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Vin Signorile
Professor Swanson
EN 215-01
3 May 2016
Sexuality in Dracula: From Novel to Film
Sexuality is both prevalent in Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel Dracula, and in Francis Ford Coppola’s 1992 film version of Dracula. However, they are both portrayed in different ways. In the novel version of Dracula, the Count is shown as someone who is unable to love. He is also portrayed as someone who is physically ugly. Coppola’s film version of Dracula veered away from the norm of the book and turned Dracula into someone that is very sexual and able to love. The thought process behind Coppola’s decision could have something to do with making money, since sex sells. Sexuality will be compared in Stoker’s novel Dracula to Francis Ford Coppola’s film version of Dracula.
The article titled, A Vampire in the Mirror: The Sexuality of Dracula, written by John Allen
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Stevenson, discusses how in the novel Mina Harker is the object of Dracula’s attention and that, “the problem is one of loyalty: the danger is not that she will be captured but that she will go willingly” (Stevenson 139). Stevenson is saying that there is no need for the Count to kidnap her, because she will go voluntarily anyway. This an example of Dracula’s desire in where he does not kidnap his victims, but instead lures them in like a predator. In the novel Dracula, Mina is shown as someone who is charming and intelligent. In Coppola’s film Dracula, Mina seems to have lost those traits. As depicted in Bride of Dracula: From Novel to Film, by Carol Senf, Senf discusses how Mina loses her smartness in the film version. Senf says that Stoker is, “unwilling to let her express her sexuality open[ly]” (Senf 70). Senf gives credit to Bram Stoker for portraying Mina as a heroine, and also says how it was nice that Stoker painted women as human beings who are complete and interesting (Senf 70). Senf appears to be taking a shot at Coppola’s film version, as she might have found it to be offensive in the way that women are portrayed. It is true that women are shown to be more sexual in the film. An example of this in the film is when the gypsies are lying on the bed naked pleasuring themselves. One could make the case that this type of sexuality being portrayed in the film could be degrading toward women. One of the issues is that the novel was written in 1897, while the film was made in 1992. The problems that arise with themes of sexuality are that as time has passed society has increasingly become more sexualized. Something that was considered very sexual in 1897, was not considered sexual in 1992. Another reason why Coppola made Dracula more sexualized could be to sell tickets, knowing that sex sells. In both the novel and film version of Dracula, there are three types of women portrayed.
The first type of woman portrayed is the asexual victim (Senf 67). This is Lucy, before her transformation. As Lucy transforms into a vampire she becomes more sexualized. “Come to me, Arthur. Leave these others and come to me. My arms are hungry for you. Come, and we can rest together. Come, my husband, come (Stoker 181). This quote shows the sexualization of Lucy after the transformation, and shows how sexually aggressive she is being. The second type of women being portrayed is the women at Dracula’s castle, and Lucy, after her transformation, which play the part of the sensual vampire-brides (Senf 67). This type of women being portrayed is the opposite of the asexual type. These types of women are portrayed as over-sexual. The third type of women portrayed in Dracula, “are fully developed human beings” (Senf 67). The woman that this closely resembles is Mina. Even though Mina is not nearly as well developed in Coppola’s film version, as she is in Stoker’s novel, she still possesses some of the similar
qualities. In Coppola’s film version of Dracula, he brings some new ideas to the film. This includes hinting at AIDS. The British Film Institute suggested that AIDS was thrown in secretly in a few lines that are connected with sex, blood, and disease (“British Film Institute” 10). This source confirms the belief of why the film version had more sexuality in it. They say the reason is due to the way society was back in 1897, and still is today. They wanted to portray Dracula as more modern (“British Film Institute” 10). “He’s not a pervert. He might occasionally turn to male flesh (between the scenes in the film as the chapters in the book) and have on hand female vampires mutually pleasuring each other” (“British Film Institute” 12). The Count may be seen as a lot of different things in both the film and novel version, but the one thing he cannot be seen as is a pervert. He is however, extremely manipulative and has a lot of tricks up his sleeve. The British Film Institute hint that there is some homosexuality going in Dracula involving the Count, in both the film and novel version. This is a big deal considering what homosexuality was thought of in each of their respected time periods. Bram Stoker’s novel was written in 1897, and during that time period it was extremely frowned upon and almost unheard for people to be openly homosexual. It is a big deal for it even to be hinted at the slightest bit upon in Stoker’s novel. Fast forward to 1992, when Coppola’s film version was made, homosexuality was more common and was not thought of as such a big deal. As for the female vampires pleasuring themselves, that is seen in the film version and shown in an extremely sexual way, unlike Stoker’s Dracula, which again was due to the time period it was written in. There are many other sexual differences from novel to film in Dracula. For instance, in Stoker’s novel, Lucy Westenra is portrayed as innocent, demure, and even a bit prudish. In Coppola’s film, Lucy is shown as the total opposite. She is hyper-sexualized and perverted. This could be due to the time period, in which Coppola wanted to have a hyper-sexualized female character since sex sells. Another reason could be that Coppola could have thought that transforming Lucy into almost a completely different character could introduce something new and make for a better storyline. Still, the differences between novel to film Lucy are ominous. It is almost to the point of insulting to women by having Lucy appear so different from her character in the novel. Another sexual difference is in Stoker’s novel Mina gets blessed with a communion wafer that is placed on her head by Van Helsing. In Coppola’s version Mina is being seductive and trying to kill Van Helsing. He only places the communion wafers on Mina’s head to stop her from attacking him. The reason why Coppola could have changed this part around is, it adds for a more interesting concept. More people would probably like to see Mina trying to kill Van Helsing, rather then Stoker’s version, in which the scene in basically sex free. The next sexual difference from novel to film is the Count’s ability to love. In the novel, Dracula is shown as someone who is not able to love, as he is not in love with Mina, or any other woman. In the film, Dracula is very much able to love, and that is displayed in many scenes throughout the film. One scene in particular is the gypsies around Dracula who are shown as hyper-sexualized women in the film. Another scene is when Dracula falls in love with Mina. This was surprising, considering nothing in Stoker’s version of Dracula led anyone to believe that anything along the lines of this would occur. A reason why Coppola could have choose to add this, is to provide the audience with a theme of romance. Perhaps he felt this made the story feel more balanced. Sexuality plays a big role in both Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula, and Francis Ford Coppola’s film version of Dracula. The amount of sexual differences between novel to film are astounding. This is especially true with many of the main characters. Mina, in the novel is shown as smart, witty, and charming. Mina loses these features during the film version. On top of that, Mina becomes very sexualized. She seduces Van Helsing in the film, something that is never shown in the novel. Also, Lucy is shown as innocent in the novel version, but is almost seen as perverted in the film. The Count is seen as someone who is unable to love in the novel, but in the film is seen to be in love with Mina. The reason for all these differences in sexuality from novel to film could be simple, sex sells. Coppola’s film was made in 1992, a time where sexuality was growing compared to Stoker’s novel, which was written in 1897. The novel to film sexual differences present interesting examples of how different time periods change the way people view different details. Works Cited British Film Institute. "Dracula And Desire. (Cover Story)." Sight & Sound 3.1 (1993): 8- 12. Academic Search Complete. Web. 10 Mar. 2016. http://monmouth-staff.cliohosting.com/GetUpload/Borrowing/4090 Password: 768f8c Senf, Carol A.. “Brides of Dracula: From Novel to Film”. Studies in Popular Culture 7 (1984): 64–71. Web... http://bluehawk.monmouth.edu:2083/stable/pdf/23412964.pdf Stevenson, John Allen. “A Vampire in the Mirror: The Sexuality of Dracula”. PMLA 103.2 (1988): 139–149. Web... http://bluehawk.monmouth.edu:2083/stable/pdf/462430.pdf?acceptTC=true Stoker, Bram. XVI. Dr. Seward's Diary. Dracula. London: Constable &, 1897. 178-86. Print.
...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.
J. Gordon Melton, in the excerpt “Sexuality and the Vampire” published in his The Vampire Book: The Encyclopedia of the Undead (1998), explains that vampires have a sexual appearance that started from their origin in Dracula. Melton supports his statement by analyzing the monsters' transition to sexual beings through the stories of Dracula’s desires, multiple countries’ erotic tales revolving around vampire-like beings, the manifestation of sensual themes in literary, stage, and screen works, and their current evolution of the once terrified immortals to loved heroes. The purpose of this essay was to outline the seductiveness of the written immortal creatures in order to explain the fanged-mammals’ appeal beyond their terrifying monster abilities.
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,
The late nineteenth century Irish novelist, Bram Stoker is most famous for creating Dracula, one of the most popular and well-known vampire stories ever written. Dracula is a gothic, “horror novel about a vampire named Count Dracula who is looking to move from his native country of Transylvania to England” (Shmoop Editorial Team). Unbeknownst of Dracula’s plans, Jonathan Harker, a young English lawyer, traveled to Castle Dracula to help the count with his plans and talk to him about all his options. At first Jonathan was surprised by the Count’s knowledge, politeness, and overall hospitality. However, the longer Jonathan remained in the castle the more uneasy and suspicious he became as he began to realize just how strange and different Dracula was. As the story unfolded, Jonathan realized he is not just a guest, but a prisoner as well. The horror in the novel not only focuses on the “vampiric nature” (Soyokaze), but also on the fear and threat of female sexual expression and aggression in such a conservative Victorian society.
Stevenson, John Allen. A Vampire in the Mirror: The Sexuality of Dracula. 2nd ed. Vol. 103. N.p.: Modern Language Association, 1988. JSTOR. Web. 6 Jan. 2014. .
Le Fanu’s approach using gothic tropes is obvious here, as he uses the tabooed deviations from the sexual norm, to explicitly showcase the rise of the New Woman, chasing sexual freedom. One of the main differences between Dracula and “Carmilla” is the way each author interconnects the gothic trope of sexuality. Carmilla is portrayed as beautiful and majestic (Le Faun Chapter III). Whereas, Dracula is portrayed as a horrid, hairy and harmful looking man (Stoker Chapter II). While both Stoker and Le Fanu create creatures that both hold power over there victims, Le Fanu effectively uses Carmilla’s beauty, to portray her victims as more willing. Therefore, readers’ are lead to believe that Carmilla depends more on the act of seduction, referring to the very strong lesbian undertones. By drawing on this, Dracula is predominately a more vicious attacker. This separates Carmilla from her male counterparts as Carmilla is seducing victims in a very literal sense, opposed to Dracula whose victims are just under his trance. Therefore, what has already been alluded to in Carmilla’s case, becomes explicit in Stoker’s Dracula. This is apparent during Johnathan being tempted and repelled (Stoker Chapter III) by the three vampires. However, Dracula focuses mainly on facets of male homosexuality and male hegemony, and
Bram Stoker’s Dracula illustrated fears about sexual women in contrast to the woman who respected and abided by society’s sexual norms. Joseph Sheridan LeFanu’s “Carmilla” represented not only the fear of feminine sexuality, but also the fear of sexuality between women. John William Polidori’s “The Vampyre” showed society’s fear of sexuality in terms of the seductive man who could “ruin” a young girl.These texts are representative of vampire stories in the Victorian Era, and will be the focus here.
The Victorian England setting and culture of “Dracula” by: Bram Stoker attributes to many stylistic components and character behaviours in the novel. One of which is the behaviour and actions characters express that are a result of sexual repression. In Dracula, sexual repression is best expressed by the character’s desire to create. This desire is exemplified by the way Dracula creates other vampires, Lucy’s sexual desires, and the men’s expression of aggression. The creation of other Vampires is evident through events including Dracula’s aggressive encounters with Lucy and Mina, and the fact the Dracula is building up a Vampire army. Lucy’s sexual desires are exemplified through her longing to have sex with multiple men and how she compares
Conclusively, while Bram Stokers novel Dracula is seen as a gothic and horror story, I argue that it is a novel that seeks to address female sexuality directly. Seen through numerous passages, Stoker confronts and battles the views between sexuality during the Victorian era though his genius of characterization of characters present within the novel. As it seems highly intentional to me, I respect the way in which he criticizes and critiques upon female sexuality by bringing into light new ideas regarding female desires. When contrasting his text upon today’s culture, the differences to how one perceived the vampire has changed significantly.
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 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.
There is much criticism of Dracula. There is so much symbolism depicted in the novel that many argue as to what exactly Bram Stoker was trying to get across to his audience. Some believe that his suppressed feelings of homosexuality were shows in the novel, as well as other things such as the fear of the anti-Victorian beliefs of that time. Broker did not survive to see how popular his novel became, so no one will ever truly know what bottled up feelings Stoker had while writing Dracula.
The legend of the vampire has emerged countless times within human imagination over the past few centuries. The first available representation of the mythical creature in prose fiction can be found in John Polidori’s “The Vampyre” (1810). It was not until eight decades later that Bram Stoker popularized the existence of this figure with the publication of “Dracula” in 1897. The folklore of the vampire has come a long way since and can be found in today’s popular media more frequently than ever before. However, with due course of time, the representation of the creature has taken alternate routes and today’s vampires are noticeable different – socially and physically – from their predecessors. One effective path to trace this transformation is to compare arguably modern day’s most famous representation of the vampire, Stephanie Meyer’s “Twilight” with “Dracula”, the foundation from which a large number of modern works draw inspiration. Examining this comparison closely, one finds that a new socially acceptable, sexually abstinent and desirable creature is fast replacing the fearsome and sexually voracious monster, as depicted in early tales of the vampire.
The women in Coppola’s film all seem to exhibit the sexuality of women, and are represented as lustful demons. Lucy Westenra (Sadie Frost) is one of the most sexualised characters, and in the film even before she was turned into a vampire, she is shown as a sex crazed fiend. Furthermore, the three vampire women at Dracula’s castle are also...