The instance when Mina drinks from Dracula’s breast is the strongest example of this; where the reader to this point is accustomed to Dracula doing the “biting”, and suddenly Mina has the power to penetrate a male. Both Lucy and Mina, when they carry out a relationship with Dracula, become sexual beings, as opposed to when they are mortals and are forced to obey the social boundaries of their society. By expressing this sexuality, they become threatening to the men. Mina is intelligent, and despite the strong aversion she has to the “New Woman” or the “Modern Woman”, she is, in fact, a sort of modern woman; connected with modern ways, a schoolteacher with secretarial skills, she possesses a “man’s brain”. It is this very brain, which is ultimately used to aid in Dracula’s downfall.
Stoker’s choose of women as the temptresses may be a warning to the women of the Victorian era to beware about pushing the boundaries of their sexuality. Stoker’s use of structuring emphasizes a women’s role in society at the time, this is the first women that Harker meets in the novel and they are devilish vampires, this implies that the novel appeals to an only male audience and their fantasy of women giving in to their temptations. Harker is simultaneously confronting a vampire and another creature equally terrifying to Victorian England, an unabashedly sexual woman, the evidence for this comes from the implied act of oral sex, ‘The fair girl went on her knees, bent over me, fairly gloating.’ Contextually the fact that Harker becomes the ‘submissive’ and is easily overpowered by their seduction and his own temptation shows the role reversal as women take on the dominating role that a traditional Victorian man is supposed to possess. The fact that Harker is both aroused and disgusted by the Vampires shows the Freudian
Three proposals in one day!" (72). There is even a point where she tells Mina she wishes that she could just marry all three of them so it would not be such a difficult decision. With Lucy jumping back and forth between men, it is no wonder that she gave in to Dracula. Since Lucy had such a large interest in men, she succumbed to Dracula because he was just another gentleman to please her.
“A bit about taking a bite out of Dracula” In the classic novel about Dracula, there are distinct differences between men and women and their roles in society. In this late Victorian-era, these distinctions are a commonplace idea. In this society it is dominated by males, who are seen as the providers and the women are the caretakers of home and hearth. The marked differences between men and women in this era are significant to this story. The melodramatic events that happen between Dracula, Lucy and Mina can attest to the fact, that the opposite sexes are unequal.
Medieval women are typically considered to be young beautiful ladies who are damsels in distress, awaiting their knight to come rescue them. “The Canterbury Tales” reveals that this notion is far from the truth. Refuting this idea in the novel is The Wife of Bath. She is overtly manipulative by using her exuding sexuality. Her husbands, all five of them were teased with sex, but they had to provide luxuries that she desperately craved for.
Thus, violence is not as “excessive” here, but plays as a stimulus to present Carter’s feminist view. However in contrast with this Carter presents us with a very uncanny male protagonist, and his compulsion to the “ruby choker.” During the honeymoon, he is shown to “kiss them before he kissed” her. Carter is said to have used his obsession to the jewels in order to foreshadow the plans of beheading the young girl. And therefore it could be said that the Marquis’ constant fixation with the choker represents his inherit violent nature, and so Carter abolishes the readers expectations of love and passion and links it with the Marquis’ thirst for the murder of young women. In addition
Although both women are powerful beings, one is greater than the other due to the differences between them on how they use their power: one is an over extravagant sex machine, and the other has unworldly beauty and grace. The fairy queen in Lanval knows full well that she is unimaginably beautiful, however rather than voicing it, she presents it and lets the minds of others be enthralled by her. When she first meets Lanval, she wears “a precious cloak of white ermine, /covered with purple alexandrine/ but her whole side was uncovered [along with], her face, her neck and her bosom” (De France lines 102-105) Just like that, Lanval can safely assume that she is wealthy and of noble birth just by the purple embroidery on her cloak. The openness of her attire permits his eyes to assess that she is extremely attractive. However, when she speaks to Lanval, she does not say that she is beautiful nor does she state how many lovers have fallen for her.
Annotated Bibliography There is something about vampires and werewolves that attract modern-day America sexually; whether it is the thrill of them having the potential to kill one on a whim, the “bad boy” persona, or just the shear look of them, sex appeal is there. “Angela Carter.” Gothic Literature Volume 2. Detroit: Thomson-Gale, 2006. In The Bloody Chamber collection, Angela Carter portrays werewolves “as handsome young men who leap in front of girls, men with eyebrows suspiciously meeting in the middle; men who want to eat you up and devour you sexually.” In this interpretation of “sexy,” it is merely just by their looks that attract young women initially. Then, it is the sense of mysteriousness that draws them in closer only to be shocked in finding out this handsome, sensual man is actually an overgrown dog.
The Victorians referred to homosexuality as "sexual inversion" (Kindron). In fact, many Victorians held the belief that a sexually inverted man was actually a woman trapped in a man's body (Kindron). Homosexuality emerged in the Victorian period much to the dismay of society. In reading Dracula, it is impossible for one to miss the homosexual tendencies that are present. Before diving too far into the homosexual side of Dracula, it is pertinent for one to understand the heterosexual side of the novel as well.
There may seem to be many motivations for villains throughout the times but as we study these scoundrels we find that generally they are motivated by pure jealousy, or a need of superiority. They utilize manipulation, both physically and mentally in order to achieve their goals and show a lack of remorse. Stephan King’s “Misery”, provides us with a very graphical depiction in Annie Wilkes a sadistic, mentally unstable retired nurse, who has a desire for power and control. Annie goes to tortuous extremes on her captive Paul Sheldon to realize this. Iago from Shakespeare’s play Othello is also a power hungry villain who enjoys having people under his control, he is driven by extreme jealousy and the motivation, revenge.