Stereotypes In Dracula

The Battle of the Genders: Societal Limitations of Females

What are some of the expectations that we have for men and women? Some may respond to this by talking about jobs. Others may talk about responsibility of duties and personality. There may even be a group of people that says that society no longer sets expectations for males and females. In Dracula there are gender roles that are set for both males and females. The story begins with a lawyer named Jonathan Harker who is trying to finalize selling a house to Count Dracula. Things start to fall apart when Jonathan realizes that Dracula is a vampire. To make matters even worst, Dracula starts to intervene into Mina’s life, Jonathan’s soon-to-be wife. Dracula attacks Lucy several times when

she sleepwalks. Eventually, Lucy dies and it is the job of Lucy’s friends, Dr. Van Helsing, Quincy Morris, John Seaward, Jonathan Harker and of course her best friend Mina to take Dracula down. Throughout the book, the group must face many obstacles and tribulations to catch Dracula and to save Mina from becoming a vampire. In Bram Stoker’s Dracula, the fierce gender roles limits a women’s potential through both the suppression of female sexuality and women’s empowerment.
In the novel, women are set to the standard that they must be weak and powerless. This can be shown when Dr. Van Helsing explains how a blood transfusion from one of the men will be helpful for Lucy, “A brave man's blood is the best thing on this earth when a woman is in trouble. You're a man, and no mistake” (213). To explain, Van Helsing is stating that a woman who is in trouble needs to be saved by a man. In fact, according to Van Helsing, a man is the only one that can save a women from any pain or distress. To a woman this sends the message that she is incapable of doing anything useful. When someone is sent a message like this, it not only degrades them but causes them to lose confidence to do anything. This is the very reason why men are given the role to be in charge. Accordingly, the view that men have to be the pants of a relationship has prevented women from taking on leadership opportunities.
In addition for men being considered in charge in a relationship, a man also had an effect on the way a women dresses.

One notable example of this idea can be found when Mina and Lucy were walking home from Lucy’s sleepwalking event. This is demonstrated when Mina explains, “…I daubed my feet with mud, using each foot in turn on the other, so that as we went home, no one, in case we should meet any one, should notice my bare feet” (134). Even though there is an extremely understandable explanation for why Mina does not have shoes, she still frantically worries about someone seeing her feet. In the novel, the woman had to constantly worry about what they look like just because of what others might think. Another example is found after Mina received a mark on her forehead from the holy wafer that Van Helsing placed on it to protect her. Mina felt subsocnscious about the mark while traveling to the Count’s castle, “Ever since then I have taken care not to take off my hat or veil, and so have escaped their suspicions” (517). As a result of others judging her, Mina felt pressured to wear a hat in order to cover her scar. All in all, external pressures have such a strict control of women’s lives in Dracula that they must even worry about something as superficial as

appearance.
In Dracula, women are continuously judged by society and are afraid to make any choices that might displease those around them. One example of societal rules of a women is found when Lucy and Mina discuss what a proper wife looks like. Lucy writes, “A woman ought to tell her husband everything—don't you think so, dear” (83). To reemphasize, everywhere a woman looks in society in Dracula, she is told what to do, how to act, and even how to think. This is clearly shown within Lucy as she has an idea of what a perfect wife should be like without any experience herself. The only reason she had these ideas is because her society has teaches her what to think of a woman and what to expect. Yet another piece of evidence can be found from Jonathan’s perspective of what a marriage should be. This is shown when Jonathan states, “You know, dear, my ideas of the trust between husband and wife: there should be no secret, no concealment” (466). Instead of making her own choices, a woman is forced to let the society around her choose what her marriage is supposed to look like. Not only do woman hear what they should be like from the society around them but they also hear it from the men in their lives. This leads to men having control over women due to societal pressure and suppression of a women’s confidence.
During this time period, the man was the only one who was allowed to be intelligent and respected. Throughout the novel, Mina is extremely helpful in helping take down Dracula. In fact, without her they probably would not have been able to destroy him. However, the men in the novel cannot see Mina for what she is: a woman. One remarkably clear example of this can be found when Van Helsing describes Mina to the other men, “[Mina] has a 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” (335). To clarify, Van Helsing explicitly states that because Mina is intelligent and astute, she must have the brain of a man. Why can she not have the brain of a female? He further goes on to state that Mina had the heart of a woman because she is so gentle and caring. In summary, according to Dracula’s society if one is smart then they must be a man and if one is kind then she must be a woman. By setting these standards for both males and females, this definitely puts restrictions on what one can do. Instead of congratulating Mina on her achievements and inspiring her to do more, this message from her own friends causes her to feel that she should not be smart because that is what a man should be. This mental to set to perceive women as weak and powerless, not only put down women but it also empowered the men in society.
Female sexual expression was also another key factor in how males dominate women in the novel.

In the Victorian era in which the novel took place, there were two main perceptions of the female: either she would get married and then have children or she would have sex before marriage and was considered a slut/promiscuous. For example, according to “In the Blood”, blood transfusions in the novel are a symbol of sex. Lucy was given blood transfusions from Arthur, Van Helsing, and John. Hence, Lucy should be considered “loose” in her society but since her acts where kept secret she was not. Lucy was very liked in the novel as she was proposed to by three different men, but if it were known that she was more in touch with her sexual side she would be thought of as ¬¬menial and would be shunned from society. Hence, based off of one aspect of a female she was either considered proper or unworthy of respect. This belief also connects with the restriction of physical appearance, as a women was not allowed to show her sexual side to anyone. Her role was strictly to be the mother of a man’s children and to be the house

wife.
Although some may say that these reservations did not truly hold back women, the text displays a different story. The main argument against women’s disempowerment in the novel is that a women could have broken free from society. However this is not the case. Marriage in the novel as well as Victorian society was viewed as mandatory as well as part of life. It would typically go along the lines of that a man would ask a woman to marry him and while he would work she would raise the children and help him out with his career. This is exemplified when Lucy explains, “I supposed that we women are such cowards that we think a man will save us from fears, and we marry him” (84). There was really no other option for women to support themselves then marriage. Women had not power without having a husband to support them. In fact it was their main role to support their husband. This idea is shown when Mina writes, “When we are married I shall be able to be useful to Jonathan, and if I can stenograph well enough I can take down what he wants to say in this way and write it out for him on the typewriter, at which also I am practicing very hard” (79). In their society it was common and viewed as proper for a women to strive to help her husband succeed. However, by devoting all of her time to her husband, women in Dracula disregard their own ambitions to succeed.
All in all, the views of society in the Victorian Era limited women in almost every aspect of her life. From controlling how a women should look to how her marriage should be, everything was controlled by society. Women were forced to be the weak and helpless image that men needed to rescue. Even if a women did have enough courage to try to break away, there was nothing that she could even do to provide for herself. Perhaps without all of these limitations, a women may have made more of an impact on society. Furthermore, women could have been many answers to some of the greatest problems facing that time. This is summed up beautifully by Gloria Steinem when she states, “Women are always saying, 'We can do anything that men can do.' But Men should be saying, 'We can do anything that women can do” (2).