Abraham Stoker, born November 8, 1847 in Clontarf (Ireland), was an ill child. As a young child, he suffered from a variety of illnesses and was often bedridden. Stoker’s mother Charlotte used to tell him stories as a child that fascinated him. Stoker’s young mind was influenced in particular by Charlotte’s stories of the 1832 cholera epidemic, which resulted in thousands of deaths. Stoker was deeply influenced by the vivid and cruel tales. Stoker’s earliest fiction was not particularly good. He wrote short stories aimed at children. Then he published The Snake’s Pass 1890, a novel that was unpopular. Stoker’s fortunes turned around in 1897 when Dracula came out. This remains his most important literary achievement. Even though the novel wasn’t an instant hit, it continues to be published and has inspired many literary works and films. Dracula is a novel that many people know. This is a classic horror story.
Bram Stoker wasn’t just looking to thrill his Victorian audiences. The novel was filled with symbols and themes that were meant to be a lesson, most notably those of Dracula. Dracula has a strange resemblance to evil forces in other religious traditions. Dracula and Hindu demons are similar. While there are differences, the similarities that are evident highlight how a particular culture views a monster as a threat to their order. Bram Stoker adapted Dracula from a folktale that had been around for many years.
Dracula is a timeless novel. This is undoubtedly one of Gothic Literature’s most loved classics. This reflection examines how Dracula, a classic of Gothic Literature, manipulates the themes relating to women’s inversion of gender, Christian salvation, and sexuality. Bram Stoker uses the theme of humanity versus beast throughout his novel. It is also confusing to think of erotica as a same-sex thing. The transfusion scene shows that men can only be touched by women. Dracula therefore uses the hypersexuality he has cultivated in his mutated women to seduce the men who he desires. Dracula is the supreme original vampire who uses his female vampire offshoots to fulfill his desire and will. He claims, “My Jackals [will] feed me when I wish to do so” (Stoker 360). Mina is watched closely by the men who fear that the dark side will take another Victorian woman model. They are worried about associating with socially rejected women. The men are actually concerned about their safety. Dracula, however, represents the ongoing struggle to define and maintain sexuality; to grapple with duality. Stoker twists the concept to the point where it is as distorted as the master villain. In the process he brings the reader nearer to understanding the full spectrum of sexuality.
Dracula also has a major theme of Christian salvation. This theme is introduced at the very beginning when Harker arrives at Castle Dracula. Locals make the sign and cross of the cross. One person puts a Rosary on Jonathan Harker’s throat. Stoker makes the point that following Christ will lead to salvation and keep evil at bay. Stoker uses the Christian Salvation theme when Van Helsing saves Lucy Westenra.
Lucy and the Count begin their affair after the Count’s arrival in London. However, it is not the normal way. The Count selects beautiful women and seduces them while they sleep. Van Helsing comes to help Dr. Seward and Mina save Lucy. Van Helsing kept a cross in the house after realizing Lucy’s vampire status. Lucy has indeed become a bloodsucker, but Van Helsing attempted to save her using Christian Salvation. Stoker’s liberal view of salvation implies that those who are saved do not have to be Christians.
Only the “Un-Dead”, however, are excluded from this peace. The Victorian reader can understand the unusual situation by observing characters who are following the roles and doing actions usually reserved for their opposite gender. By allowing the gender roles to blur and switch, it creates an atmosphere of strangeness. It also allows the horror novel to remain successful. Jonathan Harker’s first feminization is when he gets captured by Brides of Dracula. Jonathan Harker’s reactions are completely passive and feminine.
He escapes them and ends up in bed, sick, not just physically because of the Brides’ blood-drinking, but mentally too, as his perception is altered, and he thinks he has gone insane. . . Jonathan’s symptoms are consistent with hysteria. This is usually a female condition. In his six-week bed rest, he is able to get back to himself. This allows him to return to the boundaries of normal manhood.
Mina is the character that challenges gender roles most. She is independent, uses a Typewriter, and has an economic stability. She can also be a man to help Dracula plan the situation and bring order to the chaos in London. Her notes and work are what ultimately led to Dracula’s death. She has a more modern attitude than the Victorian women of old, but she remains a part of her culture. She is a woman with a man’s brain, the kind of brain a gifted man should possess. It is a good combination, and I believe that God has shaped her for some purpose” (Stoker 201). Mina has a masculine appearance in this story because, like Lucy, she’s a married woman who follows the rules. Dracula is the opposite. His sexuality and gender roles, while still questionable, are more so than Jonathan or Minae’s. Jonathan is attacked by the brides and the Count comes to Jonathan’s rescue. But his intention is not to save another man as a way to show masculinity, but to say: “This guy belongs to me!” The Count’s intentions are questioned, as is his sexuality. He says in a whisper, “Yes, I can love” (Stoker 33), after he has looked at Jonathan attentively. Jonathan, who is not surprised to see Dracula serving him rather than the brides at dinner, does not question this. It sets up the question as to the Count’s own sexual roles. The novel’s Victorian setting is a society where women use deceptive techniques to blur gender roles and to achieve equality.
Men like Quincy rely on strength. Others, like Van Helsing are more reliant on knowledge than seduction or cleverness. In the Victorian Era during the Victorian Era many women fought for equality and questioned the roles they were assigned. These women did not want to be passive, only obeying their husbands’ demands or being the primary caregivers of their kids. They aspired to be a “New Woman”, i.e. an intelligent and liberated person who could express herself freely. Some women achieved this new role while others were still controlled by men.
Men were repressed by women who felt empowered and refused to allow them to work. They also gave them unnecessary drugs and diagnosed them with hysteria. It is clear that this power rise, especially in the sexual realm, can be seen when Bram Stoker reads Dracula from a female perspective. Dracula transforms Lucy Westenra, Mina Murray and other women into sexual beings after biting them (Stoker 340). This is new since sexuality has been traditionally attributed to men. This blurring away of the traditionally male-defined boundaries made the men uncomfortable. They killed Dracula in order to return the women back to the way they were supposed be sexually (Senf). This form repression prevented Lucy, Mina and the other women from becoming the “New Woman”.
ConclusionDracula is, in part, a novel that explores the Victorian woman types and their representation in Victorian English culture. Stoker uses Mina to reinforce his Victorian sexist beliefs about men and women’s roles in society. The Victorian social structure viewed women as inferior in all aspects of life except childbearing. They were valued for their maternal qualities, and submissiveness towards men. Stoker shows the Victorian ideal woman through Mina, and her survival demonstrates the virtues of this Victorian model. We can see what Stoker, other Victorians, and Mina thought of the ideal Victorian woman by examining Lucy and the daughters Dracula. Mina’s portrayal of the Victorian ideal woman is one that displays intelligence and purity. The three Dracula’s daughters are a representation of the negative stigma associated with impure women and their hyper-sexuality in Victorian society. Lucy is a symbol of the possibility for Victorian women to become impure. This novel ends with the Victorian world restored: the vampire is destroyed, women are freed from their sexual desire and are kept away from the dangers outside their homes. Men, on the other hand, can play their roles as men in an exclusive, gallant and intelligent world.
Stoker’s novel is a social commentary that was timely for the Victorian Era. It has great character development, story-telling, concept and more.
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