Those Jealous Women A Discussion Of Gender In Dracula Summary

In the article “Those Monstrous Women: A Discussion of Gender in Dracula” by Carol Senf, Senf discusses about the difference between male and female. The article includes the discussion about the role of male and female. For example, “women are ‘sweet’ and ‘gentle,’ and ‘sad’ whereas men fight in ’remorseless wars’,” according to the article. Another discussion she made is about the difference between Mina and Lucy. Mina is aware of the rebellion but Lucy is not aware of it, and she is doing it unconsciously during her sleepwalking. The next discussion Denf made concerned the relation between sexuality and vampirism. They both share the same idea that they are a “disease” to the people at nineteenth century. At last, the idea of “New Women”

Women are expected to be pure, obedient, sweet, and emotional. However, the female vampire is the complete opposite. For example, the three sisters are seducing Harker which is unexpected from a woman, as it is a “sexuality, aggression, and bestial behavior” as described by Senf. In the nineteenth century this kind of action is improper and abnormal. It is shocking to the men in the novel to the point they feel “sexually attractive woman is dangerous is reinforced” (page 2). Senf mentioned prostitutes are banned by the Contagious Diseases Acts because people fear of disease. It resemblances vampirism because of people “fear of being infected by contact with a prostitute is remarkably similar to the fear of being infected by contact with a vampire.” (Page 2) At 1890s, woman who are sexy are people that are diseased and unsafe. Sexuality is like a disease to them and they do not want to be near it or to get infected by it. Therefore, people fear female vampires because they seduce men, and they are aggressive and

Dracula himself is often connected/refer to women too. As Senf have referred to Anne Williams that Dracula “associated with female energy and wields his masculine power on ‘behalf of the ‘female’—darkness, madness, blood” which explains the figure of women that Dracula is representing. One example of this is when Dracula focused Mina to drink his blood from his chest. When a mother is breast feeding her child, she is nursing her child and develops a deeper connection with the newborn. However, in the scene which showed none of these, it explains that Mina’s body has been taken over by Dracula. Mina is represented as the “last woman” the men is having, and they have lost the battle. Women symbolize a motherly-figure that gives birth and takes care of children. They represent the society and the future. Even though, Dracula have died in the end, he is successful in conquering England because he has “mother” Mina which is the hope of future. He becomes immortal in a sense that he lives within people after Mina generation and eventually will