CPT Formal Essay
Dracula: Lucy, Mina, and the Similarities & Differences Between Them
Dracula, a novel which had originally been written by Bram Stoker in 1897, is commonly classified as a ‘horror novel’ by the majority of its readers. However, when putting the novel through further analysis, the various symbols and themes of sexuality which the novel contains are brought to the notice of its readers, despite them being easily overlooked by their readers the first time the novel might be read. In addition, Dracula is a novel which often catches the eye of the majority of the male population of its readers, due to its use of female sexuality as a symbol throughout the majority of the novel, since the exploration of these taboo female
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First of all, Mina and Lucy are both characters which play an extremely significant role in the novel, as they are the sole female characters, as well as narrators, which are described in great detail by Stoker. Stoker often describes Mina and Lucy as being complete opposites of each other throughout his novel in order to illustrate, as well as act in contrast, to the two distinctly different categories of women which he had believed to exist in the Victorian Era – which was the society’s ideal, ‘innocent’ and ‘submissive’ women, which acted in contrast to the ‘rebellious’ women who took several risks and managed to break free from the confining norms and ideals of their prejudiced society which viewed them as being a ‘danger’ to the society at large. Furthermore, despite the fact that Mina and Lucy both hold completely different views on which of the two categories - which Stoker believed had existed during the Victorian Era - a woman should fall under, they both manage to acknowledge the widely-accepted belief that men are seen as being more ‘dominant’, as compared to women, in the eyes of their Victorian society. For instance, when Lucy mentions to Mina in the novel, "My dear Mina, why are men so noble when we women are so little worthy of them?" (Stoker, 86). In addition, Stoker utilizes Mina in order to illustrate his vision of what an ideal and ‘perfect’ Victorian woman is like. For example, in Stoker’s novel, Van
Similar to almost every piece of literature ever created, Dracula by Bram Stoker has been interpreted many different ways, being torn at from every angle possible. Just as one might find interest in interpreting novels differently, he or she might also find interest in the plot, prose, or theme, all of which ultimately lead to the novels overall tone. Throughout the novel, it becomes blatant that the novel contains an underlying theme of female incompetence and inferiority. Through a true feminist’s eyes, this analysis can clearly be understood by highlighting the actions of Mina and Lucy, the obvious inferior females in the book. Through Stoker’s complete and utter manipulation of Mina and Lucy, he practically forces the reader to analyze
As discussed in class, as well as in many literary analyses of the novel, Dracula is full of statements regarding gender roles and gender separation in the late nineteenth century. Stoker conveys contrasting female personas through Lucy and Mina. Though these women exist in the same time period and within the same social class, they have varying personality traits that reflect their womanhood in relation to societal ideals and, more specifically, to the men around them. Multiple times within the novel, the traits of the ideal nineteenth century woman are challenged, not only through Lucy and Mina themselves, but also through the reactions and opinions of male characters, such as Van Helsing. One of the most obvious occurrences is relayed to the reader through Mina’s journal. She writes about the ‘New Woman’ and expresses what may be interpreted as a sense of desire to emulate this progressive persona. Mina’s opinion of the New Woman is somewhere between fear and adoration. Stoker uses this passage to show Mina’s unspoken struggle between being the woman society expects her to be and being a more modern woman by presenting the reader with the equivalence of an internal monologue; since Mina writes these thoughts in her journal, but does not express them to anyone else.
With castles, hidden streets, waterways, recurring rainy weather, interesting European architecture, and mystique, London is the perfect location for Bram Stoker's Dracula. London: The capital of Great Britain, and the center of attention in the nineteenth century, due to the many incidents that were going on at the time. The novel includes many daunting scenes, such as when Dracula heaves a sack withholding a deceased child before three female vampires. It is no surprise why he choose London to be the setting of his novel. London is "exotic" and unknown. Stoker is obviously inspired by London's castles, hidden streets, and church yards. Because of all of these points, London is the perfect gothic setting for Stoker's “Dracula.”
Stoker’s novel Dracula, presents the fear of female promiscuity, for which vampirism is a metaphor. Such fear can be related to the time in which Dracula was written, where strict Victorian gender norms and sexual mores stipulated
In Dracula, Stoker portrays the typical women: The new woman, the femme fatale and the damsel in distress, all common concepts in gothic literature. There are three predominant female roles within Dracula: Mina Murray, Lucy Westenra and the three vampire brides, all of which possess different attributes and play different roles within the novel. It is apparent that the feminine portrayal within this novel, especially the sexual nature, is an un-doubtable strong, reoccurring theme.
Throughout many types of literature, violence exists to enhance the readers interest in order to add a sense of excitement or conflict to a novel. This statement withholds much truthfulness due to the fact that without violence in a piece of literature such as Dracula by Bram Stoker, the plot would not have the same impact if it was lacking violence. Dracula's power and evilness led to the violent happenings which began with the conflict of Jonathan's inner struggle, as compared to the conflict which blossomed later on with good versus evil.
Written in 1897, the greatest horror book in its time was created, Dracula, by Bram Stocker. This book contained different aspects of vampirism that was had associated itself with flight of the imagination of romanticism. Freud's idea of psychoanalysis was basically intertwined with this book, because his psychoanalytical reasoning's was based on this book. "All human experiences of morbid dread and aggressive wishes and in vampirism we see these repressed wishes becoming plainly visible." -Sigmund Freud. The way psychoanalysis and this book relate is how the Victorian ideology affects the war how people think and act according to the situation. Such as many of the characters in this book had suffered from the fog of confusion which they
Dracula is a signet classic novel written by Bram Stoker. This novel is portrayed by an antagonist character known as Count Dracula. He has been dead for centuries yet he may never die. He has a peculiar power of hypnotic fascination but he is weak in god’s daylight. He is immortal as long as he is able to drink blood from the living. He can change his form into a wolf, a bat or a puff of smoke. Dracula get in touch with Jonathan Harker through a real estate transaction. He went to Dracula’s castle through a carriage as were planned. After a few days, he felt as if he were prisoned in the castle as his movements were restricted. Meanwhile, Harker has a fiancée named Mina
The films of Dracula and the novel written by Bram Stoker both compare to convey different elements to the plot of this supernatural creature. One element they carry out is how they portray the characters. The first comparison is between the novel and the 1992 Dracula interpretation. For example, the dominate character in the motion picture is Mina Harker. Oppose from the novel, the males of the story is presented more dominate.
Another theory I would like to apply to Dracula is that he is a psychopath. When I went through the checklist for his personality or character traits, I scored him as a 28, which is above the consensus ranking by doctors of 26 points. In terms of his superficial charm, I scored him with a two. I did this because the book describes him as a clever man, with above average intelligence, as a likable conversationalist; even in the conversation he had with the peasant before killing his wife, he was described as being emotionally calm with little discomfort. For his sense of self-worth I scored him with a one. I picked this answer because while he didn’t brag about his abilities, he often gave off the feeling that he believed that he was better than the people
In Dracula Stoker blurs the line between good and bad in order to suggest that to be human is to be flawed, and that no matter how good a person may think she is everyone has evil within. Because humans have the tendency to reject people who are different we end up creating monsters.
The Gothic horror novel Dracula by Bram Stoker introduced a new literary taste in the Victorian era, one that tends to be one of the most-read literary genres to this age. The novel excavates several themes like role of women in the Victorian society, immigration, sexual conventions, colonization and post-colonialism. Dracula has been a subject to major literary criticism upon its release and its controversial portrayals tend to be a part of modern literary discussion as well. The novel received acclaim from literary critics on being one of the best pieces of gothic horror fiction of the century.
In a particular addition of Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula, Maurice Hindle had suggested that “sex was the monster Stoker feared most.” This essay will examine the examples of this statement in the Dracula text, focusing on female sexuality. The essay will also briefly look at an article Stoker had written after Dracula which also displays Stoker’s fear.
Written and set in the Victorian era, Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula is a fundamental stepping-stone for horror literature. Unlike most novels of its time, Dracula not only showcased the ideals of its era, but it completely flipped it on its head. Firstly, there are numerous examples of female sexuality and symbolism throughout the entire novel. In Victorian society, it was believed that women had no sex drive and only partook in sex when their male partners insisted. It was unheard of for a female to be sexually assertive in any way, and such an idea would likely have been a very disturbing and frightening concept to a conservative society. Needless to say, women often had to suppress their sexual desires during this period in order to keep
Bram Stoker (1847-1912) is best known as the author of Dracula. Abraham Stoker was born in Clontarf, Ireland in 1847. He was a sickly child, bedridden for much of his boyhood. As a student at Trinity College, however, he excelled in athletics as well as academics, and graduated with honors in mathematics in 1870. He worked for ten years in the Irish Civil Service, and during this time contributed drama criticism to the Dublin Mail. Despite an active personal and professional life, he began writing and publishing novels, beginning with The Snake's Pass in 1890. Dracula appeared in 1897. Following Irving's death in 1905, Stoker was associated with the literary staff of the London Telegraph and wrote several more works of