By the end of the 19th century, Britain was in major decline of power. The poverty and mortality rates were uncontrollably high and the people were filled with “anxiety of cultural decay” (Anxiety of Reverse Colonization pg 623). Stoker uses his novel, Dracula to emphasize the fears of Victorian culture in the 19th century. In particular, sexuality acts as a major fear of Victorian people and also acts as a major motif in the novel.
There is no coincidence in the fates of Lucy and Mina by the end of the novel. Lucy, who desires three husbands, has the blood of three men pulsing through her and gives in to Dracula’s temptation, dies a horribly painful death when her husband drives a stake through her heart. This scene of Arthur stabbing Lucy is like a punishment for not being a loyal, Victorian wife. Mina, on the other hand, escapes punishment. Throughout the novel she is a dutiful, motherly figure. She takes care of Jonathan when he is ill, comforts Van Helsing when he cries and remains true to her Victorian virtues even when tempted by Dracula. It is because of this that she survives. Therefore, it is quite apparent that Stoker despises the idea of a sexualized woman. To put it simply, to be voluptuous means death (Lucy), and to be traditional/ non-sexualized means life. This could also have implications connecting sex with disease.
As mentioned in “Dracula; Vampires, Perversity and Victorian Anxieties”, the use of vampires in a text suggest the fear of sexually transmitted diseases. With vampires comes tainted blood and with that comes disease and with disease comes death. The more promiscuous women are, the more likely diseases like syphilis will spread. The spread of sexually transmitted diseases suggest not only health troubles but moral as well. No man wants to be the husband of a cheater. It ruins their reputation and their health all at once.
Even though Christina Rossetti wrote Goblin’s Market over thirty years before Bram Stoker’s Dracula, there are some striking similarities. In particular, I agree with your assertion that sexuality acted as a major fear of Victorian people. Stoker uses both Lucy and Mina to challenge and support traditional norms of sexuality. For example, we have Lucy with the blood of three men in her, which in our class discussions, has often been compared to seamen. While Mina’s situation is different, she too is victimized at the hands of Dracula–a foreigner. In Goblin’s Market, Laura takes fruit from the foreigners, the Goblins, and becomes grossly obsessed with the Goblin Men’s produce. The conflict between Laura and the Goblins is fueled by sexual undertones. Both of these stories illustrate Victorian fear of foreigners–particularly the fear of them corrupting English women’s sexuality.