Gender Roles In Dracula

Finally, the same uncertainty that clouds the supernatural elements of the novel drift into the characters understanding of what is real and what is not. This doubt amplifies the gothic foundation of the novel. Though these themes and examples, it is clearly seen that the widely read and respected book, Dracula is an exemplary form of gothic literature.

Dracula contains a lot Gothic conventions which incite the reader. A convention is the main point of a specific type of writing, for example in Dracula there is the use of journeys/quests, diaries, letters, journals, weird places and strange creatures. These conventions are essential in the story of Dracula and it is important to understand them. Dracula, just like any other gothic piece of writing has a villain/vampire-Dracula, a hero-Jonathan Harker and a victim-Mina. Van Helsing also plays a main role as the slayer of Dracula.

In the late nineteenth century, when Bram Stoker was writing and publishing Dracula, the feminist movement was beginning to find its feet. The concept of a “New Woman” was born and along with her came education reforms, increased divorce rate, and women tired of being put in an idyllic and antiquated box. The Portrayal of Mina (Murray) Harker in Bram Stokers iconic novel Dracula is Stokers input in the ongoing conversation of the New Woman. Through Mina, Stoker displays the Victorian, predominantly male, idea of a woman and the constant danger surrounding her by the invading ideals of the “New Woman”. As the Feminist movement began to take way many men were realizing that alongside more educated and independent women came a loss of their

This eventually leads Van Helsing to recognize the bond between Mina Harker and the Count, which helps them to find Dracula and ... ... middle of paper ... ...al and he will be liberated. Renfield is seemingly an irrelevant character. Stoker created an almost chorus-like character that, as we examine Renfield, we understand more of the story. The central themes of invasion, blood and otherness are portrayed through this character. Renfield is connected to Dracula by an unseen power, which not only foretells the attempted invasion by Dracula, but also the final outcome.

It is through their use of gendered gothic elements that Austen and Lewis are able to play with the reader’s reaction to the novels, relating to the female and male characters within the texts. In turn, Austen and Lewis use the male and female conventions of the gothic novel to explore the supernatural in unique ways. Works Cited Austen, Jane. Northanger Abbey. Public Domain, 1890.

In the late 18th and early 19th century, gothic ways of living were very common in the Eastern part of Europe, especially in the medieval times. A convention can be described as a standard feature or an ingredient of a particular sort of writing and in Dracula Bram stoker uses many Gothic conventions to excite the reader. Bram Stoker uses many Gothic conventions throughout his novel in forms of journeys and quests, the use of diaries, letters and journals, sinister buildings and most importantly strange creatures. Stoker also relies heavily on the conventions of Gothic fiction, a genre that was extremely popular in the early nineteenth century. Gothic fiction traditionally includes elements such as gloomy castles, sublime landscapes, and innocent maidens threatened by indescribable evil.

Le Fanu’s approach using gothic tropes is obvious here, as he uses the tabooed deviations from the sexual norm, to explicitly showcase the rise of the New Woman, chasing sexual freedom. One of the main differences between Dracula and “Carmilla” is the way each author interconnects the gothic trope of sexuality. Carmilla is portrayed as beautiful and majestic (Le Faun Chapter III). Whereas, Dracula is portrayed as a horrid, hairy and harmful looking man (Stoker Chapter II). While both Stoker and Le Fanu create creatures that both hold power over there victims, Le Fanu effectively uses Carmilla’s beauty, to portray her victims as more willing.

The mere sound of Elena’s name even resembles that of Mina’s. Elena is a magnetic archetypal character and is constructed into what can be interpreted as an idealized version of Mina, with the justification that Stoker’s Dracula serves as a guideline for the narratives that gender roles have in vampiric stories. Stoker’s influential novel is the first Westernized construct of a literary vampiric story in Europe and ergo creates the first idea of what aspects a vampire story should have, including the construction of distinctive gender roles. Due to the diffusion of the influence of Dracula in pop culture, Mina becomes an idea of complexity and attraction to which the human and undead take great interest in. The relationship between Dracula and Mina is far from romantic and is further complicated by the underlying sexual nature of Dracula’s night visit to Mina.

Mary Shelly’s Frankenstein is one of the greatest Gothic novels to come out during the Romantic Period. Frankenstein is a prime example of what a Gothic novel should present to its reader through the genre’s twisted themes. Even though it was written in the Romantic period, Mary Shelley still wrote Frankenstein to be a Gothic work of literature. Many characteristics of Gothic novel can be seen within this novel. Mary Shelley’s outstanding novel Frankenstein is a prime example of a Gothic novel because of the many characteristics of a Gothic novel that point it to being a Gothic work.

The two authors create characters exhibiting powerful emotions and moralize through the usage of these emotions. Romanticism played a large role in the creation of gothic literature, and it was considered to be “a lunatic fringe version of romanticism” (Tiffin). Gothic novels often had a powerful unleashing of emotions to very extreme levels “beyond social constraining” (Tiffin). The genre’s character often had an excess of a specific type (Tiffin), and in an analysis of Frankenstein and Northanger Abbey, this excess can be seen in Frankenstein’s ambition and Catherine’s curiosity. Several times in Northanger Abbey Austen’s main character, Catherine, gets caught up in her emotions.