Femininity in dracula essay

Damsel in distress dracula

Professor Van Helsing says of Dracula: …of himself so strong in person as twenty men…he can, within limitations, appear at will when, and where, and in any of the forms that are to him; he can, within his range, direct the elements: the storm, the fog, the thunder; he can command all the meaner things: the rat, and the owl, and the bat—the moth, and the fox, and the wolf; he can grow and become small; and he can at times vanish and become unknown. Their application to the men is once more pointing out that the traditional gender boundaries are blurred. In fact, he embodies several notably feminine characteristics, and is closely associated with several important feminine concepts. Any subject. Therefore, the novel Dracula is not only used to scare readers because it is of the gothic genre, but is also used to scare readers, about the dangers of women being voluptuous and open about their sexual desires. His powers are so far-reaching, in fact, that Dracula is described as almost godlike in the text. The novel Dracula, by Bram Stoker, represents the mindset that those who felt threatened by these changes had. Their need to catch up on that matter was further fueled by the publication of a great number of studies concerning psychology, pathology, and sexology in the s and s. As the archetypical vampire evolved throughout the ages, these fears dissolved into a fascination with danger and the outsider. Feminist critics have focused on the similarities between the domestic and public spheres.

It also speaks positively of Lucy that her best friend in the novel is Mina. Other female characters worth bringing into the conversation about female representations are the three daughters of Dracula. They act as sexual beings and openly express their desires.

the crew of light dracula

Women at these times had to act in the exact boundaries that were assigned by culture and society. Later, once he has been cured of her vampirism, Mina is allowed to reproduce.

Masculinity in dracula

Much like the ideas of Victorians, in Dracula the sexual and unchaste women are depicted as evil; the pure and chaste women are depicted as strong, heroic, and steadfast in relationships. In ancient Egypt, Isis, the moon goddess, was the mother and giver of all life. Gender and Sexuality under Historical Aspects 2. The way in which Stoker represents females says much about the similarities of views between novels of the time and the Victorian society on the whole. What this passage illuminates is the power these type of women in society had over men. One instance in which we see this is in chapter six when Mina is writing in her journal. However, drinking the blood of a child is a perverse subversion of breastfeeding and contrasts dramatically with the end of the novel, which has biblical allusions: Mina with her newborn baby and Mary with Jesus.

His powers are so far-reaching, in fact, that Dracula is described as almost godlike in the text. When we are primarily introduced to Lucy, we hear that she has had three proposals in one day.

purity in dracula

Dracula wants to come to London because he wants to turn everyone into vampires.

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