Author: Roma Cervino

(No, shockingly this isn’t about Jekyll and Hyde)

Christina Rossetti’s The World encapsulates the push and pull of ones mentality from good to evil and restraint to desire. We feel this specific duality expressed through Rossetti’s choice of words and structure of the poem. It begins with “By day she woos me” the phrase ‘by day’ repeats three times and is met with a contradicting ‘but’ twice.  

“By day she woos me, soft, exceeding fair:
   But all night as the moon so changeth she;” 

“By day she wooes me to the outer air,
   Ripe fruits, sweet flowers, and full satiety:
   But through the night, a beast she grins at me,” 

This allows us to recognize a clear temporal difference between the subjects state of being in the night versus the day, while also implying that this change of persona happens multiple times. The “ripe fruits” and “sweet flowers” sound appealing on their own but when met with language like “A very monster void of love and prayer” it’s clear that these kinder adjectives are used to mask an ugly truth that hides behind life’s temptations.  

“By day she stands a lie: by night she stands
   In all the naked horror of the truth” 

The sweetness is the lie, and the truth is something dark within us all whether it is a wanting or craving for more out of life or a desire for something perhaps…taboo. Yet no matter how appealing this beast is, it is not something to be met with or yearned for. Which is clear in these two lines: 

“Loathsome and foul with hideous leprosy
And subtle serpents gliding in her hair.” 

The serpents in the hair call upon the imagery of Medusa who will turn onlookers into stone when stared in the eye. This mysterious monsterous woman described in Rossetti’s poem seems to be unattainable, desired, rejected and feared all at once, truly capturing divisions of the mind and possible fears of ourselves.  

Dracula by Bram Stoker relies on suspense and tension to truly expedite the novel’s horror and thriller aspects. One way in which this mood is accomplished is through the books epistolary format. The entire novel depends on no main protagonist but rather a grouping of letters, diary entries and journals collected by an ensemble of characters. Other than broadening the points of view for the readers and tying in a number of perspectives, the format sets the novel in an interesting timeline. Every excerpt we as the reader get to view has been written contemporaneously with the events taking place, meaning that we aren’t quite sure who makes it out alive. If the journal and diary entries had been written from characters looking back on past events then we know their reflection is coming from a safe place, or at least one where they are alive, but it’s the uncertainty that really heightens the suspense and works so well for the story. We can really see this with the death of Lucy who was once so enthusiastic in her letters and respected by the people around her and watch as these outside observations turn from complementary to concerned. Tensions also rise with the fact that we may be reading from unreliable sources, or at least that there may be some possible biases amongst the array of characters since we are only seeing snippets of the truth.  

 

Bram Stokers Dracula incorporates themes of danger and sexuality through the text’s characterizations of women and careful use of descriptive words. In the beginning chapters of the novel, we are introduced to three young women who seduce our protagonist, Jonathan Harker. The women are intensely sexual and predatory in their pursuit of Harker. “There was something about them that made me uneasy, some longing and at the same time some deadly fear” (Stoker 13). It’s a strange contradictory description which perfectly encapsulates Harker’s reluctance to give into their glamor. “There was a deliberate voluptuousness which was both thrilling and repulsive” (Stoker 14). The danger of these women is conveyed through their wolfish sensual behavior that is both terrifying and enticing. It not only heightens the stakes but cultivates an interesting dynamic between Dracula and Harker since Dracula shares in their lustful history. “How dare you touch him, any of you? How dare you cast eyes on him when I had forbidden it? Back, I tell you all! This man belongs to me! Beware how you meddle with him, or you’ll deal with me” (Stoker 15). This moment confirms the hierarchy that exists between the women and Dracula while also displaying a growing possessiveness over his prisoner Johnathan Harker. It is only after witnessing the terror of the women that we can truly recognize Dracula’s dominance. It’s an important moment for understanding Dracula but it also creates a juxtaposition between these women and then Lucy and Mina who the reader can now identify as protagonists. “Lucy always wakes prettily, and even at such a time, when her body must have been chilled with cold, and her mind somewhat appalled at waking unclad in a churchyard at night, she did not lose her grace” (Stoker 79). It’s impossible not to draw a comparison drawn between Lucy and Dracula’s brides when looking at the descriptors of the two of them. No matter how horrid the circumstance Lucy is always lovely and docile giving the reader and Harker motivation to prevail against Dracula.  

The Speckled Band had a lot of intriguing moments including the high-level description of particular items or places and the repetition of certain words. This makes sense for a detective story since every detail is vital, but the emphasis on foreignness is what I discovered to be most revealing. When the mystery is solved, it is the result of an exotic snake, even the people first accused were “a band of gipsies.” The fear evoked from the speckled band seemed caused by a fear of otherness or the unknown rather than something familiar. “The presence of gipsies, and the use if the word ‘band,’ which was used by the poor girl, no doubt, to explain the appearance which she had caught a horrid glimpse of by light of her match, were sufficient to put me upon an entirely wrong scent.” (Conan Doyle 151) The word band is even recognized here as being an odd descriptor but it’s important since it is a multifaceted word that also can describe a group or “band” of people; hence Sherlock Holmes being thrown off the scent. The mention of the brief firelight also lends to the idea of fear being caused by the unknown. The dark setting, young frightful woman, mysterious sounds, and unidentified speckled band all curate a perfectly disastrous atmosphere lightly illuminated with a match. When it all unravels, the reader can finally discover why certain words such as band or certain motifs such as the exotic animals are stressed throughout the story. 

On Page 109 there’s a passage that I really found compelling. It describes the coming Autumn and the changing seasons’ impact on the grounds of the home and its influence over the characters. We as the reader see potential in the home as a place to harbor secrets and recognize that formally beautiful places have potential for corruption just like people. Darker descriptors like sharp, withered, ghostly, black and broken are used to set a chilling scene. The picture it paints of a crumbling well and suffocating vines are all recurring themes made throughout the novel. It more importantly juxtaposes the descriptions used for Lady Audley whose beauty is as fresh as sunlight and innocent as spring. Her beauty is what causes her to be underestimated by other characters in the text. She uses her charm and her appearance to manipulate others in order to climb the social ladder. Robert and Lady Audley have similar motives in that way, his pursuit of her is driven from an eagerness to prove himself and the crumbling of the house signifies a changing historical period where roles in society are beginning to shift. Which also may tie into a feeling of dissatisfaction within domestic and gender roles. After this passage, Lady Audley remarks on how much October displeases her which I interpret as a recognition of the darkness within herself and how it’s something she isn’t proud of or doesn’t like to acknowledge. There’s a reason she’s come to start anew at Audley Court and her actions to not come without motive.