Chapter 16
Seward's diary continues. The four men get to the tomb just before midnight. Van Helsing asks Seward to confirm that Lucy's body was in the coffin the previous day, then opens it again to reveal its emptiness. Quincey Morris asks Van Helsing point blank if he removed the body; the Professor denies it. He then explains all that happened over the last two nights, and tells then that he removed the garlic and crucifix earlier in the evening.
Van Helsing leads the party outside, into the churchyard. They are overwhelmed, but brave. Van Helsing takes from his bag a wafer, which he crumbles up into putty and he rolls into strips, placing them in the gaps of the doorjamb. When asked what the wafer is, he replies, "The Host." Seward writes that no one could distrust the Professor in his earnestness, despite the odd situation.
Topic Tracking: Religion/Religious Duty 9
With the tomb sealed, they wait, and before long see "a dim white figure, which held something dark at its breast." They recognize Lucy: "The sweetness was turned to adamantine, heartless cruelty, and the purity to voluptuous wantonness." Chapter 16, pg. 231
Topic Tracking: Sexuality 7
The evil Lucy throws the child away and beckons Arthur to come to her. He is about to respond when Van Helsing intervenes with a crucifix. Lucy tries to get into the tomb, but is blocked by the holy wafer. She is trapped, and Van Helsing asks Arthur if he may proceed. Arthur, in tears, gives him permission, so Van Helsing removes some of the putty. Lucy slips into the tiny crack, and Van Helsing seals her back inside. They leave with the plan to return the next day.
The next day, the four of them arrive at the churchyard in the early afternoon. Van Helsing has with him a sharpened stake and a hammer. Arthur volunteers to restore his lover to a holy creature. Under Van Helsing's instruction, he pounds the stake through her heart while the Professor reads the prayer for the dead.
Topic Tracking: Sexuality 8
The death of the Un-Dead Lucy is a gruesome spectacle, but when it is over she is restored to the sweet girl they knew in life. The doctors send the laymen out of the tomb and cut off her head, fill the mouth with garlic, and reseal the coffin.
Van Helsing then enlists the others in a new task. They all vow to find the root of this sorrow, and destroy him.
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