Gender Roles In Bram Stoker's Dracula

Bram Stoker’s Dracula was written during the Victorian era in which females and males had different roles in society. The females in society were supposed to encompass a passive role, displaying qualities that were subservient, submissive, and innocent. Males in the Victorian era were seen as the strong and hard-working head of the family and had the freedom to do what they pleased. The men and women in Dracula display some of these conventional characteristics, yet both genders depart from them in significant ways. There are two types of women portrayed in this novel; one is Lucy, who is considered to be the ideal Victorian woman. The second type is the vampire women, who represent the “New” or modern woman. The “New Woman” is physically,

emotionally, and sexually independent. In terms of Mina, she embodies a balance between both types of women. Mina is the most significant female in the novel; however, she diverges from the typical Victorian ideals. She is characterized as a working woman, yet when in the process of transforming into a vampire, she exemplifies a strong and diligent female who can accomplish just as much as males. Bram Stoker’s Dracula strives to promote gender equality by giving his female characters equal economic participation; he also allows them to make decisions and have as many opportunities as the men. This gender equality is manifested through gender inversion which is evident in the novel’s display of sexuality. Mina embraces the opportunity for equality, whereas the men tend to follow Victorian societal norms in their treatment of women in order to maintain gender barriers and their consequent superiority. Stoker is critical of these male behaviors and uses Mina’s character to represent a positive change that is necessary to defeat vampirism in their society.
The most important female in the novel, Mina, exemplifies strong Victorian characteristics, but also demonstrates some “New Woman” attributes that were uncommon during this time. Mina is submissive and does not question Jonathan or the other men’s motives in the novel. In fact, she even praises them for wanting to protect her from Dracula, instead of being frustrated that the men are withholding information from her. She also provides comfort for the men, stating, “he stood up and then sat down again, and the tears rained down his cheeks. I felt an infinite pity for him, and opened my shoulders unthinkingly. With a sob he laid his head on my shoulder, and cried like a wearied child, whilst he shook with emotion” (203). This is one way in which Mina fulfills her Victorian role because she acts as a mother figure, which allows the men to feel vulnerable even in times of fear and despair. Another example that reveals Mina’s maternal qualities is when she is committed to figuring out what is wrong with Jonathan after his time with Dracula and states, “I shall get my typewriter this very hour and begin transcribing…and I can ask him questions and find out things, and see how I may comfort him” (161). She will do anything for her husband in order for him to endure a fast recovery. In addition, Mina is pure and passive regarding her sexuality, which is another conventional aspect of the Victorian woman. However, Mina is also well-educated and works full-time as a schoolteacher, which demonstrates her ability to be financially independent from Jonathan. She has an eagerness to learn shorthand and wants to be useful to Jonathan, which suggests that she is motivated to be as intellectual as her husband. These examples recognize how Mina mediates between the definitions from the Victorian woman to the “New Woman.”
Although Mina displays characteristics of the conventional Victorian woman, she also departs from these ideals and displays a masculine role in the novel by…. Once Mina becomes a victim to Dracula, she develops more assiduous attributes and begins to transcribe Seward’s journal. Once the journals are transcribed, she is able to compose the entries into a narrative to obtain as much evidence in order to defeat Dracula. Marjorie Howes explains in “The Mediation of the Feminine: Bisexuality, Homoerotic Desire, and Self Expression in Bram Stoker’s Dracula” that “Mina has been praised as one who successfully combines the masculine and feminine in their proper relation” (113). Characters in the novel have also recognized Mina’s work, such as Van Helsing who states, “Ah, that wonderful Madam Mina! She has a man’s brain-a brain that a man should have were he much gifted-and woman’s heart” (207). Van Helsing realizes that these tasks are uncommon for a woman to accomplish during this time period. Even though she is in the process of transitioning into a vampire, Mina is still actively involved in hunting Dracula with the men. She acts as a member of the Crew by planning out situations and searching for realistic means to capture Dracula. Stoker utilizes Mina as a crucial tool to defeating Dracula and this would not have been possible without her skills and realistic mindset. If Mina was acting as a Victorian woman, she would have stayed back and allowed the men to defeat Dracula without her, but she proves to the men that she should be involved, even when she is suffering the most. This indicates that she never gave up fighting for her life, even on the verge of becoming “Undead” at any moment. In one of the most erotic scenes in the novel, Dracula is forcing Mina to drink the blood from his breast and Dr. Seward, when observing this scene, states “her white nightdress was smeared with blood…[and] the attitude of the two had a terrible resemblance to a child forcing a kitten’s nose into a saucer of milk to compel it to drink” (247). This is one of the clearest examples of gender inversion in the novel, since Dracula is now acting as the maternal figure. Christopher Craft suggests in “’Kiss me with Those Red Lips’: Gender and Inversion in Bram Stoker’s Dracula,” that “gender distinctions” are no longer visible in this scene (457). Like Craft, Howes argues that “…desires…threaten to dissolve gender distinctions” (106). As a result of this gender inversion, equality is emphasized and neither gender seems superior over the other. Another important aspect in this scene is that Dracula takes away Mina’s purity and she is no longer innocent in Victorian terms. Mina is a complex character that portrays qualities of both genders, however she is never treated as equally as the men.
In addition, the men in Dracula display unconventional gender characteristics but do not embrace the opportunity for equality and tend to maintain Victorian norms. Generally, men in the Victorian era are active participants in society and should always retain their “manly” image. However, in some instances, Stoker portrays the men in a way that opposes differently societal views of masculine behaviors. Mina, aware of how the men should act, states that “a brave man’s hand can speak for itself; it does not even need a woman’s love to hear its music” (210). Mina makes it clear that men ideally communicate through their actions, not words. Howes explains that this is how the men are “asserting male independence from the feminine” (111). The irony behind Mina’s statement is that the men tend to express their emotions towards Mina, which is unusual for men to do during the Victorian age. For example, Mina comforts Arthur after the death of Lucy and immediately starts crying because he cannot endure the pain of losing her. Quickly after Artur expresses his feelings to Mina, she realizes his change of attitude and states, “…and he raised himself with an apology, though he made no disguise of his emotion” (203). This reveals that the men in the novel do not accept the possibility of acquiring feminine characteristics and immediately adjust their expressions to match the ideals for their gender. Agreeing with this, Howes explains that the men resort to their conventional role to maintain their “manhood,” and at any moment that they start to diverge from this role, they become weak and vulnerable (111). Another distinct example of gender inversion occurs when Jonathan is being seduced by the three vampire women. In this scene, Stoker depicts the women as sexual beings who are actively seeking Jonathan’s attention. On the other hand, Jonathan is extremely passive and experiences a longing desire for the women, even though he fears them. Craft believes that in this scene, the women acquire the male role as they are being dominant and persistent towards Jonathan, suggesting that he enjoys this inversion (445). Contrastingly, Dejan Kuzmanovic explains in “Vampiric Seduction and Vicissitudes of Masculine Identity in Bram Stoker’s Dracula,” that Jonathan is experiencing a “feminine identity crisis,” which he views as a negative aspect of his character (412). Kuzmanovic disregards the fact that these feminine characteristics of the men are a positive step towards gender equality in Victorian society. The men have the opportunity to promote gender equality but are unwilling to step out of their roles despite their unconventional nature.
Although Mina is capable of achieving gender equality, the men desire to continue their superior role in the Victorian age without allowing her to attain equal status in society.

The men treat Mina as if she is inferior to them by eliminating her free will and neglecting her in conversations when trying to defeat Dracula, even though she made it possible to find him in the first place. The men tend to think that they know what is best for Mina without giving her the option to contemplate situations for herself. Van Helsing, encouraging the rest of the men to leave Mina out, states “we men are determined…but it is no part for a woman…And, besides, she is young woman and not so long married; there may be other things to think of some time, if not now” (207). Van Helsing justifies his actions because Mina is a woman and overlooks her contributions that have led them closer to Dracula. Howes suggests that the men treat Mina this way because they are anxious that her involvement will lead to demolishing their superior role in society (114). They push Mina to return to her passive role and are unwilling to accept feminine equality in their community. Shortly after, the men decide that they should no longer keep secrets from Mina. Yet, once she is involved and accomplishes things that the men are unable to do, the men determine once again that it is best that she remains in the dark. This clearly indicates that the men value their superior status in society over gender equality. Mina never disobeys the men for excluding her because she has always been submissive to male authority. Instead, she sees this as the men’s eagerness to protect her. This is ironic because, while the men leave Mina alone to find Dracula, it is easier for him to start the process of transitioning her into a vampire. Their hostile treatment to Mina is a result of maintaining their superiority and their inability to adapt to modern

society.