Bram Stoker creates a well written novel that engages the reader. He designs this novel to contain several techniques which bring character and originality to his writing. Bram Stoker refers to an abnormal character appearance in his work to convey his messages in a mysterious manner to the readers. Meanwhile, Stoker properly establishes the mythology of vampires to help readers appreciate, interpret and analyze the elements of vampirism more efficiently. Stoker writes his novel in such away that he can tie in present day, along with old-fashion victorian society. In his writing, Dracula, Stoker engages the reader in a mysterious story (Stoker). Stoker presents this by incorporating a shadowy appearance of Dracula, mythology and folklore of vampires, associating different era Victorian society, along with fostering growth in supernatural genre.
In the 19th century, this basis of scary and thriller books started to emerge. This essay will be about who Dracula enticed women, how his detainer was unsettling and demonic. How the era in which the novel was written plays a part in the ideas of Dracula and how behaves; with such things as women, food, and Harker. The Victorian era definitely influenced the writing of the time through reflections of exploitation of women and a certain darkness in ones self, also explains of mystery and suspense.
Throughout the nineteenth century, women were often supposed to be seen rather than heard. The new emerging woman who was outspoken, overly sexual and educated was often looked down upon and seen as a lower class of society. Stoker uses Dracula’s three sisters to associate lust and sex with the vile and evil of the new woman.
The story of Dracula is well documented and has stood the test of time since it’s Victorian age creation. More times than not, literature writings are a reflection of the era from which they are produced. In the case of Dracula, Vampire literature expresses the fears of a society. Which leads me to the topic I chose to review: sexuality. The Victorian Era was viewed as a period diluted in intense sexual repression and I believe that Dracula effectively exploited this as the fear of sexuality was commonplace in the society. In this paper I will examine Bram Stoker’s Dracula and highlight his use of sexuality. I will analysis the female sexuality that is prevalent throughout the book, the complexities are at work within the text, and the
Almost every sin imaginable is included in this text if one were to interpret Bram Stoker’s writing to be as such. The glaring Christianity, coded sexual innuendo, and the vampire stereotype still attracts many to this novel. Despite the Victorian era’s social expectations of a woman, gluttony and lust are the two most abundant and greatly detailed sins alive in this text and usually descriptively, if not symbolically intertwined. The female characters of this novel lavishly display their sexual and physical appetites throughout the novel thus tempting the male figures. Mina and Lucy are portrayed in opposition to both each other and societal norms, in the nineteenth century and these traits are still displayed today in the twenty-first century. Voraciousness and Lust as portrayed through vampirism in Dracula details the dichotomy of Bram Stoker and of all men; which wife would a man want to have, the smart maternal plump woman or the fanciful beautiful thin woman.
In Dracula, Stoker portrays the typical women: The new woman, the femme fatale and the damsel in distress, all common concepts in gothic literature. There are three predominant female roles within Dracula: Mina Murray, Lucy Westenra and the three vampire brides, all of which possess different attributes and play different roles within the novel. It is apparent that the feminine portrayal within this novel, especially the sexual nature, is an un-doubtable strong, reoccurring theme.
Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” is a story about a Vampire named Count Dracula and his journey to satisfy his lust for blood. The story is told through a series of individuals’ journal entries and a letters sent back and forth between characters. Bram Stoker shows the roll in which a certain gender plays in the Victorian era through the works of Dracula. This discussion not only consists of the roll a certain gender takes, but will be discussing how a certain gender fits into the culture of that time period as well as how males and females interact among each other. The Victorian era was extremely conservative when it came to the female, however there are signs of the changing into the New Woman inside of Dracula. Essentially the woman was to be assistance to a man and stay pure inside of their ways.
In the late 19th century, when Dracula by Bram Stoker is written, women were only perceived as conservative housewives, only tending to their family’s needs and being solely dependent of their husbands to provide for them. This novel portrays that completely in accordance to Mina Harker, but Lucy Westenra is the complete opposite. Lucy parades around in just her demeanor as a promiscuous and sexual person. While Mina only cares about learning new things in order to assist her soon-to-be husband Jonathan Harker. Lucy and Mina both become victims of vampirism in the novel. Mina is fortunate but Lucy is not. Overall, the assumption of women as the weaker specimen is greatly immense in the late 19th century. There are also many underlying
In the 1897 novel “Dracula” by Bram Stoker, a vampire named Count Dracula is brought about and brung into the “real world”. Many stories, books, movies, and games have developed from this novel. In the novel, Dracula has a lot of myths attached to him. These myths are what make him a vampire, and so when other people come up with these new stories or books or movies, they also implement myths into their characters to give them life as a vampire. In every story, most of the characters are considered either “bad” and “evil” or “good” and “friendly”. These labels are based on the characters actions, thoughts (when possible), and personality traits. In Dracula, Count Dracula would primarily be classified as the antagonist and evil. As previously mentioned, this is based on the fact that he made evil decisions, and had very bad qualities about him. However, in Twilight, Edward is a much more difficult character to label. Him and the Count have many similarities, however they are also much different.
Dracula is a novel that indulges its male reader’s imagination, predominantly on the topic of female sexuality. When Dracula was first published, Victorian women’s sexual behaviour was extremely restricted by social expectations. To be classed as respectable, a women was either a virgin or a wife. If she was not either, she was considered a whore. We begin to understand once Dracula arrives in Whitby, that the novel has an underlying battle between good and evil, which will hinge on female sexuality. Both Lucy Westenra and Wilhelmina “Mina” Murray embody two-dimensional virtues that have been associated with female. They are both virgins, whom are innocent from the evils of the world and that are devoted to their men. Dracula’s arrival threatens those virtues, threatening to turn Lucy and Mina into the opposites, noted for their voluptuousness, which could lead to an open sexual desire.
In the Victorian era, women were viewed as subordinate to men. They often had one job: reproduction. They would become housewives and cater to their husband and children’s needs. As the era progressed, so did the role of women. The once shy women were now changing into courageous and outspoken members of society. These women were open about their sexuality and embraced their intelligence. This new found independence was a turning moment in history and was given the name the “New Woman.” The ever-changing role of women into a new found independence was prominent in literature as well. One of the most famous literatures is Dracula by Bram Stoker. It is evident that Bram Stoker wrote about the New Woman throughout his novel. It is questionable whether Bram Stoker wanted to embrace the New Woman in society or wanted to tear it down. In fact, neither is the case. Bram Stoker created the ideal women in Dracula in order to embrace the woman character without having to be open about their sexual identity. The portrayal of the women characters in the novel gives evidence on why Dracula created the ideal woman instead of highlighting the New Woman role.
The gothic vampire classic Dracula, written by Bram Stoker, is one of the most well known novels of the nineteenth century. The story focuses on a vampire named Dracula who travels to England in search of new blood, but who eventually is found out and driven away by a group of newly minted vampire hunters. A major social change that was going on during the late nineteenth century, around the time of that this novel was being written, was the changing roles of women in British society which constituted as the “New Woman” movement and the novel seems to explore and worry about this subject extensively. These women wanted to be freed both politically and sexually, but much of the general population at the time found it unsettling (Dixon,
Evil never conquers because good always overcomes it. A good example of this is the book Dracula by Bram Stoker because the author expresses the nature of good vs. evil. Dracula wants to come to London because he wants to turn everyone into vampires. The basic background of the book Dracula is when Jonathan Harker, a realtor who is sent to Transylvania to complete a transaction with Dracula so he can come to England. What Harker does not know is that Dracula has a plan for world domination. Well, while Harker is on a train to Transylvania he enters “the east, a section of Europe whose peoples and customs will be for the most part, strange and unfamiliar” (Dracula, 20). Harker arrives at Bistritz on the eve of St. George’s Day,
In the 1931 and the classic version of the Dracula the story comes to be very close yet tend to be fractured. Count Dracula as the main villain in the story with all characteristics of the vampire; drinking the blood of a human, turning into bats, sleeps at his coffin with earth and etc. Dracula (1931) in his stay to London meets Seward and introduces Mina his daughter, her fiancé Harker and her friend Lucy. Lucy becomes the first victim of the Count. He then targets Mina which he was able to hypnotize after which Mina was found on the terrace and was talking to the bats that fly above her Van Helsing and Seward witnessed it and there Mina told
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