While the female outcasts in the two works met different treatments as discussed above, another contrast lies in the writer’s choice of heroic savior who redeemed these outcasts. In both works, redemption of a fallen woman depended on these heroes, but a female character, Lizzie, became the savior in Rossetti’s poem, while Dracula remained heavily androcentric. Rossetti’s choice of a female savior is particularly interesting considering how male-exclusive Victorian society was. Lizzie is in every way the paragon of Victorian femininity. She embodies the ideal quality of a mother — unconditional compassion and selflessness —, illustrated through her self-sacrificing compassion to save her sister: “Laura, make much of me; /For your sake I have …show more content…
Stoker suggests otherwise in Dracula, however. Stoker could have also established a female savior, and Lucy’s sister figure, Mina, would have been the perfect candidate. Like Lizzie in “The Goblin Market,” Mina is an individual whom Van Helsing praised as “So true, so sweet, so noble, so little an egotist” —a mirror of femininity (Stoker 226). But, in Dracula, it is the masculine force and scientific intelligence which overcame the fallen woman in Lucy. Stoker portrays the group of four men, led by Dr. Van Helsing, as mighty soldiers of modernity and religion. As Van Helsing asserted, “[they] have on [their] side… resources of science,” “a power denied to the vampire kind” (Stoker 276). Dracula is evidently a male-centered world, where redemption of fallen outcast requires bravery, self-reliance, and intelligence — all of which are Victorian ideals of men — and such task is “no part for a woman” (Stoker 274). Therefore, Mina, despite her competence of being both virtuous and accredited for having a “man’s brain,” is excluded from the role of a heroic savior (Stoker …show more content…
Superficially, “The Goblin Market” seem to end in successful resolution, where Laura and Lizzie, as wives and mothers, “Would call the little ones/ And tell them of her early prime,” extolling the bond of the sisters (Rossetti 548-549). But there is a deliberate ominousness present in Rossetti’s poem that is absent from Stoker’s Dracula. The goblin men, who were the cause of Lucy’s fall, evaded any punishment, thus revenge against evil was not undertaken. Through the ambiguous tone in which she concluded “The Goblin Market,” Rossetti questions the fairness of Victorian society, and challenges its long-living patriarchy by introducing a female hero, Lizzie. Meanwhile, Stoker’s Dracula is a novel about the effectiveness of a male-oriented society. Contrary to “The Goblin Market,” the novel indeed resolved in a satisfactory note, as Dracula, who is the villain behind the fall of Lucy is appropriately “sterilize[d]” (Stoker 281). Stoker also concludes his novel with Van Helsing passing down the story to Harker’s son, but his story, unlike Laura’s, is not about power of femininity. Rather, it
Even at the ending, there still is suspense after Dracula is killed because it was anticlimactic. My only question, is “Who is this ‘we’ mentioned when Dracula is talking about Transylvania’s past and the battles?” That one unanswered question leaves suspense because it makes it seem like there are more vampires not really mentioned in the book. I believe that Stoker purposely used his word choice to show good and evil because he used the word “voluptuous” to describe the three evil women and also described Lucy when she turned/passed away. I believe that Stoker uses British womanhood to show weakness since Lucy was the first one bit and that if she did not get help then she would have passed away faster and would have transformed into a vampire and would continue terrorizing little kids. However, I believe that through Mina, Stoker uses a new form of British womanhood to show a strong woman that after overcoming an obstacle can rise above it and work with the men to defeat evil. I think Mina is my favorite character in Dracula because she does just that. She did not just get saved and not do anything, she got saved and then used her visions to help the men find Dracula. That is what I admire about her. She is a strong woman. I like the suspense in the end of the book with how Dracula just dies and then everyone seems to live a happy life, however, I would have ended the book with a better “fight scene” that would have proved that Dracula was either the only vampire or that there were more. I think Stoker uses word choice to denote good and evil in Dracula and does an excellent job in doing so by describing the three women and then adding on to Lucy when she
Bram Stoker’s “Dracula,” came to print in 1897, at the height of Nineteenth century Victorian life in Europe, a progressively modern era that saw much medical and technological advancement. This era brought with it the contentious idea of an empowered woman, the “New Woman,” a woman who aspires to be educated as well as sexually and economically independent. Stoker gives a contrasting view of this notion in “Dracula.” While the main characters, Lucy and Mina, are clearly opposite in personality, they are both portrayed as unequal, defenseless objects that are to be protected and desired. However, one woman’s fate is determined by her weakness, while the other is determined by her strength.
In order to discuss the decline in masculinity (or manhood) and moral values, synonym of religious values in both books, it becomes necessary to define what Late-Victorian society considered them to be. In Dracula, masculinity is defined almost exclusively by contrasting it with femininity. The men in the book are praised when they show the opposite qualities that women are described as possessing. While women are shown as obedient and complacent, men are stern and in command of themselves and situations. Men are expected to protect women while women expect and cherish the protection of men. While men are expected to face the unpleasant facts of life, the darkness and the evil, with integrity and courage, women are to be sheltered from danger to avoid the breakdown of their fragile characters. When the group headed by Van Helsing starts their mission of vanishing the Count and all the dangers he brings for England, the men unanimously decide to hide all the unpleasant facts f...
“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...
Victorian Women were highly held back in their full potential. Their main role in the household was to “be happy - a sunbeam in the house, making others happy” (Hardy, E.J. 1887). On top of this, Women in the Victorian era were not allowed to display their sexuality or “tempt” men in public; they were meant to be submissive and meek (Causey S., 2008). The Victorian era lasted from 1837 til 1901, with women being punished everyday for crimes that are nowadays just part of living for a woman. Bram Stoker was born during this era and wrote his most famous novel, Dracula (Miller, E. unknown). One of the main discourses in this novel is that of Women and their Morality of the time.
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,
One of the major themes of Bram Stoker’s Dracula is the triumph of the masculine over the feminine, but also the slowly rising influence of female involvement within society. Victorian society had certain expectations of different genders, which were fundamentally different. The traditional
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.
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).
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.
...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.
Despite popular culture today with shows like The Vampire Diaries where vampires are often continuing their daily lives as if they are human and being the heroes to their friends and/or family, Dracula is a depiction of how vampires have, for centuries, been exposed as bloodthirsty, supernatural beings with sexual appeal. The way women are portrayed in Bram Stoker’s, Dracula, is a result of the Victorian ideals. Once Dracula begins to feed on the women, they become bloodthirsty temptresses which are exactly what society fears and try to prevent. In Dracula, Stoker makes sexuality directly linked to the vampirism in the novel. This is seen through the change of Lucy’s somewhat modest behavior into a temptress, the blood-sharing between characters in the novel, and the description of the way Lucy was killed.
Bram Stoker's novel Dracula, published in 1897, explores various sexual erotic possibilities in the vampire's embrace, as discussed by Leonard Wolf. The novel confronts Victorian fears of homosexuality; that were current at the time due to the trial of playwright Oscar Wilde. The vampire's embrace could also be interpreted as an illustration of Victorian fears of the changing role of women. Therefore it is important to consider: the historical context of the novel; the Victorian notion of the `New Woman' specifically the character of Lucy Westenra; the inversion of gender roles; notions of sexuality; and the emasculation of men, by lessening their power over women; in the novel Dracula. In doing this I will be able to explore the effects of the vampire's embrace in depth, and achieve a wider understanding of the variety of erotic undercurrents Stoker incorporated into the novel.
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 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