dracula and women
Bram Stoker's novel, Dracula, exhibits many characteristics of nineteenth century Gothic novels. In fact, this novel may be the best representation of the time period. It includes the elements typical of the novel: morbid melancholy, figures of the supernatural, dark romance, mysterious setting, and many twists and turns. It also incorporates the differences in the roles of gender, which are obvious in the story. One example is that the men in the story seem to be very protective of their women. They treat these women more like objects or pieces of property than a person. These men try to keep their women away from Dracula because Dracula feeds on mortal blood. They would go to a great extent to keep their women away from Dracula's evil-doings. Throughout the novel, these men refer to the women as "their" women. One can say that the women were not accustomed to think or decide for themselves. The actions of most of these women were dependent on the commands of their husbands. Mina did whatever her husband told her to do. "[She] went to bed when the men had gone, (they had gone after Dracula) simply because they told [her] to...." (Stoker, 263) The reason why these women could not think
One of the people that were bitten by Dracula is Mina. However, the men did not know about this until Renfield informed them. The men were on their quest to kill Dracula when Mina was bitten. Before they found out about Mina having been bitten by Dracula, they tried their best to protect her from Dracula. They would not let her join them in their quest, for she was a woman, or rather, "their woman." After they found out about Mina, they paid close attention to her. They would not let her do more things than usual. They treated her like a delicate rose. However, Mina was still Mina. "She clung to her husband's arm, and held it tight as though her clinging could protect him from any harm that might come," (Stoker, 313). Not only did she have the brain of a man; she also had the mentality to protect her property (Jonathan). In turn, the men tried to protect her. When the men finally took Mina along with them in their quest, they wouldn't let her out of their sight. While Arthur, John, Quincy, and Jonathan were chasing after Dracula towards the end of the novel, Helsing and Mina were waiting for their arrival. While they waited, Helsing made a ring of fire around Mina to protect her from the evil. This ring of fire symbolizes possession. Throughout the novel, Mina is a possession of the men in the novel. Dracula tries to possess this property of the men (Mina). Once Dracula have their women, the men are Dracula's also for "[His] revenge is just begun! [He] spread it over centuries, and time is on [his] side. [Their] girls that [they] all love are [his] already; and through them [the men] and others shall yet be [his]-[his] creatures, to do [his] bidding, and to be [his] jackals when [he] want[s] to feed. Bah!" (Stoker, 312). The roles of gender play an important role in determining the behavior of the characters in Dracula. There are two types of women in flux here: the traditional nineteenth century proper women and the promiscuous sexual predator. What separates the two is the symbolic vampire bite, which represents sexuality. The men, who take it upon themselves to guard their women from "the bite of lust," may be unaware of their
Some common words found in the essay are:
Jonathan Harker's, Arthur Lucy's, Dracula Dracula, Bram Stoker's, Dracula Mina, Bah Stoker, Mina Mina, Helsing Mina, Mina Dracula, Arthur Holmwood's, vampire bite, women dracula, roles gender, women innocent, dracula mina, try women dracula, throughout novel, vampire dracula, women women, kill dracula, tried save,
Approximate Word count = 1464
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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