Author: keo

HISTORIC, side-long, implicating eyes ; 
A smile of velvet’s lustre on the cheek ; 
Calm lips the smile leads upward ; hand that lies 
Glowing and soft, the patience in its rest 
Of cruelty that waits and doth not seek 
For prey ; a dusky forehead and a breast 
Where twilight touches ripeness amorously : 
Behind her, crystal rocks, a sea and skies 
Of evanescent blue on cloud and creek ; 
Landscape that shines suppressive of its zest 
For those vicissitudes by which men die. 

“La Gioconda” is a poem written by Michael Field (a pseudonym for Katharine Bradley and Edith Cooper) that was published in the volume “Sight and Song”. This poem is about Leonardo da Vinci’s painting, Mona Lisa. The annotation over the final word “die” reads, “Pater likens Mona Lisa to a vampire: ‘She is older than the rocks among which she sits; like the vampire, she has been dead many times, and learned the secrets of the grave’”. This mention of Mona Lisa as a vampire made me think back to Dracula, to compare Mona Lisa to the female vampires Jonathan Harker encounters on pages 44-47. One connection that Mona Lisa has to these women is that Bram Stoker puts great emphasis on the lips and mouth of these vampires, while the lips, mouth, and smile of the Mona Lisa is one of the most commonly discussed part of the painting. In “La Gioconda”, Michael Field mentiones her smile in the second line: “A smile of velvet’s lustre on the cheek”. He then mentions her lips in the next line stating, “Calm lips the smile leads upward.” In Dracula, Jonathan Harker takes note of the “ruby of [the female vampire’s] voluptuous lips” (45 Stoker) and later mentions that they are “scarlet” (45 Stoker). He is attracted to the lips of the female vampire, declaring “I felt in my heart a wicked, burning desire that they would kiss me with those red lips” (45 Stoker). In the short scene where these women try to suck Jonathan’s blood, their lips get mentioned eight times. As stated in one of my previous posts “Fear of the New Woman”, these female vampires are incredibly sexualized and can be seen as examples of the type of fear that existed during the fin de siècle (for example- Lucy feeding on the baby instead of feeding the baby is representative of the fear of the abandonment of motherhood). The last line of “La Gioconda”: “Landscape that shines suppressive of its zest/ For those vicissitudes by which men die” can also be related to the idea of the New Woman. The OED definition of vicissitude mentioned in the annotation is: “The fact of change or mutation taking place in a particular thing or within a certain sphere.” The change “by which men die” could be the changing role of the woman as they turn away from motherhood and marriage, start gaining ownership over their own property/money, and gain new opportunities for jobs/education. Perhaps the Mona Lisa can be seen as an example of the New Woman.

 

 

I have only read three chapters in The Picture of Dorian Gray, and the homosexual and homosocial undertones are impossible to ignore as a 21^st Century reader. During the first few chapters, there are many moments where we can read Basil’s intrigue with Dorian as romantic. Basil talks about Dorian in ways that makes me think he has feelings towards Dorian that are not simply of a “friendly” nature. While explaining the first time he sees Dorian, Basil says he came “face to face with someone whose mere personality was so fascinating that, if I allowed it to do so, it would absorb my whole nature, my whole soul, my very art itself” (Wilde 8). While one can certainly find a friend’s personality to be fascinating, the fact that Dorian could have such a strong effect on Basil’s nature, soul, and art is what makes me think that Basil sees Dorian as more than a friend. Basil goes on to explain the first time he interacts with Dorian, stating, “I found myself face to face with the young man whose personality had so strangely stirred me” (Wilde 9). It is not unusual for a friend to enjoy the personality of another friend, but Dorian’s personality stirred Basil, which is something that normally does not happen by someone who is just a friend. It is not unusual to meet someone and have his or her personality stir feelings of anger or annoyance, but this does not seem to be the feelings that are being stirred in Basil. Basil’s statement that Dorian and he “were quite close, almost touching” (Wilde 9) shows that Dorian and Basil must be comfortable around each other, as you do not stand close to someone you are not comfortable around (unless you are angry with them, which is not what is happening here). It also suggests that the men are experiencing a moment that is more than “friendly”, as words like “close” and “touching” evoke images of romance or sex, rather than friendship. Basil also appears to be quite possessive of Dorian, not wanting to introduce him to Lord Henry. He gets jealous when Dorian and Lord Henry appear to be fond of each other, and tries to get Lord Henry to leave. While it is not unusual for friends to be possessive of each other and get jealous when people are bonding without you, it is also highly possible that Basil is feeling romantic jealousy.

While there is evidence in the text that suggests Basil has romantic feelings towards Dorian, it is also possible to read this evidence as them simply being friends. I believe Wilde did this intentionally, as during the fin de siècle, “acts of gross indecency between men were criminalized” (Ledger and Luckhurst xviii). By writing a story in which homosexual ideas or actions could be seen just as homosocial, it allows Wilde to talk about ideas that were taboo at the time. After all, if anyone tried to make a fuss about this book having homosexual ideas, Wilde could just claim that he wrote the book to be strictly about friends, so it must in fact be that person who has the homosexual ideas.

Dr. Seward gives his account of Lucy as a vampire in the passage below:

“And she looked, her eyes blazed with unholy light, and the face became wreathed with a voluptuous smile. Oh, God, how it made me shudder to see it! With a careless motion, she flung to the ground, callous as a devil, the child that up to now she had clutched strenuously to her breast, growling over it as a dog growls over a bone. The child gave a sharp cry, and lay there moaning. There was a cold-bloodedness in the act which wrung a groan from Arthur; when she advanced to him with outstretched arms and a wanton smile, he fell back and hid his face is his hands. She still advanced, however, and with a languorous, voluptuous grace, said: — ‘Come to me, Arthur.’” (225-226)

Dr. Seward does not portray Lucy in a positive light. In fact, he does not say anything favorable about her. He calls her “careless”, “callous”, and “cold-blooded”. He also compares her to the devil and suggests that she is unholy. In addition to describing Lucy in an incredibly negative way, Dr. Seward also describes her as sexual. The word voluptuous gets used twice in this small passage, first to describe a part of her body, her smile, as voluptuous, and secondly to describe her grace. Lucy’s smile is mentioned again later in the passage when Dr. Seward describes it as “wanton”. By describing Lucy as sexual while simultaneously portraying her in a negative light, it suggests that it is unacceptable or incorrect for Lucy to be sexual. Dr. Seward witnesses Lucy feeding on a child, yet what makes him shudder is not this shocking act of vampirism but the fact that Lucy’s smile is “voluptuous”. To Dr. Seward, Lucy as a vampire is horrifying, not because she is killing children or drinking blood, but because she has become more sexual. A sexual woman was seen as dangerous during the time Dracula was written. As stated in Ledger and Luckhurst’s “Reading the Fin de Siècle”, “the New Woman…could mark an apocalyptic warning of the dangers of sexual degeneracy, the abandonment of motherhood, and consequent risk to the racial future of England” (xvii). Lucy, by becoming more sexual, has become one of the degenerates that were feared during the Fin de Siècle.

Another fear that existed during the Fin de Siècle, the fear of the abandonment of motherhood, can be seen in this passage. The description of Lucy “clutching [the child] strenuously to her breast” evokes images of breastfeeding, something tied very closely to motherhood. While breastfeeding nourishes and keeps a baby alive, Lucy is doing the exact opposite of this by sucking blood, and therefore life, out of the baby. Instead of feeding the baby, as a good 19^th Century mother is supposed to do, Lucy is feeding on the baby. Lucy tossing aside the baby could be representative of the concept of the abandonment of motherhood. Arthur’s fear over Lucy not demonstrating proper motherly behavior alludes to the fear of the abandonment of motherhood that existed during the Fin de Siècle. Just as Lucy’s sexiness was more terrifying to Dr. Seward than her being an actual vampire, we see Arthur moan not in response to Lucy being a vampire, but in response to Lucy tossing aside the baby. It is not Lucy sucking blood that gives Arthur a reaction, but her rejection of proper mother behavior. Dr. Seward and Arthur’s horror at Lucy’s sexiness and rejection of “motherly behavior” is not individual to Dracula, but rather a cultural fear that is visible in many novels written during the Fin de Siècle.

Sigmund Freud’s article “Creative Writers and Day Dreaming” explores the concept that “mental activity is directed toward inventing a situation in which unsatisfied wishes will be fulfilled” (419). Freud argues that as children become adults, their imaginative play gets replaced with phantasies. While children do not conceal their play, the adult on the other hand strives to conceal their phantasies. As stated by Freud, “the adult is ashamed of his phantasies, and hides them from other people” (422). Freud’s ideas about phantasies and shame complicate the scene on pages 44-47 in Dracula where the three women try to suck Jonathan Harker’s blood. Upon seeing the women for the first time, Jonathan states his reaction as: “There was something about them that made me uneasy, some longing and at the same time some deadly fear. I felt in my heart a wicked, burning desire that they would kiss me with those red lips” (45). Throughout the passage Jonathan seems torn between “thrill and repulsion” (45). The very things that he is repulsed by, like the woman’s animalistic tendencies, are the same things that he finds himself desiring. Interestingly, Jonathan begins this scene by writing that the encounter with these women might have been a dream. According to Freud’s argument, it makes perfect sense for Jonathan to suggest the scene is a dream because he is ashamed of his desires. The sexual things happening in the scene are not at all the traditional desires that a heterosexual man about to be married during the fin de siècle should be having. Some of the exotic things that happen in this scene are a sexual encounter with multiple women, biting, enjoying pain, seeing the repulsive as attractive, and enjoying fear. While these sexual desires were definitely shared by many during the fin de siècle, it was not common to discuss them or admit to having them. According to Freud, a man “would rather confess his misdeeds than tell anyone his phantasies” (422). I believe that because it was so taboo to discuss phantasies openly, many of the novels written during the fin de siècle engage in these “kinky” sexual desires as a way for writers and readers to gain comfort in identifying with the “weird”.

Freud’s arguments from “Creative Writers and Day Dreaming” give a clear reason as to why Jonathan would write this specific scene as a dream. By claiming he might have been asleep, Jonathan can write about the unusual sexual desires he is having without having to feel ashamed. This concept of Freud’s does not always seem plausible in all of the dream scenes mentioned in Dracula however. On page 19, Jonathan also begins his telling of a scene by stating, “I think I must have fallen asleep”. The scene encompasses Jonathan’s trip to Dracula’s house, where the driver repeatedly stops and investigates blue flames. If we were to read this scene according to Freud, Jonathan would state that the scene is a dream so he could hide hidden desires. However, I believe there is a totally different reason that Jonathan suggests he was dreaming at this moment. In many of the novels that were written during the fin de siècle, there is an emphasis from the narrator that what they are writing is the truth. By Jonathan suggesting this scene could have been a dream, he is essentially telling the readers “This scene seems unbelievable, and because I am striving to be as truthful as possible in my telling of this story, it is feasible I could have been asleep.” In this moment in the text, Jonathan’s use of the dream is not stemming from the shame of sexual desire, but is a way for him to tell a very implausible part of the story while still seeming like a trustworthy narrator.

“Then I heard a key inserted and turned in the lock behind me. After a little while I heard through the locked door the noise of the staghounds, that had now been brought up from the beach. They were not barking, but sniffing and growling in a curious fashion” (21).

This paper will provide a close reading of the passage in which the narrator is first shown where he will be staying on the island. This scene is one of the first where our narrator becomes aware that something unusual is going on on the island. The emphasis on the locked door and the repetition of the word “heard” in the passage reveals Mr. Prendick’s unawareness of what is happening on the island.

There is great emphasis placed on the locked door throughout this passage. Within two sentences, we see the words “key”, “lock”, and “locked door”. Even though the first sentence very explicitly lets the readers know the door is locked, the author reiterates it again in the next sentence by saying “locked door”. This repetition reveals that there is information our narrator is unaware of that is intentionally being kept from him. He is literally being locked out by not being able to physically go through the door, but he is also figuratively being “locked out” of information. The repetition of “lock” builds the curiosity of the reader, as they are at this point also unaware of the secret being kept from the narrator. The mention of “the beach” in this passage can be seen as a contrast to the room the narrator now finds himself in. The beach often evokes feelings of freedom. If we think of the beach as an allusion to freedom, and our narrator is no longer down at the beach, then we might consider our narrator as no longer free. By having an allusion to freedom in the middle of a passage talking about locks and locked doors, it suggests the room the narrator is now in, or perhaps the island as a whole, is incompatible with freedom.

Not only is there a great emphasis on locks in the passage, but there is also an emphasis on sound. Throughout this short passage, the word “heard” gets used twice. There is also emphasis on sound in the words “noise”, “barking”, “sniffing”, and “growling”. It is important that the narrator is hearing things instead of seeing them. He hears the key get inserted in the door and he hears the staghounds, but he is not actually seeing what is going on. The fact that he is hearing, but not seeing, could allude to the fact that he is unaware of what is happening on the island. If he could see the staghounds “sniffing and growling”, then he would know what they were reacting to. Instead, he can hear them growling behind the door, which could suggest there is something unusual or unsafe behind the door, but the narrator does not get to see what it is. Similarly, the reader does not get to know why the dogs are growling. The use of staghounds, rather than say a poodle or dachshund, could also be meaningful. Staghounds are hunting dogs, and are very protective. The narrator can hear these protective dogs, but they are behind the door, and therefore in a place he is not allowed to go. This could symbolize the narrator losing protection once he got to the island. The emphasis on hearing instead of seeing reveals the narrator’s knowledge that something unusual is happening on the island, but his unawareness of what it is.