Dracula And Le Fanu's 1872 Carmilla

In response to a period full of rapid social changes and technological progress, apprehension about the future of English society arose. Oftentimes, such misgivings spilled into literature, posing the extreme cases of a particular concern, which is why vampirism is utilized as a vehicle to explore nineteenth century anxieties, before becoming quickly extinguish, in Bram Stoker’s 1987 Dracula and Le Fanu’s 1872 Carmilla. Both literary works feature a titular character who subconsciously embodies social angst. While Dracula follows a series of accounts concerning a proud, vampiric count and his attempt to subjugate mankind and Carmilla is presented as casebook entry in which a woman narrates her encounter with a predatory, yet affectionate vampire,

Lucy enjoys the attention of her male suitors and even indecently jokes about polygamy, expressing a hidden want for sexual autonomy. Once Dracula arrives in England, Lucy becomes his initial target. Lucy’s sleepwalking shapes her into an ideal victim, as she is exposed in a vulnerable state in which her subconscious yearnings are more accessible and she is also physically available to Dracula. For her break of social protocol, she is transformed into a vampire, characterized by “voluptuous wantonness” (Stoker 231). She becomes even more beautiful in her undeath, in a state where she can embrace her sexuality, which enforces the belief that visible sensuality in women is unorthodox. In addition, the traditional view of what a woman should be, a nurturer, mother, and wife, is drastically inverted for a woman who does not wish to stay confined. Lucy is denied the opportunity to be married and instead develops into a child-feasting fiend. Her susceptibility to seduction is punished with an unnatural, vulgar monstrosity. Subsequently, Lucy is finally killed and reverted to her original, pre-vampiric state, when her fiancee, the male figure she was to be subordinate to, stakes her. This action cements a patriarchal figure’s control over Lucy once again, who only then, can be returned to a peaceful state of purity, while the other two prospective suitors watch as Arthur exert his dominance over Lucy. Comparatively, the female character who survives the Dracula’s tactics is Mina who does not succumb by maintaining the socially demanded