盛开在油墨香里的大蒜花：大蒜花与吸血鬼
（三）大蒜花与吸血鬼
古罗马人首先将疆域拓展至整个意大利，随后是整个地中海周边和西欧，他们在开疆辟土的过程中逐渐将大蒜传播到欧洲其他国家。罗马帝国沦陷后，欧洲基督教修道院成为保存医学文献的地方，僧侣们在回廊中种植药用植物，从而引起了查理曼大帝的注意，查理曼大帝下令在皇家花园中种植大蒜。由于大蒜是民间一道重要的草药，中世纪的欧洲人认为大蒜可以对付恶魔、吸血鬼和狼人。为了有效抵御邪灵的入侵，人们将大蒜挂在门窗上、或挂在脖子上，或用大蒜擦拭门框、烟囱、钥匙孔等。
在吸血鬼的故乡特兰西瓦尼亚（Transylvani，今罗马尼亚境内），大蒜是最有效的对抗吸血鬼的植物。人们认为遭蚊虫叮咬而引起的疾病是“吸血鬼的碰触”（The touch of the vampire），因此用大蒜来做驱蚊剂。研究表明，大蒜确实有很好的驱蚊作用。
1897年，爱尔兰作家布拉姆·斯托克（Bram Stoker）发表了以吸血鬼为题材的哥特式恐怖小说《德古拉》（Dracula），在世界范围内广泛地普及了这个民间传说。
小说的第10章，苏厄德医生（Dr. Sweard）在9月11日的日记里详细记录了范·赫尔辛（Van Helsing）教授用大蒜花为露西（Lucy）治病的情形：
那天下午，教授收到了从国外寄来的一个包裹，里面是一大束白花。他来到露西的病床边，把花束递给她，对她说：“但不是给你玩的。这些是药物。”（“but not for you to play with. These are medicines”）。他接着说：“我把它放在你的窗户上，我做了漂亮的花环，然后把它挂在你的脖子上，你会睡得很香。哦，是的！它们就像莲花一样，使你忘却烦恼。（“I put him in your window, I make pretty wreath, and hang him round your neck, so that you sleep well. Oh yes! they, like the lotus flower, make your trouble forgotten.”）
露西仔细观察着花束，用鼻子闻了闻花香，然后半开玩笑半嫌弃地将花束扔掉，说：“哦，教授，我相信您只是在开玩笑。这些花只是普通的大蒜。（“Oh, Professor, I believe you are only putting up a joke on me. Why, these flowers are only common garlic.”）
教授严厉地说：“不要捉弄我！我从不开玩笑！我所做的一切都是严肃的。我警告你，你不要阻止我。好好保重，即使不是为了你自己，也为他人着想。“ （“No trifling with me! I never jest! There is grim purpose in all I do; and I warn you that you do not thwart me. Take care, for the sake of others if not for your own.”）看到露西有些害怕了，他赶紧轻声安慰她：“哦，小姑娘，亲爱的，别怕我。我只是为了你好，但那些普通的花对你大有用处。看，我亲自把它们放在你的房间里。我亲自为你做花环。但是别说出去！不要告诉那些爱打听的人。我们必须服从，保持沉默是服从的一部分。顺服会让你的身体强健起来，还有爱人张开双臂在等待着你。现在坐一会儿。约翰好友，和我一起去，帮我用大蒜装饰房间，这些花来自遥远的哈勒姆，我在那儿的朋友范德普尔一年四季都在他的温室里种草药。我昨天拍的电报，否则今天收不到这些花。”（ “Oh, little miss, my dear, do not fear me. I only do for your good; but there is much virtue to you in those so common flowers. See, I place them myself in your room. I make myself the wreath that you are to wear. But hush! no telling to others that make so inquisitive questions. We must obey, and silence is a part of obedience; and obedience is to bring you strong and well into loving arms that wait for you. Now sit still awhile. Come with me, friend John, and you shall help me deck the room with my garlic, which is all the way from Haarlem, where my friend Vanderpool raise herb in his glass-houses all the year. I had to telegraph yesterday, or they would not have been here.”）
随后，教授和苏厄德医生带着大蒜花走进露西的房间，苏厄德医生观察到，“教授的动作非常很奇怪，在我所知的任何药典中都找不到。首先，他将窗户关紧并锁上了窗闩。接下来，他拿了几朵花，将整个窗扇擦了一遍，好像是要确保每一缕可能渗透进来的空气都沾满大蒜的气味。然后，他用一小束蒜花擦着门的上、下、左右各侧的边框，并以同样的方式擦了壁炉。”（We went into the room, taking the flowers with us. The Professor’s actions were certainly odd and not to be found in any pharmacopœia that I ever heard of. First he fastened up the windows and latched them securely; next, taking a handful of the flowers, he rubbed them all over the sashes, as though to ensure that every whiff of air that might get in would be laden with the garlic smell. Then with the wisp he rubbed all over the jamb of the door, above, below, and at each side, and round the fireplace in the same way.）
苏厄德医生觉得教授的行为很怪诞，对他说：“好吧，教授，我知道您做事总是有理由的，但这次却让我疑惑。好在我们这里没有怀疑论者，否则他会说您正在做某种咒语以阻止邪灵。”（“Well, Professor, I know you always have a reason for what you do, but this certainly puzzles me. It is well we have no sceptic here, or he would say that you were working some spell to keep out an evil spirit.”）
其实范·赫尔辛教授已经猜到露西脖子上的伤口是吸血鬼留下的，但他没有对任何人明说，而是暗自决定打破现代医学常规，用传统的迷信方法来抵挡吸血鬼的再次进攻。他亲自编好了大蒜花环，绕在露西的脖子上，嘱咐她夜晚千万别开窗或开门。
可惜这个计划因人为破坏而失败了，露西再次遭到吸血鬼的袭击，濒临死亡。小说第11章，苏厄德医生在他9月13日的日记里记述了事件的经过：他和教授于清晨八点来到露西家，露西的母亲说女儿还在熟睡，一切都安好。她对教授说：“是这样的，那天晚上我为那个可爱的孩子感到焦虑，走进了她的房间。她睡得非常香，我的到来都没有吵醒她。但是房间太闷了，到处都有那些可怕的味道刺鼻的花，她的脖子上也绕着一束花。我担心浓郁的气味会让那个娇弱的孩子受不了，所以我把它们全部拿走，开了一点窗，让清新的空气透进来。我相信您会对她的状况感到满意的。”（"Well, I was anxious about the dear child in the night, and went into her room. She was sleeping soundly, so soundly that even my coming did not wake her. But the room was awfully stuffy. There were a lot of those horrible, strong-smelling flowers about everywhere, and she had actually a bunch of them round her neck. I feared that the heavy odor would be too much for the dear child in her weak state, so I took them all away and opened a bit of the window to let in a little fresh air. You will be pleased with her, I am sure." ）
教授听到这些，脸色灰白，待露西母亲离开后，他跌跌撞撞地跑进露西的房间，绝望地抽泣。为了挽救露西的生命，他献出自己宝贵的血液，再一次给她输了血。
教授又嘱咐露西的母亲不得擅自拿走女儿房间的任何东西，还说那些大蒜花的气味是用来治病的。
9月17日晚，露西写了生平最后的日记，她写道：母亲来探望她，陪着她一起睡。“过了一会儿，外面的灌木丛中又响起了狼嚎，不久之后窗户被撞裂了，无数的碎玻璃溅了一地。吹进室内的风掀起了百叶窗，碎玻璃窗的缝隙中出现了一只瘦骨嶙峋的大灰狼的脑袋。”（After a while there was the howl again out in the shrubbery, and shortly after there was a crash at the window, and a lot of broken glass was hurled on the floor. The window blind blew back with the wind that rushed in, and in the aperture of the broken panes there was the head of a great, gaunt gray wolf. ）
“母亲惊恐地尖叫，挣扎着要坐起来，疯狂地抓紧任何对她有帮助的东西。她紧紧抓住了范·赫尔辛医生坚持要我戴在脖子上的花环，将其从我身上拽下。她坐起来了一两秒，指着那只狼，喉咙里发出一种奇怪和可怕的咕噜声。随后她栽倒了，好像被闪电击中了一样，她的头撞到我的额头上，使我晕眩了一会儿。”（Mother cried out in a fright, and struggled up into a sitting posture, and clutched wildly at anything that would help her. Amongst other things, she clutched the wreath of flowers that Dr. Van Helsing insisted on my wearing round my neck, and tore it away from me. For a second or two she sat up, pointing at the wolf, and there was a strange and horrible gurgling in her throat. Then she fell over, as if struck with lightning, and her head hit my forehead and made me dizzy for a moment or two. ）
小说的第10章和第11章讲到，苏厄德医生无法诊断露西的病因，也无法阻止病情的恶化。这反映了吸血鬼德古拉对英国维多利亚时期的社会秩序造成的巨大的冲击，也暴露了当时西方科学的局限性，似乎只有迷信和传说才能有效地抵抗德古拉。身为成功的现代外科医师，范·赫尔辛在几天之内给露西输了三次血，但他又勇敢地突破了现代医学的限制，在露西的房间放置大蒜花时，更像是一位民俗专家和哲学家。
不少拥有现代医学常识的读者读到这两章时，都说受了伤的露西在短短的几天内大量输血三次，似乎太频繁了，到了可笑的地步。这里有必要补充一些作者不方便在书中直接写明的知识：在当时的社会背景下，输血有两个重要的隐喻功能。首先，它表明先后给露西献血的三个男人（包括未婚夫亚瑟、苏厄德医生和范·赫尔辛教授）都是品德纯洁高尚的人，他们的血液是干净的。其次，当时的人们认为输血暗示了一种性亲密关系，当一个男人的血液传输到一个女人的血管中时，其生理作用与性交相似。
第十章，遭到露西拒绝的爱慕者苏厄德医生看到自己的鲜血被输入心上人的血管后，在当天的日记里坦承了自己的心情：“我泛起一股自豪感，看到她苍白的脸颊和嘴唇有了一种淡淡的色彩。当一个男人的生命之血注入所爱的女子的血管中时，他才会明白那是一种怎样的体验。”（It was with a feeling of personal pride that I could see a faint tinge of colour steal back into the pallid cheeks and lips. No man knows, till he experiences it, what it is to feel his own life-blood drawn away into the veins of the woman he loves.）- 输血竟然让他产生了意淫。
苏厄德医生鲜血后离开露西的房间时，范·赫尔辛教授特地跟在他身后，轻声交待他：“注意，这件事一定要保密。如果我们那位年轻的恋人（注：指的是露西的未婚夫亚瑟）出乎意料地出现了，什么也别对他说。这会立马让他感到恐惧并心生妒意的。“（"Mind, nothing must be said of this. If our young lover should turn up unexpected, as before, no word to him. It would at once frighten him and enjealous him, too.）教授的意思是，如果露西的未婚夫发现爱人体内流着别的男人的血液，就等同于她和献血者发生了性关系，他的内心肯定接受不了。苏厄德医生还在日记中提到，他献血后感到非常疲倦，躺在沙发上睡着了。- 以上这些描写都会引起维多利亚时期读者的性联想。作者通过这些情节暗示：当德古拉反复吮吸露西的血液时，他不仅拥有了露西的身体，还拥有了为她献血的三个男人的身体。如果不及时阻止他，那么所有这些人都会属于这个吸血鬼