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Examples Of Duality In Dracula

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The way in which Stoker distinguishes a duality present in Lucy is through the shifting perspectives told by multiple characters, the structure of the novel is heavily based on intertextuality in this light. The structure of the multi-faceted narrative reveals how certain characters are unable to cope with the duality present in Lucy.The male characters, specifically, project the idea of a duality in Lucy in order to comprehend how she so easily shifts states between being ‘the pure woman’ and ‘the fallen woman’ - terms first established in the Victorian era. This projection is not only endorsed by the male figures in the book, but the character of Mina Harker as well confirms the notion, whom Stoker constructed of representing the ideal standard …show more content…

They are just the same,” It was such an odd expression, coming apropos of nothing, that it quite startled me. I slewed round a little, so as to see Lucy well without seeming to stare at her, and saw that she was in a half dreamy state, with an odd look on her face that I could not quite make out; so I said nothing, but followed her eyes. She appeared to be looking over at our own seat, whereon was a dark figure seated alone. I was quite a little startled myself, for it seemed for an instant as if the stranger had great eyes like burning flames, but a second look dispelled the illusion. The red sunlight was shining on the windows of St. Mary’s Church behind our seat, and as the sun dipped there was just sufficient change in the refraction and reflection to make it appear as if the light moved. I called Lucy’s attention to the peculiar effect, and she became herself with a start.” (129). Here, …show more content…

It seemed a little uncanny to me, and I listened to her breathlessly. I did not quite like it, and thought it better not to keep her mind on the subject, so we drifted on to other subjects, and Lucy was like her old self again.” Once more, Stoker’s audience can see that Mina has set up a division in Lucy’s identity as a means to disassociate her with all of the horrific peculiarities going on with

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Is she awful or marvelous? Black or white? Is that real hair or has it been painted on? She epitomized ambiguity, new frontiers. She seemed something more fugitive and extravagant than a dancer - more like ectoplasm.

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1209 Words | 5 Pages

Lucy said, “I was sitting in the car with my mother when I first noticed it, and I started to cry. At a loss to say anything that would truly comfort me or stop my hair from falling out, my mother reminded me that I had known this would happen, that I shouldn’t get so upset -- as if foreknowledge of an event could somehow buffer you from its reverberations. Feeling, again, that I had failed simply by being upset made me cry harder” (103). And after the surgeries on her face, Lucy felt embarrassed of what she had become on the outside. Although this was not true, when the physical appearance of Lucy changed, so did her overall

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592 Words | 3 Pages

Bridget Sullivan maintained a sophisticated composure during court (Berni 40). This sudden change in emotional behavior gained negative attention for both Bridget and Lizzie, yet Lizzie’s transformation seemed forced

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542 Words | 3 Pages

“Her body seemed foreign somehow - too stiff in places, too firm where the softness used to be. The bubbliness was gone. The nervous giggling, too. When she laughed now… was rare. ”(95)

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1303 Words | 6 Pages

Mina runs toward Lucy and finds her with her head lying over the back of the seat, with no living thing about her. Mina soon discovers two red marks on Lucy’s neck and believes that these were caused by her trying to tighten a shawl around her. Little does Mina know that this is just the beginning of Lucy’s transformation into a

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1218 Words | 5 Pages

When Lucy turns into a vampire, it is made a point to describe how she appears and behaves in opposition to the Lucy we were introduced to before her death. With Lucy as a vampire it gives her many virtues she didn’t possess when she was alive. In this novel she is portrayed as a predatory. The importance of being a virgin in the 19th century is perceived through Lucy’s transition into a ‘she-devil’ once Dracula takes away her purity. A person like Lucy, her sexuality is viewed as offensive, is apparent that the gender categories are challenging to gender categories more than

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825 Words | 4 Pages

Lucy Westenra is the best friend of Mina Harker and thus the second female main character of the novel. Stoker describes with Lucy a representative of the New Women movement, as the time was seen by the British population. She is single and lives with her mother, who is suffering from heart disease. Her family, that was once very prosperous, consist only of herself and her aging mother. She is Dracula’s first victim /vampire child in England.

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696 Words | 3 Pages

As she is sick, Arthur gives her a blood transfusion to try to help her become better but when it does not work, she is stabbed in the heart to go back to her original beauty and die. Lucy in the book shows how the ideal Victorian woman can so suddenly turn into the bad, evil, sexual woman that was unacceptable. Throughout the novel, Bram Stoker showed in detail what was considered to be the ideal Victorian woman through the character Mina. He also showed how women were sexualized, misbehaved, and evil through the behaviors of Dracula’s three daughters.

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1217 Words | 5 Pages

(851), as the reader see’s she tries to find herself in letting the traveler know she is capable of the same things he

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1102 Words | 5 Pages

Around 1817 a man named Frederick Douglass was born into slavery. He knew very little about himself; due to being a slave the white slave owners did not allow their slaves to know much about themselves. There could be many reasons why they did not allow the slaves to know things such as their birthday and parentage. After reading the narrative I came to the conclusion that the slave owners did not give them this information about themselves because they wanted the slaves to feel worthless, nothing more than property. In the book it reads “ By far the larger part of the slaves know as little of their ages as horses know of theirs, and it is the wish of most masters within my knowledge to keep their slaves thus ignorant.

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632 Words | 3 Pages

She exists in a time when women are classified as objects of beauty and property, and her heart trouble suggests that she is fragile. Louise’s initial reaction to the news of her husband’s death suggests that she is deeply saddened and grief stricken when she escapes to her bedroom. However, the reader is caught off-guard with Louise’s secret reaction to the news of her husband’s death because she contradicts the gender norm of the 19th century woman. Her contradiction to the stereotype / gender norm is displayed when she slowly reveals her inward

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548 Words | 3 Pages

When Lucy turns from an innocent girl to having a sexual personality, Stoker could be trying to show the potential for both the good and evil in a woman. As a vampire, we see Lucy do things that were against her virtues while living. She attempts to seduce Arthur, she feeds off a child and then throws it to the ground, and becomes furious when Van Helsing presents a crucifix to her. She completely changes from her innocent ways. This light and dark aspect that Lucy portrays as a natural and a supernatural shows the duality of a woman.

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1384 Words | 6 Pages

Dracula is a household name; however, the actual meaning is not as well known. The novel Dracula by Bram Stoker contains a unique story, one which due to the structure of the book there are multiple main characters. The book is written in the form of letters, allowing the focus to be on many different people and viewpoints. Dracula starts out with Jonathan Harker an, Englishman, who takes a trip to Transylvania to meet Count Dracula. On his way to the castle he is warned of the dangers of Dracula, however, Jonathan chooses to persist.

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1622 Words | 7 Pages

The earlier gothic works as well as Dracula covered something that is outside the social norm. Female sexuality, something that was unacceptable and under the surface of society, it is exposed in these writings. The earlier readings such as Carmilla, as well as the poem of Christabel question the boundaries. The texts from these literature pieces contain passages of female sexuality and the passages contain phrases that hint towards the social taboos. In the era when women were thought of mere objects these pieces decide to give them a personality or at least a voice that can express desire, a voice that states women have a purpose apart from pleasing men.

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1017 Words | 5 Pages

Comparison of Dracula and Twilight’s vamps Characterisation of Dracula and Meyer’s vamps in these two books is entirely different. Through Stephanie Meyer 's novel vampires are illustrated as inhumanity attractive, powerful almost human creation. Her vampires have major advantages over Stocker 's they are described almost without any weaknesses. Despite of vamps ' reputation they can consume garlic and drink animal blood which is enough for survival, cannot transform into a bat or wolf but some of them have special talents as reading in others minds (Edward), steering emotions (Jasper) or see the future (Alice).

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