Lucy Vs Dracula Essay

Introduction: Reinterpretations of literary classics profoundly amplify their timeless resonance, with appropriation emerging as an indispensable response to the ever-evolving zeitgeist, thus avoiding a transgressive nature. A study of gothic literature reveals how shifting norms concerning women's sexuality, the flanderization of character, and society's changing context are integrated into appropriation. As time progresses, gothic archetypes such as Bram Stoker’s "Dracula'' undergo metamorphosis to reflect contemporary values and concerns, thereby ensuring their enduring relevance. Angela Carter’s "The Lady of the House of Love'' and Joss Whedon’s "Buffy vs. Dracula'' epitomise this phenomenon, illustrating how reinterpretations can augment

Bram Stoker's "Dracula" encapsulates Victorian fears of female sexual liberation or “thrilling yet repulsive voluptuousness" through the representation of Lucy Westenra and characters' pithy response to sexually alluring women. Lucy’s transformation from a “good, noble” woman to a sexually assertive vampire symbolises the threat of uncontrolled female sexuality and the feverish nature of women's liberation. This is perhaps epitomised in describing her evolution as “Sweetness to. wantonness,” utilising contrast to highlight the period's apprehensions regarding women's bodily autonomy. Furthermore, Jonathan’s response to vulgar, yet realistically harmless sexuality, exemplifies the way sexual women were perceived as evil as he expressed that one of the three vampire temptresses “licked her lips like an animal”. The simile depicts an unproportional response to female seduction, therefore situating the period's response to a women's freedom in sensuality. Progressively, Angela Carter's "The Lady of the House of Love" presents a sophisticated avantgarde, offering a nuanced exploration of a woman's desires amidst societal pressures regarding notions of chastity. The vampire countess expresses critique of patriarchal control over women's bodies while

Bram Stoker's "Dracula" epitomises Victorian anxieties about the unknown, monstrous and those who are “strange”. Dracula himself, is described as having "peculiarly sharp white teeth" and a "red light in his eyes," encapsulating the era's xenophobia and dread of foreign influence, with the vampire's predatory nature symbolising a threat to societal purity and moral integrity. His metamorphosis from a human aristocrat to a “bloodthirsty” fiend further represents the ultimate fear of degeneration and moral decay, echoing Victorian apprehensions of societal disintegration. This fear is emblematic of broader Victorian concerns about the consequences of unchecked ambition and the “demoniac” potential within humanity. The notion that a well-mannered aristocrat could devolve into a monstrous entity mirrors the period’s dread of losing control over both personal and societal virtues, reflecting a profound unease with the stability and continuity of their cultural and moral framework. Conversely, Angela Carter's "The Lady of the House of Love" reinterprets this fear through a feminist lens, portraying the vampire countess as an “unnaturally beautiful” figure ensnared by her “abnormal” nature. The countess's reflection, “I longed for the past,” poignantly contrasts her imprisonment within her monstrous