I was struck at the conclusion of chapter V that Lucy Westerna is approached by three tempters, much as Harker was approached by (and aroused by) three temptresses. As with Harker’s temptresses, I found myself wondering if Lucy’s weren’t in collusion. That is, the three suitors know one another apparently rather well. I found myself wondering whether the victorious of the three hadn’t engaged his friends to tempt Lucy as a test of her devotion to him. Similarly, one of Harker’s seductrixes was differentiated in some way (was she a blonde and the other two brunettes?). I’m not in a position just yet to make anything of it, but this pair of trios is something I’ll be keeping my eyes open for in the weeks ahead.
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Infinite Zombies 
Hey Daryl, I’m struck by the trios too, and I think it’s definitely something to watch. I’m reading the Norton Critical and there was a footnote about it – I’ll take a look later and see what they think. My immediate reaction, of course, is to the Holy Trinity, but I’m not sure where it’s going yet.
To me, the trios don’t necessarily have a symbolic referent, but the symmetry of it seems possibly significant. I’d be interested in learning what the Norton note says. My own edition didn’t mention it.
Found it: “Three is a significant number to vampires, as it is in fairy tales and Christian iconography: Dracula has three brides and three houses, he forces Jonathan to write three letters, his novel itself is divided into three sections.” But, I have to say that I’m not loving the notes in this edition, sometimes they provide good info, but more often are just annoying. And they contain a lot of spoilers – for instance, I’m not sure we know yet that the three women in the castle are his brides, nor do we get any clue as to the significance of three in fairy tales. I’m leaning toward the Christianity angle but that’s pretty much just a gut reaction and the sense that there is a Protestant v Catholic thread running through the novel, touched on again but beyond the current spoiler point! Ooooh, I have to go back and read your Irish post – could tie in there too.
Yes, I think there’s a lot of the Protestant/Catholic stuff going on, not the least significant of which is the drinking of blood, which is a pretty pivotal thing to Catholics.
Thanks for the followup re the footnote. I had hoped for something a little more insightful from Norton. I agree re spoilers in notes. I skipped the introduction to my edition because it was very spoiley.