Stoker's Treatment Of Women In Dracula

Throughout Bram Stoker’s broad body of works, he has continuously created strong female characters that are bound sometimes by Victorian social attitudes, but they are also able to subvert patriarchal standards with their actions and personalities. During the late Victorian era, the concept of the “New Woman” came into existence, and Stoker was able to utilize the concept in his novel, Dracula. With the emergence of what was known as the “New Woman,” women challenged the traditional expectation that they were supposed to be obedient housewives and mothers. Instead, they embraced their femininity without shame while maintaining a balance of masculinity, and they valued education and roles outside of the home. Dracula showcases multiple facets

Dracula takes on a caretaking role (much like Mina) while Jonathan stays with him; during the scene where the vampire brides want to feast upon Jonathan, Dracula steps in and says, “‘Yes, I too can love; you yourselves can tell it from the past” (Stoker 47). Stoker makes Dracula queercoded, and it subtly stays in the book through vampirism as a disease or ailment that is a threat to everyone in a heteronormative and patriarchal society. The scene where Dracula is protecting Jonathan parallels the scene between Mina and Lucy when Mina finds Lucy sleepwalking, and she finds her with wounds on her neck. When Mina approaches Lucy, she notes that “Lucy always wakes prettily…She trembled a little, and clung to me; when I told her to come at once with me home, she rose without a word, with the obedience of a child” (Stoker 96). Much like Dracula, there is a fondness and protectiveness in her words, and Lucy relies on Mina a lot for her safety and guidance. Here, there is an image where the vampires are the ones clinging to those who are mortal; although, their reasoning for doing so is different. Dracula, being a pure-blooded vampire, is the one doing the protecting and is in control of the situation while Lucy is a newly-turned vampire that is unaware of her surroundings and has lost her “purity” in the eyes of men, yet Mina treats her gently, and continues to do so after she finds out that she is a vampire. Carol Senf argues that Lucy’s transformation into a vampire comes from her need to break free from the “loving Victorian girl,” and she desires to be free from the restraints that society has placed on her (42). Lucy and Mina exist as multiple sides of the “New Woman” debate, and they work well together because of their contrasts with each other. Senf is correct that Lucy wishes to break free, and since