In Dracula, Bram Stoker portrays a clear battle between the “traditional woman” of the time and the “new woman.”. Stoker uses the contrasting characters of Lucy Westenra and Mina Murray to depict this evolution in women and, also, to paint an image of the reaction to this advance, expressed by both men and women.
Mina Murray embodies the traditional women that were commonplace in the late 19th century. Mina’s letters to Lucy most clearly express her attitude and personality. She expresses her aspirations in the first letter of hers that we read in the story. Mina states, "I have been working very hard lately, because I want to keep up with Jonathan's studies" (62). Jonathan Harker, Mina's fiancé, is a lawyer. Mina indicates that she would like to learn shorthand and typing so that she can assist her husband with his work (62). In the late 19th century women were beginning to get jobs of their own. In Mina’s case, she is attempting to work by her husband’s side, showing that the full independence is not within her yet. This was mostly because of the population of women being so large, which led to many single women needing to provide for themselves. Although Mina isn't a single woman, she does choose to seek out a job and become more independent. It is also disclosed that Mina is a teacher, aside from her working with Jonathan. Mina represents the new trend in women getting jobs and wanting to learn, and at the same time, the idea that she is still a traditional woman in that she has a motherly job on the side and is studying to work under her husband, as if she were inferior to him.
Lucy Westenra is the antithesis to Mina. In her letters to Mina the reader can see her contrasting attitude and personality. In the first letter wri...
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...ughout the book, the reader can see a story of a new type of woman emerging in the 19th century. At the end of the story Van Helsing speaks of Mina and Jonathan’s newborn son and how he is going to be the new age man that will accept the new age woman and understand a woman who not only is motherly and loving, but also proud, strong, and independent. Mina now represents the new age woman just as much as she did the traditional woman in the beginning, and in the end the men fought to save her life. Stoker wrote Dracula to prove a point that the new age woman will eventually emerge as the leading type of woman and the traditional woman will be no more. Although Mina isn’t the drastic new woman that Lucy was, she shares many similar characteristics and is as strong and powerful as the new age woman, with the intelligence and motherly love that the traditional woman had.
Even though women such as Lucy demonstrate stereotypical female weakness, characters such as Mina defy the conventional submissive female, as an independent woman, a role uncommon of novels in this era. In addition, Mina, in comparison to men, possesses substantially stronger emotional fortitude and controls her emotions, while the men who are supposed to be strong expose emotional weakness and frailty. Ultimately, however, no matter Mina’s intelligence or strengths, the men continually suppress Mina’s vast amount of wisdom in order to maintain their perceived dominance. Nonetheless, Stoker’s messages throughout the novel regarding women silently protest the sexist expectations of the overly limiting Victorian era. Should today’s modern feminists take Stoker’s peaceful approach and protest subtly hoping for long-term change? Or should feminists act with violent protests in hope for prompt change? Gender equality will not happen overnight, however, instead of rushing minuscule modifications with violent protest, society must patiently wait for productive and peaceful change, in order to prevent an even larger
Mina is also vastly unlike the contemporary female Gothic tropes due to her financial independence. Although Mina could be described as the ideal Victorian lady, Stoker also managed to include qualities associated with the much feared and controversial New Woman in her. She and Lucy mock the independence of the New Woman and joke that the New Woman will try to introduce the inversion of gender roles that contemporary society feared;
Similar to almost every piece of literature ever created, Dracula by Bram Stoker has been interpreted many different ways, being torn at from every angle possible. Just as one might find interest in interpreting novels differently, he or she might also find interest in the plot, prose, or theme, all of which ultimately lead to the novels overall tone. Throughout the novel, it becomes blatant that the novel contains an underlying theme of female incompetence and inferiority. Through a true feminist’s eyes, this analysis can clearly be understood by highlighting the actions of Mina and Lucy, the obvious inferior females in the book. Through Stoker’s complete and utter manipulation of Mina and Lucy, he practically forces the reader to analyze the co-existence of dominant males and inferior females in society and to simultaneously accept the fact that the actual text of Dracula is reinforcing the typical female stereotypes that have developed throughout the ages.
During the late 1800's, when this novel takes place, the woman's Suffrage movement was gaining momentum in Europe. It is said that Mina read about these new ideas and seemed to wonder how events in her own life would be seen by the New Woman. Including whether they would think she may eat to heartily for a woman. Although she is interested in the concepts, she does not see herself as living this way. Any new skills she learns are for the b...
Books for centuries influence countless people and the world itself. Some novels describe the life at the time, and others defy society any way thought of. Wuthering Heights written by Emily Bronte and Dracula by Bram Stoker lie on the side of defying society. These two novels were written against the odds due to their various themes and topics. Both contain material that would be considered scandalous or daring, and one of these multiple themes include dominance. Dominance runs rampant in both texts. Throughout the two novels, dominance emanates in fascinating and unexpected ways.
In reading Bram Stoker's Dracula, I find the treatment of the two main female characters-- Lucy Westenra and Mina Harker-- especially intriguing. These two women are two opposite archetypes created by a society of threatened men trying to protect themselves.
This scene sets the basic structure of gender roles in Victorian society. In this scene, Stroker shows Mina as weak and under the influence of men. She is unable to free herself until men come to her rescue. Dracula controls the men by turning their women into vampires. Stoker reflects the idea that women are mere possessions of men. Dracula and other men are fighting to gain control over her. By controlling Mina, Dracula has challenged their masculinity, because they are unable to protect her from Dracula. The fact
...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.
Bram Stoker, author of 1897 novel Dracula, shared a common belief, a common hope, with today’s modern world. Just as bedtime stories and fairytales of today point to a triumph of all that is good and pure, Stoker tapped into this yearning for the righteous to prevail when he wrote the story of the Count and all the people that would come against him to bring about his ultimate demise. Throughout the novel, Stoker draws upon this timeless battle between good and evil, showing its importance through Mina's good character, Dracula’s vile nature, and theological references.
The reader sees the emotions that run rampant when Mina, Jonathan, Arthur Holmwood, Dr. Seward, Dr. Van Helsing, and Quincey Morris find that Lucy is truly dead.
A noticeable difference in the way movies have changed over the years is evident when comparing and contrasting two films of different eras which belong to the same genre and contain the same subject matter. Two vampire movies, Dracula and Bram Stoker's Dracula, present an interesting example of this type of study.
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.
...battle to life. In the novel, on the other hand, Stoker makes sure that his female character triumphs (by surviving) and that she returns home to “become a dutiful wife and caring mother”. This is where we could argue that “Stoker is much ahead of his times in portraying a ‘New Woman surpassing even the best male ‘professionals’ in terms of intellectual labor, a ‘gallant’ woman wit a remarkable ‘man-brain’ who helps save the empire, even though her power abruptly dimishes toward the end of the novel, and she is finally summoned home to become a traditional mother figure” (Kwan-Wai Yu 158). Although Stoker was very accurate in the new scientific and technological advances that he incorporated into Dracula, he was also very accurate in portraying a strong willful woman who is able to complete a job that was unwittingly given to her in the most extraordinarily manner.
Bram Stoker and Sheridan Le Fanu’s texts, Dracula (1898) and “Carmilla” (1872), use gothic tropes in similar ways to captivate readers with horror and terror. This essay will illustrate how, in comparison, both texts include gothic tropes: the New Woman, sexuality and setting, in order to provoke emotions and reactions from the readers. To achieve this, this essay will focus on the women that challenge traditional gender roles and stereotypes, and deconstruct each text in regards to the very strong undertones of homosexuality; specifically between Carmilla and Laura, and Dracula and Harker. By discussing the harshness and darkness of the environments described, including ruined castles and isolated landscapes; this essay will also explore the
There are a few characters in Dracula that embody society’s views of the time towards the uprising of women for better rights. On the other hand there are also characters that portray the Victorian ideals that men are stronger than women and how it should stay that way. As author Bram Dijkstra mentions in his response essay, “Stokers work demonstrates how thoroughly the war waged by the nineteenth century male culture against the dignity and self -respect of women had been fought”.(Dijkstra , p.460).