'Dracula is a largely positive depiction of femininity in the late nineteenth century.' Discuss. Femininity explores the qualities of being female. Stoker gives a largely positive depiction of femininity in Dracula through different themes, like, Ideology, the New Woman, Gender Inversion and Sexual Desire. It seems that through the latter, Stoker may be trying to explore his homoerotic desires. In agreement with this, Roth states that the novel 'manages a fantasy which is congruent with a fundamental fantasy shared by many others.', showing that Dracula was not just Stoker exploring his own sexual wishes but was also felt by others in society, thus showing that femininity was on the rise. Patmore epitomises the perfect Victorian woman: …show more content…
However, Lucy's desires: 'Come to me Arthur. [...] My arms are hungry for you.' (Dracula, p.188) are stopped, whereas her husband's: 'Arthur placed the point over the heart, [...] Then he struck with all his might [...] his un-trembling arm rose and fell, driving deeper and deeper' (Dracula, p.192) are allowed. By having Lucy killed, Stoker presents a positive depiction of femininity as his original audience sees that a 'voluptuous' woman or elaborate femininity of any kind, is not accepted and that if women have these desires then they must suppress them and return to being an 'Angel in the House' …show more content…
Schaffer states that: 'Dracula explores Stoker's fear and anxiety as a closeted homosexual man' which he could be doing here through Harker. Schaffer explores a letter which Stoker wrote to Walt Whitman where he writes how they are from a specific: 'kind' and Schaffer thinks that: 'It is significant that Stoker believes' this, that it is as if: 'he belongs to a species set apart' which mirrors the way the Count is perceived. Through Jonathan and Dracula, Stoker could be trying to have his desired relationship with Oscar Wilde (Schaffer states that they had: 'an intimate [...] history') which shows a positive depiction of femininity as homosexuality was linked to femininity at the time of writing. In conclusion, positive femininity is evident throughout Dracula, with Stoker depicting this through the New Woman - Mina having a job, knowing shorthand and maybe not living to the exact ideology she was brought up in, yet also through stopping this 'elaborate' woman from living, as seen when Lucy is killed: 'Finally it lay still.' (Dracula, p.192). By doing this Stoker, allows his own views on the New Woman to be shown but also tells the reader that he understands the social anxiety surrounding the concept
The essay I chose to compare Dracula with was “Kiss Me With Those Red Lips: Gender and Inversion in Bram Stoker’s Dracula” by Christopher Craft. The essay explains the sexuality in Dracula, desire, gender, and even homosexuality. Craft mentions his essay gives an account of Stoker’s “vampire metaphor” (Craft 108). He highlights certain and very valid points in the story of Dracula that breaks the Victorian gender role, writing, “a pivotal anxiety of late Victorian culture.” (Craft 108).
The topic I have chosen for my essay is how Dracula is meant to remind society of the importance of religion, specifically Christianity, in Stoker’s time. I intend to do this through analyzing symbols in Dracula, drawing connections between these symbols and Christianity, and analyzing the implications Stoker attempts to make. I chose this topic because vampires and their sacrilegious implications, such as burning when touching a cross, have always been of interest to me, hence why I chose to study Dracula in the first place. My thesis is: Stoker uses Count Dracula as symbol to represent what society may become if they abandon religious beliefs.
Also, when the three female vampires appear before Jonathan, he characterizes them to have “dark, piercing eyes” and “ruby [red]” lips, which conveys that they are also among the evil in Dracula (Stoker
The fact that there were some role reversals in the novel, especially among the female characters, made most characters all the more dynamic. All the same, the novel was very obviously influenced by gender roles and when Stoker was writing Dracula there was an obvious dividing line between male and female characters that he would not cross. Stoker’s preoccupation with female sexuality in Dracula “is attested to by the fact that [gender roles] actually come to dominate the story, with the vampire hunters mainly concerned not with Dracula himself but with his effect on their beloved companions” (Dixon) While Mina, who represented the ideal Victorian woman, acted as a support system and assistant to the heroic group of men. While things have changed significantly for men and women alike in the modern age, Dracula will likely remain in place as one of the most famous and telling critiques of Victorian gender
Bram Stoker’s Dracula, is a classic that has been enjoyed by readers for many years. It is one that involves fantasy, gore and even has the potential of scaring readers. It is a story that has been enjoyed and feared by readers for centuries. With that said, even though it is commonly known as a classic horror novel, it can also be seen as an erotica. Throughout the novel, Stoker incorporates sexual scenes, and scenes of desire that may or may not capture readers’ attention due to the presence of horror.
Feminist Reading: Dracula between Beauvoir’s and Roth’s Ideas In her article, “Suddenly Sexual Women in Bram Stoker’s Dracula” Phyllis Roth argues that Dracula is a misogynistic novel which is obvious in the system of power in which men are dominant and active figures whereas women are just followers and obedient to their system. She draws on Simon de Beauvoir’s idea that “ambivalence as an intrinsic quality of Eternal Feminine”, in order to show that women are victims to men powers. In her chapter, “Myth and Reality”, Beauvoir discusses the way that anybody in the society, specially men, doesn’t do their job in taking a step towards the oppressed women, but to act just like what the system of myth impose them to act.
The major theme in the novel Dracula by Bram Stoker is the threat of female sexual expression. During this time period, female sexual behavior was frowned upon. Women were said to have to be either a virgin or a wife and mother. Social standards were very strict during this time, making it unheard of for women to show sexual expressions. In is era, the main concern was the role women had in society.
His novel, Dracula, tells the tale of five people who encounter and have to deal with the evil undead vampire Count Dracula, who terrorizes them and even causes two out of the five to become undead like himself. Thankfully, the group eventually discovers a way to eventually vanquish Dracula once and for all, and by the end of the book they destroy him, preventing him from terrorizing the people of Europe once and for all. Stoker explores several significant themes in this book, including the theme of deception. In Dracula, Stoker uses the theme of deception with the characterization of Dracula,
During the Victorian period in which Dracula was written, morals and ethics were often strictly enforced. Some of the morals that were upheld had to do with personal duty, hard work, honesty, as well as sexual proprietary. It was very important during this period that one was proper in their sexual behaviors and conventional in whom they had sexual relations with. However, during this period, many authors sought to challenge the ‘norm’ with ideas of reform and change and Bram Stoker was no exception to this. In his novel, Dracula, Stoker provides a critique of this rigidity in his portrayal of Dracula and Dracula’s relationship with Jonathan Harker.
The literature pieces help explore the subject of female sexuality, as time progress the amount of female sexuality increases. Women can desire, they can have aspirations, even though shown as vampires the text still suggests that they are women. The gothic writing of Victorian era such as Dracula, Carmilla, and Christabel help
Gothic horror novel Dracula, the title character makes only several relatively short appearances, some of which are while in disguise. Throughout the novel, Stoker keeps Count Dracula in the shadows, both literally and figuratively. This essay will describe these appearances and analyze Stoker’s use of them to determine what effect they might have on the impression of the character and the novel overall. It will be claimed that by keeping his title character hidden for much of the novel, Stoker’s Dracula is made much more frightening to the reader. Human beings tend to fear the unknown, and by leaving Dracula to the imagination,
In Bram Stoker’s gothic novel, Dracula, the overall and fundamental theme of the book is given away the further you read, expressing Stoker’s view of religion. The novel is an account of the paths taken by many different characters such as Count Dracula, Van Helsing, Jonathan Harker, Mina Murray and Lucy Westenra. Since this poem was written with ideas focused primarily on the concepts of evil, as it was viewed during an appearingly-conservative nineteenth and twentieth century society, the book can be seen as a parallel to Eliot’s and others’ own religious quests. While Bram Stoker attempts to acquaint the reader with a frightening tale on the accounts of a dreadful vampire named Count Dracula, he also expresses the goal of strengthening
“The impression I had was that we were leaving the West and entering the East” (Bram Stoker ) This is one of the opening statements with which Stoker’s main character, Jonathan Harker, starts his description of the landscape he encounters while traveling across the continent towards Transylvania. As we come to understand later on, this remark is the first of many to segregate the West from the East in Dracula, converting rural Transylvania into “a place where the supernatural reigns supreme.” (Light, 2009: 243).
Mina Murray Harker is a woman to inspire many. Bram Stoker, author of the classic gothic horror novel Dracula, intentionally creates the character of Mina Murray Harker to do just that - inspire women. Throughout Dracula, Mina goes through a multitude of ups and downs, like any character in a book. However, Mina is not like any other book character.
Dracula’s castle was just the beginning of what was to come. Jonathan 's meeting of the three female vampires it was a catalyst for what he believed was right and wrong. With the 3 women being polar opposites of what was expected from a 19th-century Victorian woman compared to the pure and proper Mina the 3 vampires are straight forward and dominant. Something that he had never experienced before and he can 't help that he is both attracted and repulsed by them. “ There was something about them that made me uneasy, some longing and at the same time some deadly fear.