Bram Stoker s Dracul Victorian Men And Women - 1455 Words

Katherine Fulmer ENGL 3023 Dr. Lawrence 1 December 2015 Bram Stoker’s Dracula: Victorian Men and Women 1. Introduction Bram Stoker’s world famous novel Dracula, blurs the lines between Victorian ideal gender roles by using strong central female characters, such as, the three vampire sisters, Lucy and Mina, to express a powerful female sexuality challenging the Victorian notion of what makes a woman. The Victorian society placed women in a bubble of sexual purity and fragileness, making men the central heroes and the ideal representation of sexuality in most Victorian text. For example, another great Gothic Victorian novel, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson points out male heroism and creates a world void of female nuisances. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a classic example of female suppression within Victorian literature. There are almost no female characters in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and the few that are presented throughout the story’s narrative are damsels in distress that need a man to save and protect them. Further proving the need for masculinity within the Victorian society. A woman was thought to need a man. In the Victorian era there existed an intolerance towards women and sexuality. The common attitude was that women were essentially sexless, as if their sex drive differed from males. Women were thought to only have desire to satisfy man s needs and take care of family. As perfectly summed up by AskinShow MoreRelatedFrankenstein, Dracula and Spiritualism1701 Words   |  7 Pages1. Mary Shelley s Frankenstein tells the story of a man s desire to control life itself. Victor Frankenstein s main goal is his own glory and power. He desires like Prometheus before him to take something that is reserved for the god s and make it of use to men. Victor is unable to control this new found power and it eventually destroys him. Shelley tells this story of knowledge and science by introducing the romantic temperament of Victor and the gothic themes of the creation of the creature