Dracula X -- XVIII Response Due 11/17/10
- Discuss the roles of Lucy Westenra and Mina Harker in the novel. How are the two women similar? Different? What accounts for their differences? To what extent does the novel depend on both of these women to propel the narrative forward?
- In these chapters, sexuality becomes a topic of interest.
- Would you say that Dracula attempts to reproduce himself sexually or by some other means? In what ways does the figure of Dracula subvert conventional notions of heterosexuality? Consider, for instance, his predilection for drinking blood.
- How does Stoker bring stereotypical ideas about female sexuality in the Victorian era to light? How are the sexual overtones in Chapter 16 significant in development of and in contrast to the notion of the chaste Victorian woman?
6 comments:
1. Lucy and Mina are quite different in that Lucy wants to be taken care of by her spouse and Mina wants to take care of her spouse. While they both revolve their lives around men, they do so in very different fashions. In a way, Mina is strong and independent as she plans on how to support and aide her husband; yet, Lucy is dependent as she makes the simple decision of what male to choose. Mina helps propel the narrative forward as she helps restore Harker back to health. She also assists the men when she compiles all of the papers together. Lucy, on the other hand, propels the narrative forward not by helping but by being the center of disaster. It is her plight that helps Van Helsing realize the evil that is occurring among them all.
2.I really don't feel that Dracula subverted heterosexuality. In fact, I think he defines it as he becomes a mysterious seducer of unknowing women. He sneaks into bedrooms in the night; also there is the whole scene where he makes Mina drink from his chest. Although not "conventional," in that he is definitely taking it out of the norm, I wouldn't necessarily say that he destroys heterosexuality.
--Female sexuality obviously breaks the notion of a chaste Victorian woman with one character--Lucy. Initially, she flirtatiously chooses a spouse, but the moment she is tainted by Dracula all changes. In Chapter 16, there is the moment where she calls out to Holmwood. Even after death, she attempts to use her power of seduction as an advantageous tool.
I think Lucy and Mina are drastically different from one another. Mina seems to be a stronger woman, a great example of the angel in the house as she is devoted to Jonathan and spends much of the novel taking care of Lucy. Lucy on the other hand is more or less the Victorian woman perverted. This notion is clear after her resurrection--she preys on children for blood, which is the opposite of what a Victorian woman should do; the child is her mission, the purpose of her life, the thing to nurture. But not so here.
I think the ideas I'm presenting in the first paragraph answers part of two of the second question. Using Dracula to comment on reason and superstition and also women's status. It's a reflection, really, of the changing cultural landscape. The Victorian age is ending and modernism is coming in with Wilde's 'art for art's sake'. Once you establish the differences between Lucy and Mina, you inevitable venture into Stoker's comment on female sexuality.
As for Dracula, I don't think there isn't anything sexual about predilection for blood; the guy is just hungry, and blood, female blood, is his preference. His gender role is certainly subverted in the sense that, unlike Jonathan, he does not fulfill the Victorian notion of men. He preys on women for his own survival, a mere parasite of something meant to be loved.
1. Lucy and Mina are comparable for various reasons, the least of which being their companionship. They obviously have enough in common to make them good friends. At the beginning of the novel, they seem to both be preoccupied with their impending marriages. They both also enjoy walks, conversations with old men, and a predisposition for romantic ideas, especially commune with nature. They are different, however, in their motivations. Mina writes in her journal in order to improve herself as a writer. Lucy writes simply to copy Mina. Mina is marrying Jonathan for love and compatibility. Lucy never gives a reason for choosing Arthur as a mate. These differences make Lucy more susceptible to influence, even the influence of a vampire. Mina's strong analytical skills make her valuable to the "anti-Dracula league," as Dr. Gerard described them.
2. Sexuality seems to be less important than sensuality in this section of the novel. Lucy's undead form is described as having "voluptuous wantonness." This unnatural beauty seems to be an emphasis on seduction and enchantment, but the lack of sexual fulfillment decries the importance of sexuality itself. In terms of reproduction, it seems Dracula embodies both feminine and masculine characteristics. He takes blood into himself, arguably as a womb receives seed. However, for the "birth" to take place, he must return his own blood to the victim.
Chapter 16 highlights Lucy's wantonness, showing such bold behavior to be evil and unnatural. Victorian women might agree, but the "new women" of Mina's era might applaud such individuality and expressiveness.
Lucy and Mina remain strikingly different from one another throughout the novel. Mina exudes modesty and propriety, whereas Lucy speaks and acts in a freer manner, especially towards her suitors. Lucy enchants several male characters, including Van Helsing, with her charming and flirtatious nature. Mina also captures her fair share of followers, yet her role as a motherly figure suggests a different, less sexual, type of relationship with these men. Their respective classes also differ: Lucy embodies ideal gentility, while Mina represents a lower income bracket and the clerical lifestyle. Lucy also appears more vulnerable to the Count’s predation than Mina, who quickly and efficiently organizes in the plan of attack against him. However, Lucy and Mina do have several qualities in common. Both, for instance, share a certain girlish innocence at the beginning of the book, and they both have faith in their strong friendship, despite their class differences. Both women also seem essential elements in moving the novel along. It is through the men’s loyalty to Mina and Lucy – their almost immediate vows to protect them, that the plot is carried.
Dracula, not confined to the conventional methods of reproduction, perpetuates his line supernaturally. The many instances of blood exchange and blood donation suggest a strange type of sexuality. Mina, as an actual blood relative would, shares the same blood that runs in Dracula’s veins. This fact seems oddly relative, aside from Mina’s new ability to read his mind and vice versa, considering that Dracula greatly esteems his heritage.
Stoker demonizes the unchaste woman while martyring the chaste woman. Lucy, who some may call frivolous, comes to an unfortunate and bloody end. Mina, the persistently virtuous and trusting character, lives to continue God’s good work. Strangely, Lucy embodies many of the most stereotypical female qualities; Mina, who encompasses most of these same qualities herself, also displays a masculine pattern of thinking. Lucy’s awareness of her sexuality seems to be her downfall. She knows she exudes sensuality, and she actively attempts to seduce – which absolutely disgusts the chivalrous men who have come to rescue her. Even the return of Lucy’s haggard features is a relief to them from her previously tainted personality.
Mina and Lucy are as different as night and day. Mina being of lower income family and Lucy from a wealthy family. Mina is strong willed and good at leading.Lucy on the other hand is weak and dependant on a man. Lucy never said why she was marrying Author, yet Mina married Johanthan out of love. They both have in common their innocents as youg girls. They both are protected by men who they trust as friends.
2. Dracula attempts to reproduce the only way that he can. That is by turning others into vampires. He is not able to reproduce the way human do because he is dead.
The women who are virtuous are spared and the women like Lucy, who are frivolus ends up dead. Mina survived to live a very long life where Lucy was free with the men.
the sexuality of Dracula, as it relates to females, varies between the female vampires, Lucy, and Mina. The women of Dracula's castle have taken on a severely sexual means to entice males and possible lure children for feeding. A child is more likely to respond to a captivatingly beautiful woman than one who resembles a corpse. Beauty and sexuality in the female vampires, then, become a means of obtaining meals. The idea of beauty could also be an attraction for Dracula to create certain women as Vampires for their previous sexual appeal. Lucy is bitten and becomes as Dracula for a perceived laxness in morals. She has openly suggested taking three husbands and has spent time alone with Arthur outside of the bonds of marriage. The restrictions of the Victorian Era could turn that idea into looseness that is exacerbated after she becomes a vampire. The sexual nature of the women could be a means for Dracula to choose a victim as they are more likely to invite him in or go to him of their own free will than a purely virginal woman might be. Mina has been married which indicates a loss of purity and virginity in a socially accepted role. She does not become a vampire completely, though she is affected. This would suggest that the other women had an impure notion about them that was not expressed at the proper time for Victorian ideals. Sexuality is a curse before becoming a vampire and an advantage after.
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