Homosexuality In Dracula By Bram Stoker

Bram Stoker entertained a subject that was not an appropriate manor to be discussed during the time period in which it was written; sex, within the text of Stoker’s novel Dracula was something that both fascinated and horrified its audience. The concepts of this novel dove deep beneath the surface of normal sexual enticements, and gave the readers an image of abnormal sexuality between that of a human and a vampire, of normal person and a person of great power, of men and women, and even of men and men. Dracula’s sexual desires throughout the story line allows interpretation to Bram Stoker’s sexuality in real life.

To understand the concept of sexuality within the lines of Dracula, the reader must first understand how The Count Dracula’s bloodline works. The first idea of Dracula’s bloodline comes from the pivotal moment where Harker is confronted by three different women while in his castle. It seems as though these women are attempting to seduce Harker, but are driven away by Dracula once he

enters the room. So now the question arises as to who these women are. Critically, there are various opinions as to the relation of these women to Dracula; some critics state they are his daughters, his wives, and even his sisters. With the idea of these women being related to Dracula, also brings up the idea that Dracula’s blood line does not stay the same forever, but rather changes drastically overtime. Later in the novel, Dracula describes to Mina who these women are; “And you, their best beloved one, are now to me, flesh of my flesh; blood of my blood; kin of my kin; my bountiful wine-press for a while; and shall be later on my companion and helper” (Stoker 293).
Dracula gives the strict perception that his bloodline does in fact change over time. The women he chooses begin as his lover and his wife, then end up as his kin, his daughters. In the article A Vampire in the Mirror: The Sexuality of Dracula by John Allen Stevenson, he provides the idea that when choosing a woman to be his partner, Dracula is also picking his source of food. “For Dracula, though, the need for ‘foreign women’ is no mere hankering. Rather, because his sexual partner is also his food, the vampire must marry out or die”. This leads into how Dracula picks and chooses the souls with which he will interact. It is obvious that Dracula does not have boundaries when choosing that woman. In fact, Dracula seems to be drawn to that “foreign women” in the sense of pulling women away who have already been claimed for such as Lucy and Mina. As spoken to Van Helsing, Dracula claims that “Your girls that you all love are mine already; and through them you and all others shall yet be mine” (Stoker 312). This leads into how Dracula pursued Mina and his overall ability to do so with any woman he wishes.
Not only does Dracula continuously lust after women who don’t belong to him, he also relinquishes his power with the person of his choice to another once he has received what he wishes from that person, “Well, now I promise you that when I am done with him you shall kiss him at your will” (Stoker 47). This is a prime example of Dracula’s nature with his sexual partners; he uses them and then disposes of them at his will. Following Dracula’s pursuit of Mina, the band of men she supposedly belongs to give Mina a scar similar to that of Dracula’s in order to help identify her and differentiate her between a human and vampire. “…the scars on the vampires serve a dense semiotic function, marking Dracula and Mina as simultaneously untouchable, defiled, and damned - above all, different”, which in turn could be a key factor in Dracula’s sexual interest in Mina (Stevenson 141).
In the article Sexing the Book: The Paratexts of Bram Stoker’s Dracula by Brigitte Boudreau, she compares Stoker to that of the infamous Jack the Ripper. Boudreau gives the idea that Stoker compared the slayings and deaths within his vampire tale to that of the very real Jack the Ripper deaths. The idea is that Stoker wanted to ensure that his novel and the sex crimes intertwined with each other. “By sensationalizing his fictional preface with a reference to Jack the Ripper, Stoker implies that Dracula - like his murderous confrere - stands for perverse sexuality, and that this perversity truly represents a threat to society” (Boudreau 6). This could possibly give the reader insight into why Stoker profoundly used sexuality as a key focus throughout the novel.
One similarity between the famous ‘Jack and Drac’, is they were both believed to be infected with syphilis. Boudreau states her idea that Stoker had contracted the illness through a prostitute, which could potentially mean he became insane from the illness. Boudreau believes that Stoker wrote the novel Dracula in an insane haze, directed personally towards the prostitutes who invoked the illness upon him. In her article, she quotes another article from Elizabeth Miller entitled Coitus Interruptus: Sex, Bram Stoker, and Dracula to help make her case, “The staking of Lucy and the other vampire women are at once fantasies of total sexual power and of sexual revenge. The vampires, spreading ‘corruption’ and ‘infection’ are a version of the diseased prostitutes presumably responsible for Stoker’s illness…” The idea of Stoker’s possibly insanity gives the novel Dracula a new take on the sexuality that lies within the book. Having the knowledge of Stoker’s life and relationships before reading the text can be allow for multiple perceptions on the sexuality within the text.
The novel begins with hints of sexual innuendos, such as Harker and the three “weird sisters” who were about to kiss him. The novel continues on with much more in depth and erotic forms of description, such as the women’s “ruby voluptuous lips”, “burning desire that they would kiss me with those red lips”, and even “wicked desire”. In Kiss Me with those Red Lips by Christopher Craft, he describes his belief of Dracula’s initial intent of bringing Harker to his castle by stating “…sexual threat that this novel first evokes, manipulates, sustains, but never finally represents is that Dracula will seduce, penetrate, drain another male”. Dracula was even more enthralled in Harker by the sight of his blood once Harker nicked himself whilst shaving.
Although Dracula’s women are also involved with Harker, the immense sexuality pursued between Dracula and Harker gives some idea of homosexuality.

The three women give Harker the concept of heterosexual lust with homosexual tendencies. Harker describes his situation with the three women. “Lower and lower went her head as the lips went below the range of my mouth and chin and seemed to fasten on my throat… I could feel the soft, shivering touch of the lips on the supersensitive skin of my throat”. This would be an example of heterosexual tendencies between the women and Harker, showing his utter excitement with the woman at his throat. “…and the hard dents of the two sharp teeth, just touching and pausing there. I closed my eyes in a languorous ecstasy and waited - waited with a beating heart”, this line shows Harker’s homosexual cravings by giving his desires, such as the woman’s fang approaching his throat, and how he is excited for the moment of penetration (Stoker

52).
When first read it may seem as though Harker is aroused by the concept of the woman seducing him, however when put into a more in depth thought, Harker is idolizing the idea of penetration from the woman. The sexual tension is more of his want for her to penetrate him than it is the idea of a woman, Dracula then barges in to the room and stops the women from continuing. Dracula asserts that Harker is his, “How dare you cast eyes on him when I had forbidden it? Back, I tell you all! This man belongs to me” (Stoker 53). Stoker’s concept of sexuality interprets dominance, lust, and a sense of sacred bond between both he and his partner, no matter the sexuality of such.
Some critics have stated that the way Stoker’s novel is driven gives precepts to how Stoker was in real life. Boudreau also talks of the dedication of the novel, “…has been said to reveal telling autobiographical information about its author. Just as the Count had been touted as a figure of sexual defiance, the seemingly insignificant dedication of Stoker’s novel has likewise been linked to the author’s portrayal as a closeted homosexual” (Boudreau 2). The dedication at the beginning of the novel states “To My dead Friend Hommy-Beg”, which is seemingly both a term of endearment and a nickname given to his apparent lover, Hall Caine.
Boudreau sheds light on Caine and Stoker’s apparent relationship by forwarding from another piece written by Paul Murray, From The Shadow of Dracula: A Life of Bram Stoker. Stoker, married to Florence Balcombe, ended his marriage for a reason that was never clearly stated. However critics have their own perceptions, and Murray is no different. Murray conceives that Caine, a possible homosexual, moved to an address near Stokers, and formed a lifelong friendship. “Caine wrote later in life that the affection between two men could be as tender and strong as the love between women and men” (Boudreau 4).
Throughout the novel, Stoker seems to have given way to several different forms of sexuality and describes each in great detail. The idea that Stoker used his novel as a way to describe his life without truly identifying so is not as far off as once believed. Stoker gives ideas of both homosexuality and heterosexuality within the text and storyline, which in context can lead the reader to believe that Stoker had some unorthodox beliefs coming out within the text.
The overall perception of Stoker could be that his novel was influenced by his sexuality or that he was purely an imaginative, creative genius. Whichever the case, there is critical evidence and suggestive lines within the text that lead the reader to conclude Stoker’s homosexuality and the several counts of sexuality, both homo and heterosexuality within the story, are in fact connected. No matter the case, the immense amount of sexual context within the novel help develop the story of Dracula.