{"id":1063,"date":"2023-09-29T15:35:33","date_gmt":"2023-09-29T19:35:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishlit\/?p=1063"},"modified":"2023-09-29T15:35:33","modified_gmt":"2023-09-29T19:35:33","slug":"homosocial-desire-in-dracula","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishlit\/2023\/09\/29\/homosocial-desire-in-dracula\/","title":{"rendered":"Homosocial Desire in Dracula"},"content":{"rendered":"

The last page of Bram Stoker\u2019s novel Dracula <\/em>is weird. There is no other way to describe the ending of this wild, interesting, and anxious piece of Victorian Literature. The goal of this blog post will be to analyze the \u201cNote\u201d in the context of Eve\u2019s Sedgwick\u2019s theory of homosocial desire.<\/p>\n

Jonathan and Mina choose to name their son after not only Quincey but the rest of the group of men as well, \u201cHis bundle of names links all our little band together; but we call him Quincey\u201d (Stoker, 402). This is the first many times in the final section of the novel were Stoker makes great effort to permanently link the group together. In more modern installments in the horror genre, Stephen King for example, it is enough that the group of hero\u2019s are bonded by their shared experience as monster hunters. Yet, in this case that is not acceptable. Stoker goes to great lengths to link the men beyond their connection as destroyers of evil, and maintainers of the status-quo. Instead, the story must have links such as the name of Jonathan and Mina\u2019s son.<\/p>\n

These links serve two purposes in the novel: first it allows for the separation of acceptable homosocial bonds, and unacceptable homosexual or homoerotic bonds between the main male characters. The second being that they rely on each other to rationalize their experience. If just one of them had seen the actions Dracula or the Weird Sisters it would read as the ravings of a mad man, yet their combined telling provides legitimacy to the narrative.<\/p>\n

This secondary reason is a main theme of the last page of the novel. The group revisits the scene of their final battle or crime, depending on your perspective, of the book seven years in the future. Jonathan, in his recounting, states that the castle and everything else is as it was on the date of their great triumph. His recounting reads as an attempt to convince not only the reader, but himself of what occurred there. The last paragraph of the novel further affirms their uncertainty about their experience:<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2019We want no proofs; we ask none to believe us! This boy will some day know what a brave and gallant woman his mother is. Already he knows her sweetness and loving care; later on he will understand how some men loved her so, that they did dare much for her sake\u2019\u201d (402).<\/p>\n

First, Van Helsing excepts no one to believe their story because of how outlandish it is. Yet, the reader is also presented with interesting language about the cause of their journey. That the reason the men went to Transylvania is because of their love of Mina. Which in turn implies that their bond is formed out of concern for the safety, and future of a woman they love. Thus, Stoker presents further evidence that the only way men can comfortably interact with each other or have any kind of relationship in through women. A Woman must be the reason why the men are brought together. Thus, we see the breakdown between homosocial and homosexual desire in Stoker\u2019s Dracula. <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The last page of Bram Stoker\u2019s novel Dracula is weird. There is no other way to describe the ending of this wild, interesting, and anxious piece of Victorian Literature. The goal of this blog post will be to analyze the \u201cNote\u201d in the context of Eve\u2019s Sedgwick\u2019s theory of homosocial desire. Jonathan and Mina choose … Continue reading Homosocial Desire in Dracula<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5366,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[125361],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1063","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-2023-blog-post"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishlit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1063","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishlit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishlit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishlit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5366"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishlit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1063"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishlit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1063\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishlit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1063"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishlit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1063"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/britishlit\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1063"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}