Masculinity In Dracula

Bram Stoker’s Dracula has many examples of Gender Criticism throughout the text. While most male characters tend to be masculine in the Victorian era in which it was written, there are many instances where these male characters exhibit feminine characteristics. There are also female characters that take on a masculine role, completely deviating from their normal conforming feminine ways of the time. Understanding what normal man and woman behaviors are for this period in time is essential in pointing out the inconsistencies that make certain characters seem out of the normal expectations. The Victorian era is one that differs from conformities of today. During the course of the story it is written from many points of view, it is told through

journal entries, letters, notes, and telegrams. There are several characters that interact with each other to portray their part in the story, showing those that are acting outside of the normalcy of the Victorian era will support that idea that the text was written differently than most others during the Victorian era.

Dracula portrays characters opposite of their typical gender role of the Victorian era that would be acceptable in modern time.

Throughout the story, there are many examples of gender oriented criticism. Women such as Mina and the vampire brides show their masculinity in a variety of ways. This masculinity is not the normal way that women are perceived in this time of the story. Mina is a strong female lead character. She is an assistant schoolmistress with a passion for learning the new technology of her time, is very intelligent and independent, and a very hard worker. Van Helsing raves of Mina, “Ah, that wonderful Madam Mina! She has a man’s brain-a brain that a man should have were he much gifted-and

a woman’s heart” (242). His statement perceives men as the smarter of the genders, if a woman is smart then she is said to have a man’s brain. Mina is a strong woman in the sense that she suffers the loss of her best friend, she has to take care of her sick husband, and she endures tragedies but is still strong enough to comfort others. Mina references the “New Women” several times, one in particular, “Some of the ‘New Women’ writers will someday start an idea that men and women should be allowed to see each other asleep before proposing or accepting. But I suppose the New Woman won’t condescend in future to accept; she will do the proposing herself” (111). Mina embodies the New Woman with the way she carries herself, her intelligence and independence. In this time frame it would be shocking for a woman to propose to a man or to see a man as he sleeps. Women and men were not allowed to be put in certain situations, they were in a more controlled setting and were supervised in their visits. Mina’s reasoning for being who she is, hard worker an intelligent, is to be useful to Jonathan after they marry, not to empower herself, though in a sense her knowledge and ambition does empower her.
While Dracula has his powerful masculine moments, he has many feminine characteristics that stand out and make one wonder about his sexuality. This reversal of gender traits brings the reader to look at what is considered normal behaviors in today’s society while comparing it to the Victorian era and how it was not deemed normal. Count Dracula is a very strong and powerful character and is the antagonist in this story. He has masculine role when he shows his control over the female vampires by telling the women, “How dare you cast your eyes on him when I had forbidden it?... This man belongs to me!” exerting his power over them. It shows that he comes before the women, his needs are met first and he makes the decisions. At the same time, Dracula also has long nails and red lips, showing a more feminine side. His red lips are equivalent to lipstick, and the long nails are similar to those the girls would have are not traits the men of that era would have. He also had an impeccable taste for housekeeping as he did all the cleaning and household chores himself, he was the one who cooked all the meals for Jonathan pointing him more towards a female role. Men are not cast in a feminine light in this era, so even though Dracula exhibits masculine power he also has many feminine ways about his character.
A solicitor, Jonathan, also exhibits many feminine tendencies as he moves through the story line. He finds Dracula polite and inviting as he is welcomed in and provided a filling supper. Jonathan is made to feel at home, given permission to explore the premises with the exclusion of the locked areas, and enjoyed conversations with Dracula. As time goes on, Jonathan finds himself a prisoner in Dracula’s home. Dracula is in control of Jonathan’s being, he tells him who to write letters to and what to write as well as date them for different dates. Jonathan finds himself in a submissive role doing exactly what is asked of him out of fear, he begins counting down his final days while trying to figure a way to escape and save his life. Jonathan’s submissive femininity in this sense is more for his own survival.
Jonathan was warned by the Count not to fall asleep in any place other than the safety of his own room, but he found a door at the top of the stairway that opened with some force. He was so content in this place he found that he eventually fell asleep, waking to three ladies standing in the moonlight. The lady vampires are voluptuous and sexual, they are also very aggressive and thirsty for blood. The women are in a more masculine role as they defy Dracula and try to take what they want. These women are trying to be the controllers and overpower Jonathan for their desires. Jonathan is being more feminine as he lies on the couch waiting for the females to kiss him. He wants the women and their beauty to take advantage of him, he is submissive to their wants. Renee Fox explains Jonathan’s behavior in his article, “Building Castles in the Air: Female Intimacy and Generative Queerness in Dracula.” Fox writes, “Yet even as Jonathan’s desire to be seduced by the vampire women demonstrates the novel’s inability to sustain any kind of queer masculinity without ultimately collapsing into heterosexual anxiety, the thoughts that precede it nonetheless offer a momentary utopian turn toward queer female intimacy that combines both respite and generative history” (599). This is just one example of the queerness throughout the novel.
Lucy is a female character that embodies everything feminine, she is the pretty one, innocent and vulnerable. She is what a woman is supposed to be. She is pure and innocent, she is preyed upon by Dracula. Lucy starts to sleepwalk a lot and eventually Mina tries to lock her inside at night. One night Lucy gets out and Mina finds her outside lying back with something towering over her. Lucy has become a victim of Dracula and was drawn to him as she left the safety of the house to find him. Later in the story, Lucy’s character is portrayed as more aggressive when she turns into a vampire herself. Lucy lured children away from their homes to feed upon them, she aggressively fought to return to the safety of her tomb. She showed no sympathy or remorse towards others as she preyed on the children and led them to the graveyard where she fed upon them and left them. Lucy’s appearance became more haggard and not the pretty, innocent looking girl she was at the beginning of the story.
When reading the articles provided at the conclusion of Dracula, it provides further insight into the schools of criticism and how they relate within the text. The gender role swaps are prevalent in the text but since it is considered normal today, it might take some looking at to really see all of the examples. Sos Eltis provides insight on the roles of gender being flipped throughout the story of Dracula in “Corruption of the Blood and Degeneration of the Races: Dracula and Policing the Borders of Gender”. The view of what was generally perceived as male traits and female traits were put into question if you look at how the characters are portrayed. For this time period it wasn’t something that would be normally done, yet it was and became a classic monster tale. Mina was the standout character to be the symbol of the New Women idea this book had for a heroine that could be a women lead amongst the males around them. Eltis writes, “The greatest danger of the New Woman, however, was her supposed threat to the future of healthy civilization and the human race” (569). When something is different and not completely understood, it is sometimes hard to see it in a positive way. Mina was not bringing danger, she was a symbol of the changes to come and how women would be given more opportunities in the world. “Dracula at first glance seems to express with precision these contemporary fears of degeneration and the dangers of the New Woman” (570). Behaviors that are not considered normal are feared and at times blown out of proportion as people try to make sense of what is new and unclear to them.
Dracula was written around a time where changes were being made to give women more rights and voice but at the same time, strong women were perceived as a threat.

Mina tried to distance herself from the New Woman by pointing out things like she ate so much at tea time that she would have shocked the New Woman with her appetite. Mina also references that fact that the New Women “will introduce the idea that men and women should be allowed to see each other asleep before proposing or accepting” (111). Mina is just expressing what the New Woman would do while excluding herself from being tied to them. Mina is very smart and this is a way for her to keep herself from being viewed as one of them. If someone is viewed as different and a threat to others why would one want to connect themselves to that person or group. It is easier to exist in a world where you conform to the expected standards rather than draw unwanted attention to one’s self. Eventually the more independent or progressive women developed and views changed. Nowadays when a man has more feminine ways and characteristics or a woman has more masculine traits, it does not stand out as abnormal. Understanding gender traits and how they relate to the era in which they are being explored help a reader to understand what is actually being written. A story that is written in a different era should be read with an open mind and with an intent to understand what the author is actually trying to portray in the usage of gender

criticism.
Stereotypes are substantiated in many ways such as Lucy being more of a sweet innocent woman, but they are also challenged as the brides of Dracula are aggressive and dominate. The brides are depicted as evil and not representing how the woman of the Victorian era should behave. Mina is not the submissive woman but an intelligent, professional who is knowledgeable of the new technologies and how they work while being more outspoken, but as she steps away from the path of what is normal, she is still not an evil character. As for men being feminized, Jonathan is submissive to Dracula, he lets the vampire brides dominate him, and he even suffers a woman’s ailment when he hallucinates. Van Helsing is more of a stronger male character that fits within the normal characteristics of a man of that time. Dracula seems to waver between being a powerful, strong, domineering character, and showing feminine characteristics as he takes care of his household duties as a woman would and also is conscious of his appearance. Dracula provides its reader with a wide variety of examples of what is considered normal or not for female and male roles of the Victorian era.
Dracula does not follow the typical writings of the Victorian era, roles of the characters do not fall within the traditional gender portrayal. The story does provide the reader with more than enough information to challenge the typical male and female character roles and how they are portrayed.