How Does Bram Stoker Use Religion In Dracula

While topics of a carnal nature can be considered risqué today, in the era that Bram Stoker wrote Dracula such topics were considered all the more unseemly. By blurring this line, Stoker was able to further lure in the reader with glimpses of things perceived as forbidden. While there are several undeniably racy and shocking moments that stand out, there are nuances of romance, violence, and sex flowing through the background of the story that are not always obvious at first glance. He was able to do this in a number of ways. Firstly, Stoker refrains from presenting Dracula in human form through most of the story.

In the novel Dracula, Bram Stoker highlights the theme of sexuality that challenge ideas of sex to both the female and male characters. The author objectifies the female characters in the novel to be over sexualized and portrays sex to empower women. Stoker may present the theme of female sexuality; however, he demonstrates gender inequality triumphs at the end leaving women in the shadows again. Women in the eighteenth century hardly had any type of power outside of overseeing the household and they probably contained much less power expressing any type of sexual emotions. Stoker’s novel gives readers a different perspective of the female sexuality as if almost empowering women and stating that they too can be sexual creatures like men.

According to the Victorian Web, a new and budding author named Bram Stoker entered the world in the year 1847, on the eighth of November. From a young age, Stoker loved to read about folklore, and later on in life he aspired to be an author. Although Stoker published several stories, only in the year 1897 did he publish his most well-known novel, Dracula. After this success, Stoker went on to write several other novels, and eventually died in the year 1912. (Scarborough)

An Analysis of the Unvoiced Villain and Sex Undertones in Dracula Most readings of Dracula have covered an emphasis on the theme of sexuality, about homoeroticism, blood-transmitted disease, new women of the Victorian era, and perverse sexual practices. These subjects at the repressed Victoria era, as well as sexuality, were considered to be unspeakable in the public sphere. Women were required to be faithful to men; and sex between men was illegal. Yet Stoker’s text serves more than bringing up the taboo of discussing sexuality at that time.

In Victorian society, women had the choice between two roles: the pure woman or the fallen woman. Bram Stoker plays with these anxieties revolving around female sexuality – he follows the gothic tradition of innocent damsel in distress against looming evil. The narrative structure Stoker imploys to the text through intertextuality reveals multiple point of view distinguishing a duality in Lucy - her true self and 'thing'. In order to cope with Lucy’s worsening condition, the male authoritative figures of the text assign a duality present in Lucy to make sense of her shifting from “pure woman” to “fallen woman”. Stoker exhibits in the structure of the multi-faceted narrative how certain characters are unable to cope with the duality present

In Bram Stoker’s, “Dracula”, the novel shows many examples of its characters both subverting and reinforcing the traditional gender roles of the victorian age. During this time period, a very cliched version of gender roles is portrayed. The subversions shown throughout the novel were very scary in a way to the audience of the Victorian time. This was due to the very uptight culture of people during this time and the very unconventional actions performed during the novel. Many characters show these subversions through their personality, but also through their actions.

What would it be like to be a vampire? What would it be like to have a vampire in one’s life? What were the vampires of folklore like? These topics will be reviewed throughout this essay by comparing four of the vampire books and movies. All the vampire movies have some similarities and differences but four literature pieces in particular will be gone through in this comparison.

Throughout Bram Stoker 's time in the Victorian Era, societal norms were prevalent in terms of the seclusion of women 's rights, as well as the religious revival of Catholicism. The time in which Stoker lived was when Catholicism made its breakthrough in english societies. In terms of prominent time periods,"The Victorian Age is in fact above all others an age of religious revival" (Arnstein 149). Because religion was one of the largest changes in the Victorian era, Bram Stoker was surrounded by efforts of incorporating Catholicism back into everyday life. In addition, Stoker grew up in an environment where the "Problem of women 's emancipation in nineteenth century Britain was...recognition for their achievements" (Jihang 49).

The Rejection of Victorian Ideals in Dracula Within Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Stoker gives readers an interesting yet controversial look into what love and sexuality is like in Victorian society. In the 19th century men and women had distinct roles. Women were confined to their homes and burdened with the idea that they couldn’t do the jobs that the men did and that they were only useful for being subservient and dependent. Men had the privilege of being able to vote and work imperative jobs outside of the home (“Gender Roles in the 19th Century”).

History and modernity work together to prove that you can’t have one and not the other. History has great influence over modern day; the shadows of the past are very noticeable in the present. Throughout the novel, Dracula, there is symbolism and contrasts that include the intertwining of history and modernity. Dracula and Transylvania represent history old ideologies and ways of life. The rest of the characters, such as Jonathan Harker, Mina and Van Helsing, and the setting of England represent modernity and progress.