Throughout the Victorian Era, men often enjoyed special privileges that were not offered to women as back then England was a patriarchy. However, as time grew by, women decided they wanted to be independant and to strive towards their own goals. This led to the ideal of the New Woman, which was to be defiant of the authority of men and to adapt to new gender role changes. In the novel Dracula,Stoker shows his disapproval for the rebellion by the New Woman, through having female characters defy the social norms and experiencing the consequences in doing so.
The character Lucy is portrayed by Stoker to explain the detrimental effect the New Woman has on a typical Victorian Era Woman. In the novel, Lucy at first manifests the qualities of a
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true women by kindly rejecting two proposals in order to be with Arthur Holmwood, “Just fancy! Three proposals in one day! Isn’t it awful! I feel sorry, really and truly sorry, for two of the poor fellows” (Stoker 60). But even though she may be act like high class Victorian Era Woman on the outside but in the inside she exhibits traits of the New Woman. Lucy acts proudly when she is able to seduce 3 suitors in wanting her hand in marriage and feels it is justifiable to have multiple suitors at once, “Why can’t they let a girl marry three men, or as many as want her,and save all this trouble?” (Stoker 63). Even though she is virtuous and kind and does not have any wicked sexual desire, Lucy still behaves coquettishly, which is looked down upon during the Victorian Era. When Lucy is bitten by Dracula, she slowly begins to lose the identity of a Victorian Era Woman as her lustful desires slowly increases. Through the blood transfusions she receives, we can see signs of intimate and erotic connections Lucy has with all the contributors. She receives blood and absorbs it to strengthen her health condition but at the same time results in exhausting the blood contributors. By the time she is near death, Lucy had received blood from all the contributors including the suitors that were madly in love with her. The transfusion represents the affair that Lucy possibly shares with each of the male protagonists, “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” (Stoker 138). This in return reflects to the envious conflict among the secret lovers. When Lucy dies and becomes a vampire, her innocence vanishes and she begins to grasp towards the path of the New Woman,“The sweetness turned to adamantine, heartless cruelty, and the purity to voluptuous wantonness” (Stoker 226). She eventually becomes known as the bloofer lady who preys on innocent children. Lucy’s desire for kidnapping and harming children relates to the New Woman, since she is endangering children and refusing to take part in her supposed motherly role. We can start to see Lucy’s dislike for male authority and presence when she encounters the group of men in the tomb, “When Lucy- I call the thing that was before us Lucy because it bore her shape-saw us she drew back with an angry snarl, such as a cat gives when taken unawares; then her eyes ranged over us” (Stoker 226). Lucy is then able to pressure and seduce the helpless Arthur, which symbolizes female dominance over males. Instead of wanting to reconcile with Arthur, she wants to make him subject to her own personal desires, “Come to me, Arthur. Leave those others and come to me. My arms are hungry for you. Come and we can rest together. Come, my husband come!” (Stoker 227). Through Lucy being unable to forgo her lustful aspiration, we can see how much she has been negatively affected from the ideals of the New Woman and has forgotten everything about what makes a true Victorian Era Woman. The Brides of Dracula are the true representation of the New Woman, as they are nothing more than being described as being twisted and oversexual, “All three had brilliant white teeth that shone like pearls against the ruby of their voluptuous lips. There was something about them that made me uneasy, some longing and at the same time some deadly fears” (Stoker 40). The Dracula mistress are seemingly able to resist male authority and even fearfully overpower them, “There was something about them that made me uneasy, some longing and at the same time deadly. I felt in my heart, a wicked burning desire that they would kiss me with those red lips” (Stoker 40). The three brides represent what Victorian Society feared and hated, as women who were flirty for sexual attention and purposes were forgotten. The Brides similar to Lucy, defy the responsibilities of a motherhood during the Victorian Era, by harming the children instead of taking care of them, “If my ears did not deceive me there was a gasp and a low wail, as of a half smother child. The women closed round, whilst I was aghast with horror; but as I looked they disappeared, and with them the dreadful bag” (Stoker 42). Dracula’s mistresses show their deceitful nature by being able to pressure and seduce men to their vile desires, as well as rejecting their role as a comforting and protective motherly figure, which was considered immoral by Victorian Era standards. Mina Harker represents the dichotomy between the standards of the New Woman and True Victorian Era Woman.
Mina seemingly embraces the True Victorian Woman, as she is dedicated to being as productive to Jonathan as possible rather than acting overly sexual as other female characters in the novel, “When we are married I shall be able to be useful to Jonathan” ( Stoker 58). Mina’s ability to resist and overcome sexual needs manages to save her from suffering the same fate as Lucy and the Brides of Dracula. She also acts as a motherly figure by helping the men regain their spirit in times of grievous situations, such as Arthurs sorrow and depression when he is forced to end Lucy’s life, “I felt an infinite pity for him, and opened my arms unthinkingly. With a sob he laid his head on my shoulder and cried like a wearied child, whilst he shook with emotion” (Stoker 247). Mina most of the time surrenders to male authority and decisions, when she agrees to not risk her life for the men’s hunt for Dracula. As she is bitten by Dracula, she tells the men that if she turns to a vampire they must end her life the same way as they did to Lucy, “That I may die now, either by my own hand or that of another, before the greater evil is entirely wrought. I know, and you know, that were I once dead you could and would set free my immortal spirit, even as you did for my poor Lucy’s” (Stoker 359). This shows how Mina embodies the true Victorian Era Woman as she does not wish to let the ideals of The New Woman affect her negatively. However, Mina does have characteristics of the New Woman as she is able to operate advanced machines such as a typewriter and being able to recognize shorthand writing that were knowledge beyond the Victorian Era Woman, “Ah that wonderful Madam Mina! She’s got a man’s brain- a brain that a man should have were he much gifted- and a woman’s heart. The good God fashioned her for a purpose, believe me, when He made that so good combination” (Stoker 253). Mina
throughout the novel embraces characteristics of The New Woman ideals, however she still acknowledges the traits of the Victorian Era Woman and does not try to overthrow it. Overall, we can see that Stoker is not a huge supporter of the New Woman Rebellion. He believed that even though patriarchy may be detrimental to women in general, Stoker still thought women should still embrace it. He also explains that being part of the New Woman tends to have a negative outcome and causes you lose control of your desires. Stoker uses these female characters to show the effects the New Woman had on them and how it affected their personas.
...sitive depiction of their sexual relationship. For Mina, however, renunciation of Dracula's evil must include the renunciation of her own physical needs and desires. The roles played by social mores and conceptions of gender and sexuality are, in the end, more than incidental. Indeed, the difference between Victorian England and 1990s America causes the subtle -- but significant -- valuation of the connections between good and evil and women and sexuality in two in many ways similar texts.
Science has proven that anatomically, women’s physical strength is generally less in comparison to men’s enhanced muscularity. This anatomic disadvantage that women suffer has led to negative stereotypes of gender. Women are considered weaker, or less intelligent than men based on an impression that women are minuscule in comparison to men. In the novel Dracula, Bram Stoker sheds light on gender inequality, establishing that not all women are inferior to men, in fact, they should be seen as equals. Notably, Stoker reveals society’s ambivalence to women’s fortitude by providing an abundance of Victorian gender stereotypes and their inaccuracies throughout the novel. In addition, Stoker downplays female cliché’s, disclosing that women
There is a classic "good versus evil" plot to this novel. The evil of course being Count Dracula and the Good being represented by the Harkers, Dr. Seward and Lucy, Arthur, Quincy and the Professor. It is the continuing battle between Dracula and the forces of good. Good in this case is the Christian God. The battle is foretold by the landlady where she says, "It is the eve of St Georges Day. Do you no know that tonight, when the clock strikes midnight, all the evil things in the world will have full sway?" and she hands Harker a crucifix (p 12).
In Dracula, Bram Stoker explores the fantastic image of a sexually dominant woman within a patriarchal society. The battle between good and evil within the novel very much hinges upon feminine sexuality: Lucy and Nina are embodiments of the Victorian virtues, which Dracula threatens to corrupt,
“Dracula, in one aspect, is a novel about the types of Victorian women and the representation of them in Victorian English society” (Humphrey). Through Mina, Lucy and the daughters of Dracula, Stoker symbolizes three different types of woman: the pure, the tempted and the impure. “Although Mina and Lucy possess similar qualities there is striking difference between the two” (Humphrey). Mina is the ideal 19th century Victorian woman; she is chaste, loyal and intelligent. On the other hand, Lucy’s ideal Victorian characteristics began to fade as she transformed from human to vampire and eventually those characteristics disappeared altogether. Lucy no longer embodied the Victorian woman and instead, “the swe...
In Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula, Stoker’s use of inverted gender roles allows readers to grasp the sense of obscureness throughout, eventually leading to the reader’s realization that these characters are rather similar to the “monster” which they call Dracula. Despite being in the Victorian era, Stoker’s use of sexuality in the novel contributes to the reasoning of obscureness going against the Victorian morals and values. Throughout the novel the stereotypical roles of the Victorian man and woman are inverted to draw attention to the similarities between Dracula and the characters. Vague to a majority of readers, Bram Stoker uses Dracula as a negative connotation on society being that the values of the Victorian culture are inverted amongst the sexes of characters, thus pointing out the similarities of the characters and the so called “monster” which they call Dracula.
As the saying goes, “Women can do everything Men can do.” In the Gothic Novel Dracula by Bram Stoker, there is a constant theme of sexuality, from both male and females in society. In the Victorian era, the roles of male and females have caused a lot of tension. After reading Dracula, some would argue the roles men and women hold in society. As mentioned in Dr. Seward’s Dairy from Val Halsing., “Ah, that wonderful Madam Mina! She has man’s brain—a brain that a man should have were he much gifted—and a woman’s heart. The good God fashioned her for a purpose, believe me, when He made that so good combination” (Stoker and Hindle, 2003 250). A women’s mind is not the always the first thing on a males mind. Some would overlook what a woman really has to offer.
Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula, written in 1897 during the Victorian era depicts and delves through the historical context of what society was like in the past. His extraordinary piece places a strong emphasis on sexuality by contrasting it with the conventional and stereotypical views towards sexuality that was once embellished during his life time. By painting an elaborate picture of the conservative society Stoker once grew up in, I contend that through his main female characters, he pursues to epitomize and challenge the Victorian notion of sexuality by incorporating female characters with strong sexual desires. This essay is primarily set forth to bring into light key ideas that may alter the way one perceives this novel by highlighting that Dracula is a seditious novel that embraces female sexuality in a time where “society sought to suppress woman sexuality” (Catherine J. Rose, 2).
Stoker uses phenomenal imagery to produce a late nineteenth century setting, located somewhere within eastern Europe. Transylvania, the infamous home to Dracula himself, is described in great detail in Harker’s journal. There, Stoker purposely and meticulously outlines Dracula’s castle and the surrounding town. Stoker manages to do this with a very gothic tone, immediately lowering the societal status of women. In conjunction with Dracula’s gothic tone comes the understanding of male and female traditional roles of the era. The reader sees that there is no hesitation differentiating between the two, as Stoker “ cast[s] men as rational, strong, protective and decisive…[and] women as emotional (irrational), weak, nurturing and submissive.” (Tyson, 82).
Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula, is a highly controversial work of fiction that is still being read for the first time today. Dracula touches many different categories including; sci-fi horror to 1800’s English romance literature. This is the main reason why the novel Dracula can be analyzed in many different ways using many different literary theories. The theory which stuck out most to me while reading this novel was the Feminist Theory. The Feminist Theory cannot be used to analyze Dracula as a whole novel, but it can be used in order to analyze the different female characters throughout the book. Therefore, Bram Stoker’s Dracula can be analyzed through the feminist theory by focusing on the characters Mina Harker, Lucy Westenra, and the three brides of Dracula.
In Bram Stoker's Dracula , Mina is intrigued by the idea of the "New Woman". This "New Woman" is not subject to men and the rules of society in Victorian England. This notion of the "new woman" is that she is more independent and isn't subject to the man but is instead an equal. Mina says "... I suppose the 'New Woman' won't condescend in future to accept. She will do the proposing herself." By this, she envisions women will forego tradition and take over some of the roles previously done only by men.
Mina Murray was engaged to Jonathan Harker and when Dracula kept him prisoner, the Count wrote letters to Harker’s boss and pretended to be Jonathan and to inform his boss and his fiancé that things were going good with his business trip. The Count was giving Mina and Jonathan’s boss false hope and keeping Harker prisoner at his castle. Dracula would even dress up in Harker’s clothes and mail the letters so it would not arise any suspicion. The Count seemed to only focus on turning women into vampires and he used the men to lure the women into his trap. Therefore, that is why he was keeping Jonathan alive. Everything Dracula did was made with lots of forethought. Such as when Lucy a young woman who also was a friend of Mina was mysteriously getting ill and sleep-walking during the night no one knew what was happening to Lucy because she would get sicker after they discovered she was sleepwalking. Lucy was sleep walking because she had gotten bite by Dracula and every night he called to her so he could feed off her again. He also made sure she was alone and waited a few days before attempting to suck her blood again. Although, Dracula was a smart man in his cunning actions he could not hide the fact that something evil was
Dracula was initially published in 1897 by Bram Stoker. Many critics view the novel as exploring the fears society had and then presenting them in the form of the vampire. One of the fears presented in the characterisation of the vampire is gender transgression and the blurring of the gender boundaries which the Victorians upheld. In this essay I am looking to explore the many ways that the vampires reflect this fear of breaking gender norm society has and how Stoker does this.
Stokers Dracula was a well thought out novel that successfully boggled some minds in the Victorian era also known as the fin de siècle. Stoker made sure to focus on gender roles in the novel concerning men’s masculinity and the role of the ideal Victorian women which I’m sure baffled some readers. He made sure to show that men are meant to be the protectors, fighters, and providers in the novel but also didn’t shy away from showing how women can be more resourceful than being just the house wife. He still makes sure to put the overall security in the man’s hand to let it be known that men do overcome and come out victoriously.
Both, the characters in this novel and the readers experience these fears, for the exchange of gender roles is simply ‘forbidden’. In this novel the female characters are shown as being sexually aggressive, and the results of their aggression vary in the novel’s three main sexual scenes: Lucy’s final death at the hands of the brothers in altruism, Jonathan being seduced by Dracula’s three brides/sisters, and Mina drinking blood from Dracula’s chest as Jonathan lies powerless close by. Lucy’s death, which was caused by three men who once desired to marry her. This was a consequence of her sexuality being released. She begins as a good woman with hair of “sunny ripples” (Ch.12) who is labeled sweet and pure. Furthermore, being contaminated by Dracula, the word used to describe her is “voluptuous.” In her transformation as Woman in White, she becomes dark haired, symbolic as good versus evil. As non-motherly, she pulls children to the cemetery and throws a baby “callous as a devil” (Ch.16) to the ground. The men’s reaction to Lucy’s transformation is divulging. When Van Helsing informs Seward of what he intends to do with Lucy’s “Un