Women In Dracula

Dracula’s Defacing of the Victorian Era Morales

Dracula intentionally challenged the ideals of the Victorian era. The Victorian era was a time that was “[...]flooded with prints, books, and paintings, all of which circulated countless images of decorative, pious, and pretty girls who obediently served the needs of males” (Casteras, sec. “Demur Girls”). Women were also remembered as being demur or in other words reserved, modest and shy. As stated in Casteras’ article,“[...]endorsed gendered constructions of childhood, whether of demure girls or mischievous boys” (sec. “Demur Girls”). Women were always conservative in their ways, and consistent in their domestic ways. Sexuality was also a subject more understood than talked about. Marriage

The love Stoker had for Irving was undeniable and portrayed in his book. There is a scene in the book when the main character, Jonathan, goes into a room he is warned not to enter and is approached by three women who want to suck his blood. When Dracula discovers that Jonathan has gone into that room and is about to be prayed on by someone other than Dracula himself, he turns violent. He claims Jonathan as his own saying, “This man belongs to me!” (Stoker 43; ch. 3). This is seen as a homosexual moment and perhaps a real life fantasy showing Stoker’s longing for a man to want him. After this traumatizing event Jonathan woke up in his bedroom. At first, Jonathan thought it was a dream; he came to conclusions that Count Dracula had undressed him and put him to bed. When Jonathan says, “To be sure, there were certain small evidences, such as that my clothes were folded and laid by in a manner which is not my habit” (Stoker 44; ch. 4). We can see how this came from Stoker’s internal fancying of a man to undress him. The homosexual connotations are clearly seen throughout

Though the only truly known literature by Stoker was indeed Dracula, it impacted society so severely that it makes up for his lack of fame for other books. The beliefs of the Victorian era were challenged in his novel, Dracula. His book of blood ran along perfectly with the time period. “By the late 1800s, both England and the U.S. were especially interested in blood as a way of understanding race and its relationship to values and paradigms” (Bundrick 27). This is what drove many people to read his book. Dracula “[...] represents late Victorian society’s anxiety” (Bundrick 25). This is the reason readers related to the novel so much because it resonates with their anxieties. The impact that the Victorian era had from this book is immense. It changed the way women were looked at by giving them entitlement and gave a new light to homosexuality by making it more masculine. This is a huge step towards the next time period, Modern World era, in the