Suppressing Feminism
In 1897, after seven years of writing, Dracula was finally published. Written by Bram Stoker during the Victorian Era. There was much sentiment towards the emancipation of woman. Though these feelings came mostly from women, there were also opposing sentiments, mostly from men, who did not feel the same way towards the liberation of women. The feminist movement was beginning to take ahold of society and many would have to become accustomed to the new ideals of women possibly being in power.
There is much criticism of Dracula. There is so much symbolism depicted in the novel that many argue as to what exactly Bram Stoker was trying to get across to his audience. Some believe that his suppressed feelings of homosexuality were shows in the novel, as well as other things such as the fear of the anti-Victorian beliefs of that time. Broker did not survive to see how popular his novel became, so no one will ever truly know what bottled up feelings Stoker had while writing Dracula.
There are a few characters in Dracula that embody society’s views of the time towards the uprising of women for better rights. On the other hand there are also characters that portray the Victorian ideals that men are stronger than women and how it should stay that way. As author Bram Dijkstra mentions in his response essay, “Stokers work demonstrates how thoroughly the war waged by the nineteenth century male culture against the dignity and self -respect of women had been fought”.(Dijkstra , p.460).
One of the well-known characters in Dracula is, Mina Murray, virtuous, kind and good-natured, schoolmistress. Murray is the embodiment of the, “New Woman”. She empathically embraces the anti-Victorian feelings of that time in front of the rea...
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...n. Throughout the novel these men were presented as very dominant men who seek out count Dracula to terminate him and restore society to its normalcy. In the novel the women were overpowered by his powers because they were too weak and the men were strong enough to find the count to end him.
It seems as though Bram Dijkstr was against Bram Stokers possible implications in regards to anti-feminist symbolism in Dracula. In Dracula’s Backlash he states, “Stoker clearly was a man of limited intelligence, typical of the fairly well-educated, fairly well-off, middle-aged-minded middle class”.(460). While Dracula did not bring about any criticism the years after its publishing. It did in fact gain its notable fame after the Victorian Era. With all of its subliminal messages, the audience is left wondering about Bram Stokers reasons for writing such a controversial novel.
Religion was the core of his tale, and modeled it. On one side were the humans and on the other Dracula. Through their struggles to defeat the monster, they experienced changes in gender roles, which was also present in real time.
Bram Stoker’s “Dracula,” came to print in 1897, at the height of Nineteenth century Victorian life in Europe, a progressively modern era that saw much medical and technological advancement. This era brought with it the contentious idea of an empowered woman, the “New Woman,” a woman who aspires to be educated as well as sexually and economically independent. Stoker gives a contrasting view of this notion in “Dracula.” While the main characters, Lucy and Mina, are clearly opposite in personality, they are both portrayed as unequal, defenseless objects that are to be protected and desired. However, one woman’s fate is determined by her weakness, while the other is determined by her strength.
“Dracula, in one aspect, is a novel about the types of Victorian women and the representation of them in Victorian English society” (Humphrey). Through Mina, Lucy and the daughters of Dracula, Stoker symbolizes three different types of woman: the pure, the tempted and the impure. “Although Mina and Lucy possess similar qualities there is striking difference between the two” (Humphrey). Mina is the ideal 19th century Victorian woman; she is chaste, loyal and intelligent. On the other hand, Lucy’s ideal Victorian characteristics began to fade as she transformed from human to vampire and eventually those characteristics disappeared altogether. Lucy no longer embodied the Victorian woman and instead, “the swe...
Stoker uses 5 women in total to portray the Women discourse. The first is Mina Murray, a sensible young woman engaged to the main protagonist of the novel, Johnathon Harker. Mina is a highly educated woman for her time and was very fortunate to have a job as a teacher. Ms Murray, as well as being in the women discourse, is also one half of another very important discourse by Stoker: East meets West, or in other words, Traditional vs. . Mina represents the West and the good side of Women, abiding by the laws of society. The East and the evil is represented by Dracula’s three brides.
In Dracula, Bram Stoker explores the fantastic image of a sexually dominant woman within a patriarchal society. The battle between good and evil within the novel very much hinges upon feminine sexuality: Lucy and Nina are embodiments of the Victorian virtues, which Dracula threatens to corrupt,
In Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula, Stoker’s use of inverted gender roles allows readers to grasp the sense of obscureness throughout, eventually leading to the reader’s realization that these characters are rather similar to the “monster” which they call Dracula. Despite being in the Victorian era, Stoker’s use of sexuality in the novel contributes to the reasoning of obscureness going against the Victorian morals and values. Throughout the novel the stereotypical roles of the Victorian man and woman are inverted to draw attention to the similarities between Dracula and the characters. Vague to a majority of readers, Bram Stoker uses Dracula as a negative connotation on society being that the values of the Victorian culture are inverted amongst the sexes of characters, thus pointing out the similarities of the characters and the so called “monster” which they call Dracula.
Gothic literature is a genre fashioned to portray concealed fantasies and unsocial behaviours, only to go against social boundaries and emphasise these by the end. This chapter focuses on the representation of male characters in the gothic text, Dracula by Bram Stoker. Gothic texts not only violate social norms but throughout the nineteenth century male characters have had a persistent need to conform to the high standards of society. Several writers within the Victorian era expressed feelings of repressed sexuality and issues surrounding gender, Dracula is one of many gothic novels that hold these issues central. Men have had to ignore their individual needs for sexual relations and playing along to fit into society. The gothic characterises this emotional war fought within the anxious males and expresses these ideas of homosexuality and violating social norms in a negative light. One of the major themes of Dracula is the triumph of the masculine over the feminine. This interpretation is not limited to the treatment of the characters. Even though the men – Van Helsing, Seward, Godalming, Morris and Harker do rescue the female character, Mina Harker, from the evil hands of another male, Count Dracula, their real triumph is over the feminine forces that he represents. In Dracula anxiety is displayed when the male characters are left alone with the females – Harker writes in his journal ‘I am alone in the castle with those awful women. Faugh! Mina is a woman, and there is nought in common. They are devils of the Pit!’ (p.46) here we see Mina contrasted to the three Brides of Dracula, Harker portrays them as complete opposites. Masculinity remains as the more powerful position, despite the depiction of powerful females on the surfac...
Similar to almost every piece of literature ever created, Dracula by Bram Stoker has been interpreted many different ways, being torn at from every angle possible. Just as one might find interest in interpreting novels differently, he or she might also find interest in the plot, prose, or theme, all of which ultimately lead to the novels overall tone. Throughout the novel, it becomes blatant that the novel contains an underlying theme of female incompetence and inferiority. Through a true feminist’s eyes, this analysis can clearly be understood by highlighting the actions of Mina and Lucy, the obvious inferior females in the book. Through Stoker’s complete and utter manipulation of Mina and Lucy, he practically forces the reader to analyze the co-existence of dominant males and inferior females in society and to simultaneously accept the fact that the actual text of Dracula is reinforcing the typical female stereotypes that have developed throughout the ages.
In reading Bram Stoker's Dracula, I find the treatment of the two main female characters-- Lucy Westenra and Mina Harker-- especially intriguing. These two women are two opposite archetypes created by a society of threatened men trying to protect themselves.
Mina is the main female character in the novel Dracula. She is the typical Victorian woman--caring, compassionate and completely devoted toward their loved ones (To The Life of the Victorian Women). She is Jonathan Harker's fiancée and later wife, and is faithful to him throughout the entire novel. When Jonathan first meets Dracula, he becomes very ill. Mina quickly runs to his aid. She becomes completely consumed in figuring out why her husband is so terribly sick. She is intensely devoted to him and does not give up until Jonathan is nursed back to good health.
The Victorian England setting and culture of “Dracula” by: Bram Stoker attributes to many stylistic components and character behaviours in the novel. One of which is the behaviour and actions characters express that are a result of sexual repression. In Dracula, sexual repression is best expressed by the character’s desire to create. This desire is exemplified by the way Dracula creates other vampires, Lucy’s sexual desires, and the men’s expression of aggression. The creation of other Vampires is evident through events including Dracula’s aggressive encounters with Lucy and Mina, and the fact the Dracula is building up a Vampire army. Lucy’s sexual desires are exemplified through her longing to have sex with multiple men and how she compares
He says that Stoker is coming across as politically incorrect and it is a bad case of sexual encounters and borderline racism. The kitten’s smile could possibly be a simile with a meaning larger than the sexual connotation it suggests. It could be a good character versus evil character rather than one merely cruel character. Through this analysis, Dracula becomes a regressive myth as opposed to Frankenstein which is often seen as a politically correct, progressive myth that looks towards the future by learning from the past. The issue with analyzing Dracula is its great success and how it continues to be successful due to its resistance between good and evil within human nature. One can not tear this piece apart and prove its weaknesses due to the great popularity it holds. It is complex storytelling and relies on multiple points of view, i.e. the letters and diary entries written throughout the book by a number of writers. Dracula was the groundwork for all of the vampire movies to come. It may be politically incorrect but it is a respected myth (Lecercle,
As the saying goes, “Women can do everything Men can do.” In the Gothic Novel Dracula by Bram Stoker, there is a constant theme of sexuality, from both male and females in society. In the Victorian era, the roles of male and females have caused a lot of tension. After reading Dracula, some would argue the roles men and women hold in society. As mentioned in Dr. Seward’s Dairy from Val Halsing., “Ah, that wonderful Madam Mina! She has 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” (Stoker and Hindle, 2003 250). A women’s mind is not the always the first thing on a males mind. Some would overlook what a woman really has to offer.
From the whispers of townsfolk spreading legends and tales of what goes bump in the night to the successful novels, plays and film adaptations, the story of the vampire has remained timeless and admired. One of the main writers responsible for this fame and glory is Bram Stoker with his rendition Dracula, written in 1897. Dracula follows the accounts of Jonathan Harker, Mina Murray, Dr. John Seward, Lucy Westenra, and Dr. Van Helsing, through their journal entries and letters, newspaper articles, and memos. Bram’s vision for Dracula is both terrifying and captivating as the reader follows a small group of men and women led by Dr. Van Helsing through their attempt to retaliate against Count Dracula’s efforts to spread his undead chaos and blood lust across England.
In Bram Stokers Dracula, the Count Dracula represents a homosexual figure, which in Victorian times was seen as an inversion of the “typical” male figure. Diana Kindron states the Victorian idea of a homosexual was one of a male body being fused with a female soul. This is just what Count Dracula represents in Bram Stoker’s novel, Dracula. By Amanda Podonsky, “The Count seems to be an exaggerated representation of the concept concerning ‘evils’ of abnormality and how it can spread and infect.” This says how Dracula represents the fear of Victorians at that time of something abnormal, in this case homosexuality.