Author: harrimas

In the Portrait of Dorian Gray, a notable moment in the story is the suicide of Sybil Vane as a result of her relationship with Dorian. As we see from their interactions, Sybil is a talented actress who Dorian falls in love with for her ability to completely portray the characters she becomes. Because of this love she loses her natural talent which pushes Dorian to fall out of love with her. No longer having her art or her newfound love, she kills herself. One of concepts created during the fin de siécle is the New Woman, which promotes an independence for woman in a male-dominated society. In a way, Sybil perfectly represents this figure because she has found her passion in acting and a career as an actress. Doing all without the traditional pathway of marriage and love showcases her agency and ability to create a life for herself during this time period. I believe there is a deeper meaning in the fact that the moment she meets Dorian and falls in love, her life goes downhill. Although it is a drastic symbolism, Sybil’s suicide denotes the affect a partner and love can have on a person.

When looking at Sybil’s situation through the lens of Irene Adler from the Sherlock Holmes stories, an interesting comparison can be made. Irene is one of the only people to have bested Sherlock Holmes, who is promoted as a character with a natural genius, and isn’t placed as a romantic foil for him. Irene is also a great example of the New Woman because of her pushback against traditional values. For example, her crossdressing directly signifies a disregard for how a woman should be during this time period. What challenges all of this is that in the end she still gets married. Even to look back at Romance of a Shop, after their journey of independence, the sisters still end up getting married and having children.

These different examples of female characters and their experiences placed during the time period of the fin de siecle make me question what statement the authors were attempting to make about the New Woman. Would it be better to focus on your passion and reject marriage to avoid the disappointment of love like Sybil? Or form your own path in life while choosing marriage at your own discretion like Irene? Either way I think both of these characters push forward thinking about what the New Woman truly signifies. It would be interesting to connect this thought process to how modern day feminism has developed from this early concept.

From our discussions in class, one topic that stuck with me was exoticism because of how it was used in the Sherlock Holmes stories. An important factor in the relatability and enjoyment of these detective stories for this time period was because of the constant references to actual places in London. Although this is fiction, readers were able to imagine Sherlock Holmes walking the streets and solving these crimes like he was a neighborhood hero. On that same note, the references to foreign countries and people not like the average Londoner also enhanced the story. In “The Adventure of the Empty House”, while presumed dead Sherlock described his journey, “I travelled for two years in Tibet, therefore, and amused myself by visiting Lhassa and spending some days with the head Llama…I then passed through Persia, looked in at Mecca, and paid a short but interesting visit to the Khalifa at Khartoum…Returning to France I spent some months in a research into the coal-tar derivatives…” (Doyle 4). The mention of these new places Sherlock has been to not only piques the interest of the reader to see if they know them, but whether or not they will connect to the mystery at hand. This form of exoticism also creates a more compelling character in Sherlock because you wonder if Sherlock is a natural genius or because he goes to various places to intake knowledge. The purpose of this detective fiction is to see how he will solve mysteries no one else can which showcases the gap between him and the average person. This passage is a perfect example of this as it notes locations that readers during this time may have never heard or won’t travel to during their lifetime.

Looking at this through the lens of the fin de si´ecle, this is a time where many people are choosing to change their lives from the usual factory worker to newfound careers. All while being introduced to modern concepts like New Science and New Woman, even fresh genres like Detective Fiction. Picking up a story where the main character is from where you’re from, lives a life of excitement, and travels the world, could push anyone to want to do the same.

In terms of plot, it’s important to note that two foreign characters, Colonel Moran and The King of Bohemia, drastically propel the story forward in their designated stories. One ends up being the culprit and the other is the one asking for help, but the point is that they come from a different place and have different traits than the average Londoner. Of course, all of Sherlock Holmes stories could have been about pickpockets or arsonists who are from London but this variety of characters creates an intriguing story filled with exoticism. Detective fiction is sensationalized because anything can happen yet you never know what will happen so the use of exoticism brings more twists and turns to the story.

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.

Locations have been a vital part of the story of Dracula so far as there are notable settings like Count Dracula’s castle in Transylvania which is explained in detail by Jonathon’s time there. Of all the places the characters travel to and explore, certain locations are backed by the superstition of vampires, seeing as this is a novel focused on them. Connecting to another text, Emily Gerard specifically talks about the history of superstitions and the locations attached to them in Transylvanian Superstitions (1885). Two important elements of superstition Gerard notes are “the indigenous superstition of the country” and “the spirit of evil” (332-333), which focus on the actual location superstitions are known to appear and their evil nature.

Transitioning to Dracula, the location of the graveyard at the church is essential in chapters 15 and 16 as this is where Lucy is found to be a vampire and killed by the men of the novel. Dr. Seward described the tomb as “grim and gruesome enough…miserable and sordid than could have been imagined. It conveyed irresistibly the idea that life – animal life – was not the only thing which could pass away” (Stoker 163). Before the events concerning Lucy occurred, this description of the tomb showcases the negative connotations attached to superstitions. The final line promotes the idea that not only is this area devoid of life but it is the perfect breeding ground for vampires. An important factor is that this description comes from their visit at night whereas the next day when they revisit the tomb, Dr. Seward’s tone changes. Dr. Seward’s notes that the tomb “was not so gruesome as last night, but oh, how unutterably mean-looking when the sunshine streamed in” (Stoker 167). Although it is still mean-looking, it is not the grim and gruesome place he recounted the night before. This further supports Gerard’s explanation that it isn’t just the location but the elements of a specific superstition connected to the place.

There is also a cultural and historical factor in superstitions that we see in Dracula as Van Helsing left “garlic and a crucifix” to “seal up the door of the tomb” (Stoker 168). Garlic is used commonly throughout this novel to ward off monsters and the crucifix is an important tool to keep evil spirits away. By putting these tools specifically at the location of the tomb, rituals and religion also become a factor in what makes the graveyard a location connected to the superstition of vampires. Gerard also gives information on vampires by explaining they “will continue to suck the blood of other innocent people till the spirit has…a stake through the corpse” and “it is further recommended to cut off the head and replace it in the coffin with mouth fulled with garlic” (334). All of these techniques are used in chapter 16 when Van Helsing and the other men kill Lucy in her vampire form. With the evidence found in Dracula and Gerard’s writing, it is apparent that locations can become associated with superstitions but only if they connect to the cultural, historical, and religious elements of said superstition.