The Oppression Of Women In Bram Stoker's Dracula

She is the darkest side of his husband because she is the main driving force behind the murder of Duncan because she encourages him, and the attempt to cover it up. She acts like the witches, with manipulation, showing him that to murder someone is not such a thing, and that he must “be a man”. What Lady Macbeth does not know, is that sooner or later the consequences arrive. She is blinded by her want for him to become king and her ambition wins. Additionally, Lady Macbeth takes the witches predictions and try to become them true, she leverages that opportunity to make it reality.

When Macbeth displays uncertainty regarding the murder of Duncan, Lady Macbeth uses his fear of not adhering to the masculine gender role of being cold-hearted and ambitious and only “when [Macbeth] durst do it, then [he was] a man”. (1.7.56) Upon first glance, it would seem as though Lady Macbeth is strong and powerful. However, Shakespeare uses the downfall of both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth to display that women in power are dangerous and corrupt. Due to Lady Macbeth’s coercion into the murder of Duncan, she allows and essentially encourages Macbeth to ravage all of Scotland.

‘Dracula’ is a modern play which is adapted, by Liz Lochhead, from the classic horror novel written by Bram Stoker. The play is set during the Victorian era and develops the key themes that were prevalent during this era such as sexual hypocrisy. Lochhead’s unusual approach paces much more significance on the female characters, in particular, Mina and Lucy and puts much less significance on the more well-known and traditional main characters Dracula and Van Helsing. This repression of sexual desires is expressed as Lucy struggles to cope with the social convention of how Victorian women had to behave.

Lucy is illustrated as someone who is continuously driven by sexual temptations and flirtatiousness. Stoker puts emphasis on her beauty, which is what grabs the attention of men. Lucy ends up getting killed because her sexual openness was seen as a threat to Victorian society. Stoker uses a character like Lucy in his novel to portray that sexually assertive women who try and use their beauty to win over men will not make it in the Victorian culture. On the other hand, when Dracula intimidates Jonathan during his effort to attack Mina, she reacts in the correct matter of what the Victorian culture would want her to.

Comparing lady macbeth and macbeth as they were murders and dangerous because society views them as normal people, Macbeth wanted to be king and Lady Macbeth wanted the whole power and they killed the king to gain their power. Lady Macbeth is a woman who is not frighten to take the authority over her actions. She was one and only, her actions made guys fall in love with her. This quote describes how her versions of reality were, “Lady macbeth Your face, my Thane, is as a book where men May read strange matters.

Huda Hashash 9th Grade Honors 1/4/16 Ms. Kelsey Final Draft The Witches Are More Evil By examining both Lady Macbeth’s and the witches actions, it was noticeable that both Lady Macbeth and the three witches have a great impact on Macbeth’s reactions. In the play and the book Macbeth, written by William Shakespeare, the hero, Macbeth, gets influenced by the humans surrounding him actions. However there are two main characters that affects Macbeth to develop from a loyal citizen into a corruptive human, those two characters are his wife, Lady Macbeth, and the three witches.

The power of a woman’s words, hands, actions, overpowered by the presence of men within the constructs of modern societies is a thought swayed by the power dynamics between Lady Macbeth and Macbeth. Macbeth, once a remorseful and kind man, is dominated by the power of his wife, her growing desire for power accentuated by the prophecy of the witches. Although this is true, they, in turn, become the opposite of who they were initially presented as; they play off of each other in a game of this and that, their doubts and securities washing away in different ways. Macbeth was known to be a kind man and Lady Macbeth surely took advantage of that.

In his play, Shakespeare portrays Lady Macbeth as a strong, powerful woman who resists the normal gender roles. In one case, she talked to spirits when contemplating the murder of King Duncan. While doing so, she urged, “Come, you evil spirits that tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here…” (1.5.41-42). Markedly, Lady Macbeth is shown here in this dark scene, asking to be less like a woman; therefore, defying gender roles because

She warps Macbeth’s internal conflict, the action to murder, or not to murder, by questioning the essence of his manhood. She entices Macbeth with the notion of kingship, the belief that being king will make him a greater man. Yet, the fall of Macbeth is not as easily done as the descent of Adam and Eve. While still not convince, but conflicted by words of his wife, Lady Macbeth says, “I have given suck, and know how tender ’tis to love the babe that milks me: I would, while it was smiling in my face, Have pluck'd my nipple from his boneless gums, And dash'd the brains out, had I so sworn as you have done to this”(I.VII.55-60). As a final effort to taste the forbidden fruit, Lady Macbeth contrast Macbeth’s intention with his actions by comparing it to her baby whose brains is bashed out.

Women are projected throughout history as seductresses. Empires have been lost kingdoms have been destroyed because of women’s evil nature. Helen of Troy and Cleopatra both are examples of how women could destroy empires. Today my research addresses the question how Lady Macbeth and Curley’s wife are used as tools of narrative.

As Lucy becomes a vampire, she becomes increasingly sexualized. Like the vampire ladies of Castle Dracula, her repressed sexuality comes to the surface, and she becomes the sexual aggressor, women in 1897 weren 't supposed to be the ones to ask for kisses. They were supposed to be

As Dracula spreads across the undead curse, he causes distress upon women in the novel. One being Lucy Holmwood, a young and sweet natured woman, who symbolizes purity and innocence in the novel. The trouble begins in Whitby, when she starts to sleepwalk. Initially, it seemed harmless, but one night, Lucy was found at the churchyard asleep and gasping for breath.

Dracula,being fascinating novel it is, captivated a huge audience with the help of the magnificent characters that take part in the novel (Artemis Literary Sources),however, the author Bram Stoker was able to create such an outstanding literary novel also by implementing brilliant levels of symbolism, and a captivating theme. To better understand the beauty behind this novel one must know some of Stoker’s background. This will ease the understanding of the symbolism, theme and plot used throughout the novel. Finally Dracula has received many reviews, most of which vary from a political view to a social view. Bram Stoker was born in Dublin, Ireland in 1847.

Rough Thesis: Stoker revolutionized nineteenth century society through Dracula by challenging the accepted sexual, domestic, and educational expectations of Victorian women and exposing the cultural anxieties such as loss of reputation and sexual freedom. Bram Stoker’s Dracula, a truly iconic work, redefines nineteenth century values and challenges the cultural anxieties of theVictorian era. But why did Stoker create such an erotically symbolic novel? In the Victorian era, this type of language was unheard of; therefore his work appeals to the unspoken conversation: sex. But, in his writings, Stoker does more than simply use language that was neither typical nor acceptable, he provokes controversy and change in the societal norms by arousing

The Battle of the Genders: Societal Limitations of Females What are some of the expectations that society has for men and women? Some may respond to this by discussing jobs. Others may talk about the responsibility of duties and the role of personality. There may even be a group of people that says that society no longer sets expectations for males and females.