Your meta made me think that secrecy, sealing one's own feelings, and lack of communication for someone's sake seem to be themes, and one of Dracula's greatest allies. And it's already showing up now.
They absolutely are. And we've seen it already with Dracula, in several different ways. There's also lack of communication due to societal rules which is a big ally to Dracula as well. We've seen the Count use some of these elements already:
- Jonathan has to suppress his feelings and play the role of guest to survive
- Dracula works to hide the truth of what is happening to Jonathan
- The crew of the Demeter are hesitant to speak of their fears to their superiors/are silenced by a superior (first mate)
But what's happening here is different and maybe even worse because it's entirely independent of Dracula himself. And it is all likely helpful to him, and the kind of thing he takes advantage of, but he isn't the cause of it. These people are making their own choices to hide things from one another and in doing so are becoming more isolated/miserable for all that they mean well.
Spoilers below as I talk a little about future events:
