Cristopher Craft talks about gender, sexuality, and the breakdown of patriarchal customs in his essay “Kiss Me with Those Red Lips.”
These are all topics which can be examined through the lens of Dracula but sexuality, specifically homosexuality/homosocialism, is a topic which is shown through different relationships in the novel. In my analysis of the relationship between Dracula and Jonathon Harker, there is an obvious line which is being towed between homosexuality and homosocialism. Before delving into the specifics of their interactions, it is important to note that the main representation of a “sexual action” in this novel is through the sucking of blood. Craft questions, “Are we male or are we female? Do we have penetrations or orifices? What are the relations between blood and semen, milk and blood? Furthermore, this mouth…is the mouth of all vampires, male and female” (Craft 446). These questions blur the line of the difference between sex as we know it and the sucking of blood as another form of sex. Craft is showcasing that with Dracula and vampires, the transfer of bodily fluids regardless of what it is, represents a sexual action.
Although the only transfer of blood happens between Dracula and Mina/Lucy, subsequently Lucy and the children, there are moments where blood comes into play for Dracula and Jonathon. Jonathon states, “at that instant I saw that the cut had bled a little, and the blood was trickling over my chin…When the Count saw my face, his eyes blazed with a sort of demoniac fury, and he suddenly made a grab at my throat” (Stoker 23). In this moment, the Count is tempted by Jonathon’s blood and with the grab of his throat, almost close to completing the action of sucking his blood. Although this attempt is stopped because of Jonathon’s use of the crucifix, it is interesting to note that this could be Stoker’s way of stopping the interaction from becoming homoerotic. At the same time, there wasn’t any hesitation with Dracula sucks Lucy and Mina’s blood. There seems to be a clear directive of the blood sucking actions between man and woman throughout the novel as Jonathon is almost attacked by the three lady vampires under Dracula. Yet Dracula intervenes during this instance saying, “How dare you touch him, any of you? How dare you cast eyes on him when I had forbidden it?…This man belongs to me! (Stoker 34). This possessiveness over Jonathon is another piece of evidence towards the possible homoeroticism between them. Because of the patriarchal traditions at the time, the vampires sucking Jonathon’s blood would be the “natural” transaction but Dracula stops this which promotes the idea that he wants to suck his blood himself.
Even when Dracula drinks Lucy’s blood it is noted that he is actually drinking the blood transferred from the Crew of Light. Craft continues to challenge the understanding of sexuality in Dracula when he states, “another instance of the heterosexual displacement of a desire mobile enough to elude the boundaries of gender…only through women may men touch” (Craft 448). Even though by the end of the novel, there is no distinct sexual interaction between two men through blood, there is ample evidence showcasing the underlying homoeroticism. Craft’s text challenged the usual convention of heterosexuality and brought about a new perspective which Dracula can be seen through in order to understand how homosexuality can be placed in literature during this time.
I’m interested in your specific focus on Dracula’s relationship with Jonathan, and I wonder if you would consider how Mina acts as a link between the two. Once Dracula begins to feed on Mina, she and Jonathan are already married, which opens up the possibility that they may have been exchanging bodily fluids (in a different way than blood transfusions). Additionally, Jonathan is in the room in the scene when Dracula forces Mina to suck his blood, emphasizing the proximity of this trio. I think you could connect Craft’s argument to this dynamic to expand your argument in an interesting way.
One part of your post in particular that caught my attention was the mention of Jonathan using the crucifix to stop Dracula from sucking his blood. It made me think back to a post from a couple weeks ago on religion, and how religious practices in the novel tend to be used for protection. Thinking about the scene with Jonathan and Dracula as stopping homoeroticism in its tracks, it’s interesting that it is the crucifix, a religious object, that “protects” the characters from a display of homosexuality. I find this interesting because religion is commonly used to push back against homosexuality, so I wonder if this scene is a social commentary on the role of religion preventing homosexuality in the 19th century.