Both of these women are mysteriously feminine, pure, naïve and almost dependant on their husbands, but each with one exception. Mina is a secretary for the “Children of Light”; secretarial duties were a man's job then. And Lucy had three suitors, suggesting her subtle promiscuity and desire to break social confines. Despite those facts, both women essentially were the embodiment of the ideal Victorian woman, as says Van Helsing about Mina, “She is one of God’s women, fashioned by His own hand to show us men and other women that there is a heaven where we can enter, and that its light can be here on earth. So true, so sweet, so noble, so little an egoist.” [Stoker, Ch14.
In Bram Stocker’s novel “Dracula”, there is an ongoing theme of sexuality threatening the social order. The Victorian era in England was known for its patriarchal division of power between men and women. Men were the dominant figures, and were seen as intelligent, rational and powerful. Women on the other hand, had very limited roles in Victorian Society, and were subordinate to men at the time. In the novel, the traditional roles and ideologies of men and women in Victorian society are challenged by Dracula.
Human Sexuality in Bram Stokers “Dracula” July 27, 2009 Human Sexuality in Bram Stoker’s Dracula In the novel Dracula by Bram Stoker, we experience the traditional ways of the nineteenth century. There are strict gender roles for the Victorian man and woman. Through the acts of romanticism, sexuality, and seduction, Stoker introduces the idea of the ‘New Woman’ and its effects on men by lessening their ability to control their craving of forthcoming women and he portrays a man who yearns for the pure love that only a wife can give. Thus, it is important to consider the notion of the ‘New Woman’ and its effect on the Victorian man. The roles of women during Victorian times were considered to be constricted.
Male Dominance in Dracula Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula persists in trying to maintain the male figures control over women. The setting of the novel is around the time when western society was beginning to modernize and also a period in which many were questioning the church and religious beliefs. In Victorian England, the actions of women were dictated by society. Women were either virgins who maintained their innocence and purity or representatives of motherhood. Anything outside of those 2 realms was considered to be sinful and not good representations of Victorian women.
Bram Stoker's book Dracula represents vampires in an evil aspect while Stephanie Meyer's Twilight represents in a lovely way. Stoker has rendered the reader to see the Count as physically strong and powerful, through Jonathan Harker and his confinement and Lucy Westenra and her failing health. Although the reader does not understand all the omniscient powers and control that Count Dracula possesses over people, they are brought to light through Dr Steward’s accounts of his patient R.M. Renfield. The ‘strange and sudden
There are many gothic conventions in ‘Dracula’, and this is what makes it an eerie delight for the viewers, as well as making it fit into the ‘gothic’ genre. The movie is cleverly adapted from the book, sharing the same title- that was scribed by Bram Stoker. Some very common gothic elements include the theme of isolation and security. Both of these things can be seen in ‘Dracula’ The theme of isolation is presented by the way Dracula’s castle is shown to the viewers- dark, isolated from any form any other form of civilization in the middle of a great landscape consisting of myriad and secret passageways and being a ruin in itself. The settings presented are also dark and eeire, and Dracula himself lives in solitude with no other companion.
The Weird Sister -The three mistress vampires -encountered in Dracula’s castle represent all the qualities of how a woman should not be; voluptuous and sexually aggressive IV. Forward Women A. - “The fair girl went on her knees and bent over me, fairly gloating. There was a deliberate voluptuousness which was both thrilling and repulsive, and as she arched her neck, she actually licked her lips like an animal, till I could see in the moonlight the moisture shining on the scarlet lips and on the red tongue as it lapped the white, sharp, teeth” (Stoker 50). -mixed feelings men had towards forward women
Brandon Odum English 1102 Professor Turlington 26 May, 2011 Dracula’s Temptation In Bram Stoker's novel Dracula, Dracula has the uncanny ability to expose every person's concealed fantasy, the one thing that they yearn for the most. It is up to the characters nonetheless, to shape their own future. If someone is not careful about what they do or care about what happens, then they would most likely be taken by Dracula. On the contrary, if someone is aware of what is going on around them and cautious about what they do, then Dracula would not be able to overtake them. Mina Harker and Lucy Westenra both determine their own destinies in Dracula.
This representation of the woman as powerful differs from the original expectation in a gothic novel, as the woman would usually be portrayed as weak, and in need of saving. Despite this, it is seemingly the man who is the victim here, as he enters the house. She claims she will be ‘very gentle’ while killing the man, so this is the indication that he is the one in trouble. By creating this role reversal, Carter projects the possibility of a powerful female, or even a female villain within Gothic novel. Now some could say that she is in need of being saved from her vampire personality, but in a physical sense of things she is completely self-sufficient.
The reader’s interpretation of these characters is how Nick sees them and describes them, which is why his protagonist role is very important in the way in which the story is told throughout the novel. Also from Nick’s narrative, in chapter 1we see that unlike Nick, Tom is very arrogant and dishonest at the dinner party, advancing racist comments, and also having public affairs. We get the impression that Daisy is very emotional and tries to appear “shallow” as she says that she hopes her baby daughter will be fool, because “that’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful fool.” This is said because of the unattractive reality in the East Egg that Daisy’s husband, Tom Buchanan, is having an affair. In the final part of chapter 1, as Nick arrives home from the dinner party he sees Gatsby for the first time, reaching out at a distant green light at the end of a dock. At this moment in the story, Nick does not know the significance of this green light and what it represents, which gives Nick another reason to be intrigued by Gatsby, as well as his source of