Wilhelmina "Mina" Harker (née Murray) is the deuteragonist of Bram Stoker's 1897 horror novel Dracula. She is a young schoolteacher who is engaged to Jonathan Harker, and a good friend of Lucy Westenra. Later, while aiding Professor Abraham Van Helsing to destroy Count Dracula, she becomes a target for the Count due to her purity, and is briefly turned into his new vampire bride.

Personality[]

Mina is noted for being a pure-hearted woman. She always sees the best in people, even Dracula himself. Despite this, it's clear that she still wants Dracula to be destroyed, showing her more pragmatic side. Mina is especially close with Lucy Westenra, and it's the latter's death that motivates her to destroy the Count at all cost. After Dracula is vanquished at the cost of Quincey Morris's life, Mina and Jonathan also name their son after Quincey, showing just how much Mina is grateful to people who had sacrificed for her.

Mina likes to hang out with her fiancé Jonathan, often like talking about those times with Lucy. When Jonathan is traumatized by the experience in Dracula's castle, it's Mina who nurses him back to health, which also shows just how much she loves him.

Biography[]

Mina Murray is a schoolteacher in London who is engaging with the estate agent Jonathan Harker, and a good friend of Lucy Westenra. One day, Jonathan visits Count Dracula to discuss buying a house, only to find out that the Count is actually a vampire who is imprisoning him within the castle. When Jonathan escapes, Mina travels to Budapest and nurses him back to health. However, when they return, they learn that Lucy has died of mysterious circumstances, revealed to be Dracula's attacks. Lucy then returns as a vampire, forcing Van Helsing to kill her.

Mina then does research about the Count's plans and tells them to her friends, the other protagonists. Then she and Jonathan joins Professor Abraham Van Helsing to destroy Dracula, but the Count manages to bewitches Mina and turns her into a vampire. As the story progresses, Mina slowly succumbs to vampirism, forcing the main group to find and kill Dracula to free her, otherwise she will end up just like Lucy. Taking advantage of Mina's psychic connection with Dracula, Van Helsing and the group manage to track the vampire's castle and defeat his minions. They then kills Dracula, freeing Mina from vampirism, but Quincey is killed in the process.

Later on, Mina gives birth to a son, who she and Jonathan name Quincey after their deceased friend.

Portrayals[]

The late Greta Schröder portrayed Ellen Hutter, a character based on Mina, in the 1922 film Nosferatu, a loose adaptation of Dracula.
The late Helen Chandler portrayed Mina in the 1931 film, where she is known as Mina Seward and is John Seward's daughter. Lupita Tova later portrayed her in the Spanish version.
The late Melissa Stribling portrayed Mina in the 1958 film. This version of Mina marries Arthur Holmwood instead of Jonathan.
The late Maria Rohm portrayed Mina in the 1970 film Count Dracula.
Winona Ryder, who also portrayed Lydia Deetz in Beetlejuice and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, Veronica Sawyer in Heathers, Kim Boggs in Edward Scissorhands, Elsa Van Helsing in Frankenweenie, and Joyce Byers in Stranger Things, portrayed Mina in Bram Stoker's Dracula, in which she is believed to be the reincarnation of Dracula's deceased wife, Elisabeta.