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The Power Of Women In Bram Stoker's Dracula

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No horror novel has achieved the notoriety of Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Vampires today would not be so popular in horror if not for Stoker’s revamped version of the classic Eastern European bloodsucker. Having come at a time when xenophobic novels were extremely popular, Dracula has kept its relatability despite the test of time. Aside from its hold as a horror novel, Dracula endures because it serves as a reminder of how society works alongside authority figures and the powerless, and from its definition of human values.
The Victorian Era is known for a pious, sexless society where women were considered inferior. While strides have been taken, there is still an inherent bias against sexually liberated women. This shame is still relevant to society today because of its abuse by those in power. Day by day, political scandals involving sexual assault and rape are being revealed on the news. This is only indicative of the willingness of the elite to abuse those working under them- especially young naive women. This power imbalance is also captured in Dracula through the character Mina. Mina Harker serves as the love interest of Jonathan Harker, but is a strangely sexless character when compared to other women in the novel. This attribute give Mina a more innocent disposition, which makes …show more content…

Sexual allegory is combined with victorian culture and violent monsters, a dichotomy of human instincts. Stoker also captures the constant battle between traditionalists and supporters of modernity. Stoker wraps up this thought experiment in the trappings of a horror novel in order to best show off the monsters he designed. With its ability to have inspired countless vampire progeny across literature and film, Dracula is a work that combines fantasy elements with relatable thematic struggles in a way that will allow it to live

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