Certain concepts within society are expected to be executed every day without second thought. In today’s society, the idea of men and women having jobs that allows them to provide themselves a livable lifestyle is expected. However, during the time Bram Stoker wrote Dracula, these concepts varied drastically. The deeds of men and women were distinctly different, the influence of God was more important, and the social class of friends and family had more weight attached. In Dracula, Stoker’s ability to defy any normality placed within culture allowed the deeper analysis of the changes happening in the society. Many people were strict on their belief of God and their job within society, however, in the confinement of their head these beliefs …show more content…
Dracula brought the changes occurring in society between men and women into the light: “...he blurs the line between man and woman by demonstrating female passion,”(Punter 28). During Dracula’s time, the role of women was to nurture the families and provide structure within the household, while men’s role included stabling the family financially. Women were thought to have a natural mothering attribute, “ I suppose there is something in a woman’s nature that makes a man break down before her and express his feelings on the tender or emotional side without feeling derogatory to his manhood” ( Stoker 327) , which Mina shows often throughout the novel. Part of what makes a woman a woman is the fact she can have the ability to care for everyone. However, Mina is also the model portraying woman’s ability to have brains, “ [Mina] has a 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 355). The thought of a woman being capable of having such intelligent thoughts was rare, as it was expected to be the man’s job. As is being the purser in the relationship, but in the beginning of the novel we are shown Jonathan being pursed by the Dracula’s brides. Stoker sets this interaction up in a way that shows the brides not only possessing manly qualities, but Jonathan expressing womanly qualities, as well: “ I lay quiet, looking out from under my eyelashes in an agony of delightful anticipation. The fair girl advanced and bent over me till I could feel the movement of her breath upon me,” (Stoker 55). The brides’ attempt to woo Jonathan, equivalent to the normal actions a man would take when in a relationship with a woman. The reaction given by Jonathan showed feminine representations, allowing the complete gender reversal to
...sitive depiction of their sexual relationship. For Mina, however, renunciation of Dracula's evil must include the renunciation of her own physical needs and desires. The roles played by social mores and conceptions of gender and sexuality are, in the end, more than incidental. Indeed, the difference between Victorian England and 1990s America causes the subtle -- but significant -- valuation of the connections between good and evil and women and sexuality in two in many ways similar texts.
There is a classic "good versus evil" plot to this novel. The evil of course being Count Dracula and the Good being represented by the Harkers, Dr. Seward and Lucy, Arthur, Quincy and the Professor. It is the continuing battle between Dracula and the forces of good. Good in this case is the Christian God. The battle is foretold by the landlady where she says, "It is the eve of St Georges Day. Do you no know that tonight, when the clock strikes midnight, all the evil things in the world will have full sway?" and she hands Harker a crucifix (p 12).
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 features behind the lines, the chaos of this gender confusion and one of the main characters, Mina, is a vivid illustration of this. Beyond all, she is the orthodox woman, “Mina indeed acts and is treated as both the saint and the mother…….She is all good, all pure, all true.” (Roth, 31). Since the beginning, Mina has strived to portray herself as the perfect wife and the best potential mother by displaying her motherly instincts sporadically throughout the novel. She is impatient to get married and serve her husband, Jonathan when she writes, “When we are married I shall be able to be useful to Jonathan, and…..write….on...the typewriter.” (Stoker, 62). Without hesitation, she marries Jonathan in Hungary despite his illness and nurses
Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula, is a highly controversial work of fiction that is still being read for the first time today. Dracula touches many different categories including; sci-fi horror to 1800’s English romance literature. This is the main reason why the novel Dracula can be analyzed in many different ways using many different literary theories. The theory which stuck out most to me while reading this novel was the Feminist Theory. The Feminist Theory cannot be used to analyze Dracula as a whole novel, but it can be used in order to analyze the different female characters throughout the book. Therefore, Bram Stoker’s Dracula can be analyzed through the feminist theory by focusing on the characters Mina Harker, Lucy Westenra, and the three brides of Dracula.
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.
In Bram Stoker's Dracula , Mina is intrigued by the idea of the "New Woman". This "New Woman" is not subject to men and the rules of society in Victorian England. This notion of the "new woman" is that she is more independent and isn't subject to the man but is instead an equal. Mina says "... I suppose the 'New Woman' won't condescend in future to accept. She will do the proposing herself." By this, she envisions women will forego tradition and take over some of the roles previously done only by men.
In William Shakespeare's play, Macbeth, the three witches have been presented as powerful and ugly. Whereas the three sisters in Bram Stoker's epistolary, Dracula, are viewed as being powerful (which is similar to Macbeth) and beautiful (which is different to Macbeth).
In novels it is not uncommon for characters to be identified as morally ambiguous. It can be extremely difficult to identify a character as purely evil or purely good. In the novel Dracula, Bram Stoker presents a morally ambiguous title character, Dracula. Dracula can be seen as evil by the obvious: he is a vampire that bites people to get their blood. But on the other hand, Dracula can also be seen as good. Dracula is not purposely trying to kill people, he is just trying to protect himself. Lots of people believe that they can understand and analyse other people and try to come up with conclusions on how that person is but Stoker shows how in some cases, analyzing a person cannot easily be done. Most people are not black and white. Their
Through the Victorian era there were a lot of restraints and women were treated as unequal. Dracula is everything evil in that society which is a woman expressing herself sexually. “Women then are not only virginal victims in the novel, they serve to illustrate the contradictions and ironic tensions within the Victorian value system as a whole.” (Frost,
Bram Stoker's novel Dracula, published in 1897, explores various sexual erotic possibilities in the vampire's embrace, as discussed by Leonard Wolf. The novel confronts Victorian fears of homosexuality; that were current at the time due to the trial of playwright Oscar Wilde. The vampire's embrace could also be interpreted as an illustration of Victorian fears of the changing role of women. Therefore it is important to consider: the historical context of the novel; the Victorian notion of the `New Woman' specifically the character of Lucy Westenra; the inversion of gender roles; notions of sexuality; and the emasculation of men, by lessening their power over women; in the novel Dracula. In doing this I will be able to explore the effects of the vampire's embrace in depth, and achieve a wider understanding of the variety of erotic undercurrents Stoker incorporated into the novel.
This essay explores the blurring of gender roles within Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Angela Carter’s The Lady of the House of Love, focusing on the presentation of a sexually assertive female and its threat to the patriarchal society, and the duality of the female characters as they are presented as enticing and thrilling, but also dangerous and somewhat repulsive.
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.
“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...