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Feminism in Dracula

Introduction

Bram Stoker’s Dracula is an extremely contentious work of literature that is still examined by

many intellectuals up to now. Bram Stoker’s Dracula deals with many diverse groups of passage

from Sci-fi Horror to English Romance literature of the 1800’s, which is the reason it can be

examined in many diverse ways by means of a collection of vital theories. This piece though, is

only spotlighted on one sort of significant theory, which is referred to as feminism. Feminism

can be applied to study the texts’ numerous female personalities according to Don Richard,

(123). Thus, Bram Stoker’s Dracula can be studied through feminism by concentrating on the

personalities Mina Harker, Lucy Westenra, and the three brides of Dracula.

Analysis

First, it is simple to observe that Lucy Westenra’s place, as a feminine personality in the

manuscript is to sustain a patriarchal civilization. This point can be confirmed by not merely

several of Lucy’s reflections in the manuscript, but in several of her descriptions by other

personalities in the manuscript too. To kick off, whilst writing letters backward and forward with

her darling friend Mina, who is known as Mina Murray at this position in the narrative, Lucy

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starts to symbolize her position as an affiliate of “The Cult of ‘True Woman land’”. This is by

scripting to Mina, “You and I, Mina dear, who are engaged and are, going to settle down soon

soberly into old married women, can despise vanity” (Stoker 78). In accordance with sexist

viewpoints as a component of a patriarchal culture, a woman is anticipated to be a natural

devotee of their husband’s willpower, which is exactly how Lucy is represented in the

manuscript. Due to this, feminists would denounce the manuscript owing to Lucy’s chauvinist

and patriarchal viewpoints.

After Lucy dies and turns into a vampire, she is portrayed as “adulterated” or as having a

short of the “cleanliness”, she previously had. This can be concluded when Dr. Seward inscribes

“the whole carnal and unspiritual appearance, seeming like a devilish mockery of Lucy’s sweet

purity” (Stoker, 224). The recognizing of Lucy’s “cleanliness” is another instance of the

personality’s task as an affiliate of the “Cult of ‘True Womanhood’” since “accurate women” in

a patriarchal civilization are anticipated to be bodily and sexually clean. afterward in the tale

when vampire Lucy is at last put to death Dr. Seward inscribes that Lucy’s face once more

appeared of “unequalled sweetness and purity” (Carol, Pg195). Once more, emphasizing the

thought that the cleanliness of her “true womanhood” had been reinstated once the vampire’s

existence disappeared. In this case, a feminist may criticize this manuscript for relating Lucy in

such patriarchal conditions.

Another personality commended, in the narrative, for the intensity of being in compliance

to customary sex roles is the personality Mina Harker. Greatly equivalent to Lucy, Mina can also

be examined through her individual belief and her depiction from the perspectives of others all

over the narrative. Early on in the manuscript, Mina inscribes, in a correspondence to Lucy

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Westenra, “I want to keep up with Jonathan’s studies, and I have been practicing shorthand very

assiduously. When we are married I will be able to be useful to Jonathan” by this text it can be

implicated that, like Lucy Westenra, Mina as well aims to reside positive to the patriarchal sex

tasks like a servant to her husband, Jonathan Harker (Stoker, 75). Mina’s position as a patriarchal

female is floated up once more when once she is wedded, she turns into Mina Harker, and

inscribes, “I had nothing to give him except myself, my life, and my trust and that with these

went my love and duty for all the days of my life.” (Stoker, 123). Mina’s sagacity of “obligation”

to her husband falls beneath the collection of customary sex roles since it is owing to the sexiest

viewpoints of the patriarchal culture she inhabits, that she anticipates herself to have to offer her

entire existence and the capability of her life’s obligations to her husband. Feminists on the other

side could disagree that it is not Mina’s accountability to be of exploit to, and adhere to the

demands of her husband, but to as an alternative do as she wills with her being while being

capable to maintain a strong affiliation with her husband.

There are in addition various points in the manuscript where Mina’s physical look is

commented on by the principles of a patriarchal structure of attitudes. In the manuscript, after a

short time residing in Dr. Seward’s sanctuary Mina, like Lucy, is as well assaulted by a Dracula,

and consequently begins to change into one (Stoker, 283). Upon attempting to consecrate Mina,

Van Helsing blazes a spot into Mina’s forehead, which causes fairly a chaos of sentiment from

the personality’s (Stoker, 296). In his reply to this occasion, Van Helsing utters “And oh, Madam

Mina, my dear, my dear, may we who love you be there to see when that red scar, the sign of

God’s knowledge of what has been, shall pass away and leave your forehead as pure as the heart

we know” (Stoker, 296). Once yet again, much similar to the case of Lucy, Mina is alleged as

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having been clean previous to changing into a vampire. Feminists would denounce this since the

thought of cleanliness in a woman originates from the conviction in a patriarchal civilization and

the “Cult of ‘True Womanhood’”.

Afterward in the narrative as Van Helsing and Mina make their approach to Dracula’s

stronghold, Mina begins to transform progressively into a vampire. Van Helsing guesses she is

altering, but transmits a point of fault when he inscribes, “I am amaze, and not at ease then; but

she is so bright and tender and thoughtful of me that I forget all fear” (Stoker 356). In this text,

Van Helsing’s thoughts that Mina is “bright and tender and thoughtful” are nothing extra than his

patriarchal prejudice towards her for being a female and these thoughts make him to “overlook”

the risk he is himself. Lastly, when Quincey Morris and Jonathan Harker thrive in murdering

Dracula, Quincey weeps with almost his last gasp “Now God be thanked that all has not been in

vain! See! The snow is not more stainless than forehead! The curse has passed away” (Stoker

368). Quincey’s similarity to the snowstorm and Mina Harker’s forehead in this quotation is yet

one more sign of the cleanliness anticipated from a female in a patriarchal culture.

Much distinct to Mina and Lucy, prior to being converted into vampires, the brides of

Dracula are ominous and wicked from their parts from the commencement to the conclusion of

the manuscript. However, this does not denote that the brides’ do not symbolize patriarchal

idealisms in their individual approaches. In the commencement of the narrative, while caught up

in Dracula’s palace, Jonathan Harker is met head-on by the bride’s who place him in a stupor of

“expectation” and “longing”. This is since, when pursuing their victim, the bride’s appear to

originate sexual intention in order to get their victim off guard. This greatly can be construed

when Jonathan puts pen to paper, “I felt in my heart a wicked, burning desire that they would

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kiss me with those red lips” (Hughes, Pg28). Consistent with feminists, in a patriarchal culture

there are “fine girls”’ like Lucy and Mina, who are clean and valuable to their husbands, and

there are “awful girls” who are sexually unambiguous in character and are believed to be not the

“marrying kind”. In this case, because of their sexual character, the brides would be categorized

under the group of ‘awful girls”. Nevertheless, feminists would disagree that both sorts of groups

are patriarchal in that they itemize women rather than treating them as persons. Alternatively, a

comparative to the manuscript indicates the bride’s need to be regarded as hazardous since they

suck citizens’ blood and not since they are sexual in personality. Additionally, the three brides

are itemized as sexual facts or “awful girls” when Van Helsing inscribes “ I knew the swaying

round forms, the bright hard eyes, the white teeth, the ruddy color, the voluptuous lips” (Carol,

Pg 210). Shortly after, Van Helsing enters Dracula’s palace he abruptly stops before murdering

one of the brides and reflects, “She was so fair to look on, so radiantly beautiful, so exquisitely

voluptuous, that the very instinct of man in me, which calls some of my sex to love and to

protect one of hers, made my head whirl with new emotion” (Stoker, 361). In this case, feminists

would disagree that it was not Van Helsing’s nature that guided him to stop suddenly, prior to

killing the vampires, but in its place, it was his rearing in a patriarchal culture that guided him to

sense that he have got to defend every woman, good or wicked.

Conclusion

By means of feminism to examine Bram Stoker’s Dracula, one can wrap up that the

manuscript was inscribed in an era of profound patriarchal viewpoints in civilization. This can be

resolute by investigating the small number of female personalities of the narrative whose

idealisms and material images match patriarchal beliefs. For example, Mina and Lucy’s wants to

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serve their husbands and their numerous images of physical cleanliness or, in the brides of

Dracula case, their numerous depictions of being sexual unusual or “awful girls” and man’s

illogical enthusiasm to have sexual associations with them and defend them. As was confirmed

in the commencement of this essay, Bram Stoker’s Dracula is an extremely contentious piece so

far and can be examined in lots of ways by means of a collection of vital theories, but not

restricted to, feminism itself.

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Work Cited

Carol, Davison. Bram Stoker's Dracula: sucking through the century, 1897 – 1997. Toronto

[U.A] Dundurn Press, 1997. Print.

Don Richard, C. Sexuality and Victorian literature. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press,

1984.Print.

Stoker, Bram. Drakula. Kuala Lumpur: Penerbit Fajar Bakti, 1992. Print.

William, Hughes. Bram Stoker's Dracula: a reader's guide. London: Continuum, 2009.Print.

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