Dracula
Mrs. Westenra
Lucy's mother
Lucy's gentle, anxious mother, who welcomes Mina to Whitby and whose weak heart cannot survive the night Dracula breaks into the house.
Mrs. Westenra is a frail Victorian dowager of about fifty-two, with soft gray hair pinned up and tired brown eyes. She adores her daughter and wants her to be well, safe and happily married. She welcomes Mina as a guest at Whitby and treats her warmly.
She has a weak heart, and a sudden shock can be fatal. She also knows nothing about the danger around her family. Like many in the story, she is sure that there are ordinary explanations for everything, which makes her one of the people Dracula can use without effort.
In the story
Contains spoilers.
As Lucy falls ill, her mother worries and hovers, trusting the doctors. Van Helsing fills Lucy's room with garlic and warns her never to take it off. In the novel's version of events, Mrs. Westenra's well-meant interference leaves Lucy unprotected, and here the garlic is scattered the night everything goes wrong.
A giant wolf smashes through Lucy's bedroom window at midnight. Mrs. Westenra dies of sudden heart failure from the shock, leaving Lucy defenseless as Dracula closes in.
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