English Language and Literature Studies - Literature. The vampire myth seems never to loose its fascination. What is even more interesting is that vampirism is present even in the every day life of some communities. The Gothic Rock movement for example seems to insist on the so-called vampire fashion in clothing, as well as on white painted faces and blood-red rouged lips.

The novel is yet certainly more than an entertaining read. It offers, among other things, an interesting study of the late Victorian society. As it is the aim of this paper to analyse Dracula as a product of its time, it focuses on some of the issues through which societies are generally defined. The topics chosen for the analysis of the novel in the context of late Victorianism are first of all sexuality and gender roles. The choice of searching for potential signs of sexuality in a Victorian novel is quite obvious, since Victorianism is generally identified with extreme prudishness and double standards.

Dracula and Victorianism: A conservative or subversive novel?

The issue of gender roles will concentrate mainly on women roles, since the second half of the 19th century is one of the most important periods in history of female emancipation. Furthermore, religion in Dracula certainly deserves closer attention, especially in the context of Victorian crisis of faith.

The role of Catholicism in the book should also be analysed in context of its rising influence in Victorian England. Not only homosexuality, masturbation, premarital sexual intercourse or adultery were regarded as offensive or even criminal, but also physical passion expressed between husband and wife. Except for her role as wife and mother, a married woman also had to function as a moral example and support her hardworking husband whose home and wife were his refuge from the world, and who therefore did not need a wife who would challenge him intellectually or even be sexually demanding.

Since sexuality was repressed in public and even in marriage, the underground trade with sex and eroticism was flourishing. Brothels for every kind of sexual appetite were to be found in London and stories published in underground pornographic magazines and books were breaking every sexual taboo.

The middle class defined itself against this upper class by strict observance of puritan rules and taking respectability for their highest value. The narrators in Dracula and its author belong to the middle class.

Victorian Literature lecture

Lucy is the one who seems to be weakest of them, since she is tempted even before she meets Dracula, as is shown by her wish to marry three men or as many as they want her 66 [9]. The difference between her and Mina, who is the role model of an asexual Victorian lady, is observable from the very beginning. The way they are talking about their men tells much about the attitude each of them has to love and men.

Furthermore she is very flirtatious with all her three suitors, as she e. It is quite remarkable that Lucy does not feel sick after Dracula has bitten her for the first time. As Mina writes in her diary: The sin lies less in the act itself but more in enjoying it. What Stoker may be telling us here resembles the method of some Victorian doctors who used to keep young people from masturbating by telling them things which could be summed up as: The latter reminds of the singing of the sirens in Odysseys travelling.

It symbolises the irresistible sweet temptation on one hand, and, on the other, those life threatening monsters who wait for the tempted. Even after her life is seriously endangered, Lucy still subconsciously tries to put away things that are supposed to protect her from the vampire, as, e. During the process of losing her mortal life, Lucy gradually loses her identity as a pure Victorian girl and changes into a demonic, sexually demanding Femme Fatale: Oh, my love, I am so glad you have come!

There is a wide range of interpretations, most of which imply necrophilia and sexual sadism. As explained earlier in this chapter, this sexuality should be non-existent, at least when a decent and healthy Victorian lady is concerned. As Dracula leaves for England, Jonathan dreads staying alone in the castle with the female vampires, whose womanhood he denies, as it does not match his own Victorian definition of it: They are Devils of the Pit!

One might argue that here again, as in the case of Lucy, the joy of sexual awakening is overshadowed by puritan rejection of sex as a sin.

Bram Stoker's Dracula: A Reflection and Rebuke of Victorian Society - Inquiries Journal

Leatherdale interprets the scene in a similar way: He is being offered […] instant sexual gratification, no strings attached […]. His culture, however, has conditioned him to wait until the marriage, and the matronly Mina is hardly the type of the woman to relieve these frustrations.

It is also obvious that Jonathan never shows any erotic reaction to his own wife but only to the vampire females [17]. It is remarkable that Jonathan does not offer any resistance whatsoever to the seductresses, but just lays back and waits for something to happen. Here again, the double standard of sexuality is applied. Both, Lucy and Jonathan are engaged and, if vampires are regarded as equal to sexuality, both of them commit the crimes of premarital intercourse and adultery.

But Lucy is staked to death because she did not and could not resist Dracula, while Jonathan is punished comparatively mildly as he suffers only from a brain fever [20] , which he eventually survives.


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She has not done anything, at least not voluntary, to be ashamed of. Although Spencer argues that the shame is a result of her secret desire for Dracula [21] , it has to be taken into account that a woman who was seduced, or even raped, was regarded as sinful. According to Victorian moral standards and Christian doctrines, it is always the woman who in some way provokes the man to abuse her. As many critics have remarked, the scene in which Dracula forces Mina to drink his blood has strong sexual overtones.

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Still, one hesitates to call it a rape. Monthly Newsletter Signup The newsletter highlights recent selections from the journal and useful tips from our blog. Follow us to get updates from Inquiries Journal in your daily feed. In the past two-hundred or so years, vampires have transformed from a sort of worst nightmare into the charming hero of our dreams. Hyde are all "Democratic Age" It is tempting to classify literary, cinematic, and historical characters into groups. The trouble, of course, is that such labels can be misleading at best, and severely subjective and variable.

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