As we have progressed through Bram Stoker’s novel, Dracula, in concert with our understanding of women in the various other pieces of Victorian literature that we have encountered so far, the age-old motif of, “good versus evil”, continually emerges. This is no better emphasized than in chapter 16 of Stoker’s novel, as Lucy, in her infantile vampiric state beseeches that Arthur,
“Come to [her]… Leave these others and come to me. My arms are hungry for you. Come, and we can rest together. Come, my husband, come!” There was something diabolically sweet in her tones—something of the tingling of glass when struck—which rang through the brains even of us who heard the words addressed to another. As for Arthur, he seemed under a spell; moving his hands from his face, he opened wide his arms” (Stoker, Ch. 16). Lucy, after “enchanting” Arthur, then leapt towards the group of men, only to withdraw when Van Helsing presented his crucifix to her face, revealing her true intentions to harm the men as shown by the distortion and rage in her subsequent expressions. In simple terms, it appears that this passage points out what is obvious, the men, Van Helsing, Arthur, etc. are good and Lucy is representative of evil. After all, Lucy is repelled by the iconography of God, further emphasizing that, as noted in chapter 12, “…the devil may work against us for all he’s worth, but God sends us men when we want them” (Stoker, Ch. 12).
While Lucy may be representative of some sort of evil, as harming children is inherently an evil deed, the simple assignment of good and bad does a disservice to the underlying societal values and harms that disadvantaged Lucy from the beginning. Lucy’s ultimate power, similarly to that of the alleged fairy in “La Belle Dame Sans Merci”, by John Keats, or Lady Audley in “Lady Audley’s Secret”, by Mary Elizabeth Braddon, notes that beautiful women are not only enchanting, but that they are ultimately dangerous. The connectivity between desire and lust; some of the goals of Satan, and the stringent Victorian values that opposed these emotions as “immoral” being ultimately represented in a character like Lucy makes her downfall almost inevitable prior to her turn towards vampirism. I would argue that her night-stalking primarily targeting children is further proof that she is representative of the Victorian fears of what a new woman could look like. In Lucy hunting children, and harming then, she engages in an entirely different set of behaviors than the domestic and caregiving modes that are expected of her. In her soft and tender tones towards Arthur, this “deception”, through engaging in the expected “Victorian woman” mannerisms and countenance, is made all the more troubling when she flips towards her “true” form.
I liked how you tied in connections to Lady Audley’s Secret because I too see a pattern of how these villainous women are categorized. Both Lucy and Lady Audley oppose the domestic which is seen through Lucys hunt of children and Lady Audley’s abandonment of her child. Although the women are different in character they both trade submission for power in their pursuit of each ones respected goals. I thought you raised some great points here, nice work.
I loved your connection to women in other novels we have read that are perceived as being crazy. I would add that these women are also highly intelligent. During this time period women were more likely to be seen as housewives or trophies. Having a women be able to make well thought out decisions especially in the dangerous way that is not characteristically feminine, is unusual. This unusual stands out and attracts more of the readers attention.
I really enjoyed how you connected the passage to some of the other works we have read in class. Lady Audley and Lucy are two fascinating characters to compare, especially within the context of their evilness and their agency in embracing their dangerous side. I would be interested in hearing how you feel the way these two women navigate the Victorian world influences their characters.