Kathryn Goers ENG 346: Virtue and Vice in Gothic Literature Dr. Timothy Decker 5 November 2012 Sexuality? Predator vs. Victim Women in several known horror narratives, stories, and films, are highly sexualized. They aren't always seen as human, and are treated as victims. In his novel, Dracula, Bram Stoker is no different from other horror writers.
It all started when our hyphen-happy protagonist, Bill cohen, woke up in a foxy forest. It was the fifth time it had happened. Feeling barely pleased, Bill cohen stroked a carrot, thinking it would make her feel better (but as usual, it did not). Suddenly inspired by the wise teachings of Confuscious, she realized that her beloved pigeon egg was missing! Immediately she called her bed-friend, Dianna Dillon.
I'll give you one hint: unicorn slumber parties!!! You see, in medieval times, a virginal maiden would sit alone in the woods until a unicorn, enchanted by her purity, approached and laid its head in her lap. At which point, the waiting hunters would reveal themselves, and presto—unicorn kebabs. Of course, nowadays most unicorn meat comes from factory farms, which means wild unicorns can spend their free time teaching virtuous girls how to wear makeup without looking cheap. The only reason abstinence promoters don't tell everyone about this is because then we'd run out of unicorns.
During Perrault times in 17th century france the story needed more than just a happy ending. The original red cloak representing prostitution in the time, although as a child being naïve to the dangers world outside not the traditional wild animals such as the wolve but instead the men which girls meet in their daily travels that they should be cautious of. We then see the story take a turn, as revenge and female power become more prevalent in society we have a red who doesn’t get eaten up by the big bad wolf but alternatively falls in love with him and after the theme of “forbidden love” is explored the audience then experiences an ending where “Shiny, jagged teeth was the last thing the old lady saw before she was bathed in crimson red, and the woods was never the same again” this proves how with character changes from out point of view with red the ending can then also have a dramatic change from moral and lesson to less meaning and revenge. In the 3rd text we see red evolving once again even more strong and powerful no longer inlove with the wolf but overcoming any fears from the 17th century to kill the wild animal. With reds gaze looking away offering for us to look right at her position in the image front and center still gleaming in bright along side with the same crimson red blood being slashed out from her now
People look for the wrong things in a relationship such as money, car and good looks. He addresses that many individuals see their lives as fairy tales, which is an impractical way to perceive love, Lipshutsz uses the movie Sleeping Beauty as an example; the significance of this instance is that females believe that they need a prince to rescue them to be a princess, if we contrast this to males, it gives them the idea that they need to be rich, handsome and be a savior/hero for the girls out there. However the other perception in Sleeping Beauty considered is the fact that her hundred-year sleep gave her time to self reflect and mentally grow as a person. When she awoke she found her “prince” because she was ready and knew what she wanted in many aspects. This relates to the truth that people in today’s society are to quick in committing to others without second thought.
Close Study of Text – Briar Rose * Briar Rose By Jane Yolen * Sleeping Beauty * Fairytale story Allegory * Good vs. Evil * King and Queen had a child called Aurora * Invited fairy’s to birth * Bad fairy gives baby a curse * Prick finger on spinning wheel * 16th Birthday she falls into a deep sleep for 100 years * A prince tries to save her * Thorns grow all around the tower * Prince kisses her and she wakes up QUOTES: * “And even though to tell a story is to tell some kind of untruth, one often suspects that what seems to be untruth is really a hidden truth” – Ralph Harper * Importance of Storytelling “Stories...We are made up of stores. And even the ones that seem the
OUTLINE Bram Stoker uses the women and their sexuality in the novel, to portray the changing society. I. Introduction II. Victorian Women -Written before the suffrage movement of the early-mid 20th century -male dominance over women -Women were not to be sexually leading -Conservative society - In the mind of society, females did not have a sexual drive - Unnatural- evil - Victorian standards - III. 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.
Men are thus tried to repress and prevent the liberalization of women, which would term them as socially outcast. In the book its shown portions where women are in the need to liberate as shown in the summary of Lucy, even before becoming a vampire, she exerts an aura of subtle sexually and a flirt. According to Stroker he asks, “Why can’t they let a girl marry three men, or as many as want her, and save all the trouble?”(Stoker, Ch. 5 May 24).This shows that Lucy has a desire to break out of constrains of Victoria in their social expectations though the desires lie
She, “did not like him as much as a bride should like her bridegroom,” (Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm). This alone breaks the rules of the fairy tales we all know because there is a mention of whether the girl likes her suitor or not. In most fairy tales marriage is a prize, not something that has to do with actually liking someone. The girl then goes to her fiancé’s house and hears a bird screeching that she should turn back because she is in a murderer’s house. After exploring the dark home, the girl discovers and old woman.
"And Yet": The Limits of Buffy Feminism [1] In "Doomed" (B4011), Buffy tells her soon-to-be boyfriend Riley that she comes "from a long line of [slayers] that don't live past twenty-five." Treating Buffy the Vampire Slayer as a feminist show, as many critics and the show's producers claim it is, and the character Buffy as its star feminist icon, reveals that in this version of feminism the only viable feminist icon is a young one. Buffy the Vampire Slayer was a television show aimed at young people (see Sherryl Vint's embarrassment at enjoying the same show that is "the favorite of 14-year-old girls everywhere," par. 2). It is therefore perhaps only natural that the younger characters are the most vibrant and that the show endorses a child's or adolescent's perspective and often critiques the closemindedness or ineffectuality of adults, as quite a few scholars have noted (see for instance Jowett, Breton and McMaster, Bowers, and Skwire).