Category: 2017 Blog Post

    I chose to write about the sexuality in Dracula. Sexuality is a predominant theme throughout the entire novel. Bram Stoker writes a thrilling novel that is gruesome in a sexual way. For example in this quote taken from chapter three, it gives the first glimpse of how sexuality is used by the three ladies who use seduction to manipulate Mr.Hawkins in order for them to suck his blood.               

   “I was afraid to raise my eyelids, but looked out and saw perfectly under the lashes. The girl went on her knees and bent over me, simply gloating. There was a deliberate voluptuousness which was both thrilling and repulsive, and as she arched her neck she actually licked her lips like an animal, till I could see in the moonlight the moisture shining on the scarlet lips and on the red tongue as it lapped the white sharp teeth” (chap 3).

       The description in the quote about how the girl “arched her neck she actually licked her lips like an animal” leads me to imagine sexuality being used as a weapon to reach the grotesque goal of the killing. But the killing is not necessarily a violent form of attack like a knife stabbing would be. Dracula uses a newer approach to lure his “prey” to kill them. I think Dracula succeeded using this method because the Victorian era was set on stringent rules for women about how they appeared in public places. The dedication and loyalty of their husbands were super important. But in Dracula, Stoker uses a new approach to creating a character that can weaken these principles by using his sexuality to heighten the desire for him. In this link   http://www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/dracula, the author describes the relation of sexuality in Dracula to the two women Mina and Lucy and how each of them were marked by Dracula yet the two of them reacted in two separate ways. I thought this article was really interesting and the other makes awesome points and connections.

One of the central themes in Christina Rosetti’s poem Goblin Market is the “fruit forbidden” (Rosetti 478) – sold by the goblin men – that both Laura and Jeanie eat. After giving in to the temptation both women start to waste away. Jeanie, who appears in the poem only as a cautionary tale of the past, even dies and on her grave “no grass will grow” (Rosetti 158). Laura can, however, be saved by her sister’s actions and eventually survives. The main question remains: Why do these women have to suffer for tasting the goblins’ fruits? What do these fruits actually stand for?

An obvious explanation could be a reference to the biblical tale of Adam and Eve. As the original woman, Eve is tempted by the snake, tastes the forbidden fruit and therefore causes God to ban humanity from paradise. This parallel implies that Jeanie and Laura equally commit a sin when they eat the goblin’s fruits. This would also account for the fact that Jeanie’s grave seems to be cursed in a way. Jeanie might remind us of Mina Harker in Bram Stoker’s Dracula, who becomes ‘unclean’ after one of the Count’s attacks. Jeanie dies in sin and therefore never receives redemption. She, like Mina, is unclean and never regains her original purity.

Still, the question remains: Why do the goblins’ fruits represent a sin in the Victorian context? A possible explanation is that the fruit – and more specifically the act of eating the fruit – is heavily sexualized in Rosetti’s poem. The author describes it as follows:

“She [Laura] sucked and sucked and sucked the more
Fruits which that unknown orchard bore;
She sucked until her lips were sore.” (Rosetti 134-136)

This language (especially the words ‘sucking’ and ‘sore lips’) imply connotations of oral sex. Giving in to the goblins’ temptations therefore does not only mean eating fruit but somehow seems to equal partaking in sexual relations. Since Laura and Lizzie are described as unmarried “maids” (Rosetti 2), these premarital sexual relations would have conflicted with the prevailing Victorian ideals of womanhood.

Interestingly, Christina Rosetti’s own views on the position of women in the Victorian society are said to have been “usually far from conservative and often questioning, challenging and potentially subversive” (Avery). Why, then, would Rosetti have written a poem like Goblin Market that seems to strengthen the general Victorian belief that women who give in to their sexual temptations like Jeanie and Laura committed sin and would die because of it? Possibly, Rosetti’s goal was to highlight the fact that, even though Laura makes a mistake by giving to the goblin men, due to Lizzie’s efforts she survives and receives redemption. Rosetti implies that Victorian women are not either pure and virtuous or entirely promiscuous. Rather, they can make the wrong decision at some point and still, later in their lives, fulfil the ideal of a Victorian woman who is married “with children of [her] own” (Rosetti 545).

Sources:

Avery, Simon: “Christina Rossetti: gender and power”.  <<https://www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/christina-rossetti-gender-and-power>> (12 Nov 2017)

Rosetti, Christina: “Goblin Market.” Goblin Market and Other Poems. 

In “Dracula”, many characters contribute themselves to documenting every incident by using different means of record and keep emphasizing the importance of record in the midst of such a mystery. In relation to the pervasive power that doubt exercises over various characters, the act of recording serves its role to support and prove the rationality of characters. Especially, the documents help Jonathan and Mina to dispose their self-doubt and worries. Before organizing a group to defeat Dracula, what suffers Jonathan the most is his self-doubt about his experience in Transylvania and the fear of being regarded as a madman. So he decides not to share his experience even to the his spouse and seal his diary into secrecy. However, by keeping himself away from the diary, he just left his problem uncured and thus cross again with the predicament. Finally, it is that Jonathan determines to openly discuss the issue and share his record when the problem of Jonathan see possibilities of solution. Among various phrases of emphasis on the significance of recording, the statement of Dr. Van Helsing, a figure who keeps saving other characters from the doubt and irrationalities, can be used as a evidence to support the role of record throughout the text. In conversation with Dr. Seward, Van Helsing notes that “knowledge is stronger than memory, and we should not trust the weaker. (…) Take then good note of it. Nothing is too small. I counsel you, put down in record even your doubts and surmises. Hereafter it may be of interest to you to see how true you guess. We learn from failure, not from success!” (Stoker 130). In the line, the word ‘knowledge’ in comparison to ‘memory’ bears multiple layers of meaning. Firstly, it indicates that by the act of writing, their experiences can come into a form of knowledge, which can earn credibility from both they themselves and the readers. Secondly, it implies that the reconstruction of memory into knowledge can be related to the dramatization of the incidents and thus arouse certain sentiments or atmosphere from their experiences of incidents as raw materials. Finally, it can be understood that the record itself can and should be the object of analysis and study to construct the effective tactics to fight off the Dracula. On the other hand, the composition of novel, comprised of various excerpts from each character’s record, ensures the credibility of the incidents and the narrator through its obsession with facts while not devastating the horror, monstrous, fantasy elements of the plot.

There are numerous instances of sexuality portrayed in Christina Rossetti’s poems. This is particularly apparent in one of her longer works, The Goblin Market. This poem presents sisters Laura and Lizzie who have been warned to stay away from the Goblins who sell fruits. These goblins possess fruits of great temptation for Laura. Immediately we are presented odd tale, but how does it translate to more sexual connotations?

Firstly, it is worth mentioning that the Goblins are all men, and not outwardly appealing at that. “One had a cat’s face / One whisked a tail…” (p 3). Yet it seems as though all of the women in the poem lust after something that the Goblins possess. Laura falls prey to the tempting songs of the Goblins and seeks to buy their fruit. In this context I take fruit to be associated with copulation. The two main characters of the poem have been warned against perusing a forbidden act with these “men”, particularly because of their foreign descent. Despite this, the appeal of the forbidden draws Laura to literally give up a part of herself to receive the “sweet fruits” of the Goblins. In the case of the poem, it is the “…gold upon [Laura’s] head” (p 4), but interpretations might lead readers to understand it as Laura selling her purity to the Goblins; note the way we interpret colors can also be used to link the idea of gold to goodness and purity.

Meanwhile, Laura receives the fruit of the Goblins, and is completely entranced by it. “Sweeter than honey from the rock / Stronger than man-rejoicing wine / Clearer than water flowed that juice…” (p 4). Yet after Laura has her fill, the Goblins appear to her no more. She has lost her virginity in both a literal and figurative sense, and as she has had a taste of the forbidden fruit, she also is made more and more miserable without it. “Day after day, night after night / Laura kept watch in vain / In sullen silence of exceeding pain…” (p 8). Laura lives with the longing for the moments of bliss and pleasure she once had from engaging with the Goblins, but they are gone from her and she cannot live as she had before.

The poem brings into question the liberty of women, particularly sexual liberty. While Laura is told by everyone, her sister included, that she cannot seek out her own temptations, she does not honestly keep herself from her wants, and because of this nearly ends up miserable. The tale seems to be a cautionary one, not only about unwed sex, but about women not pursuing that which is socially beyond their reach.

Although Dracula at face value is about the fear of a foreign monster, what actually makes Dracula so unnerving is watching the descent of normal humans into monsters, rather than the monster itself. While some of the grotesque parts of the novel take place when Jonathan Harker is alone with Dracula, it seems as though these scenes are only exposition for what is to come next: Lucy’s transition into a vampire. The existence of Dracula as a monster is less haunting, as he is never really portrayed as fully human: “Strange to say, there were hairs in the centre of [his] palm… As the Count leaned over me and his hands touched me, I could not repress a shudder,” (Stoker, 25). By immediately portraying Dracula as such an inhuman looking creature, the uneasiness of the reader lies in the shallow fear of the unknown. However, the real horror comes whenever the sweet, innocent, proper Lucy is transformed into the cruel creature she becomes: “…Lucy’s eyes in form and color; but Lucy’s eyes unclean and full of hell-fire, instead of the pure, gentle orbs we knew. At that moment, the remnant of my love passed into hate and loathing…” (Stoker, 225). The entirety of this passage induces much more horror than any other passage about Dracula, as readers are able to relate and imagine seeing someone that they love morph into something so evil in front of their eyes. It is easier for readers to pass Dracula off as an other, but to watch someone a reader can relate to become so barbaric is truly unsettling to the human condition. Therefore, Lucy’s tale of turning into Dracula, as well as Renfield’s descent and Mina’s threat of vampirism, is what makes this story a true horror story, even though they are not the main monsters.

At a first glance, the worst transgression of vampires appears to be their physical violence, as seen by the fact that they feed off humans, however their worst transgression is the sexuality they evoke from their victims. When Dracula bites Mina her, “white dress is smeared with blood.” Mina’s white dress is symbolic of sexual purity and the blood is reminiscent of a woman’s hymen breaking when she first has sex. When Harker is finally aroused from his deep sleep, he fears this and repeats, “In God’s name what does this mean?” and finally Mina says, “Unclean, unclean! I must not touch him or kiss him no more.” Mina has just been the victim of a sexual assault, and yet her and her fiance’s first concern is her sexual purity. So despite the physical violence Dracula causes, it was the moral violence against Mina’s soul that is of the utmost importance.

This can even been seen when the four men go to kill Lucy, and Holmwood drives a stake through her heart. The fact is that they kill her, however it is necessary because they must purify her. The cross is an antidote to vampirism because vampirism is a transgression of morality. Jesus is born to a virgin mother, and maybe the sexual purity of Jesus can somehow cleanse the sexual impurity of vampires. Vampires may be dangerous creatures but the danger of them is somehow connected to what they can evoke from their victims. This concept is reinforced in the fact that vampires are very humanesque creatures, and even feed off of humans. The fact that vampires are blatantly sexual creatures may be representative of a hidden part of humans, and one that is clearly immoral and must be suppressed.

While femininity is an underlying theme in most novels of this time period, Bram Stoker, in his novel Dracula, takes this theme one step further and delves into how women can only be saved by a man.  Granted, Lucy is nearly killed by Dracula however, most of this novel focuses on the men in Lucy’s life attempting to save her from near death.  When Lucy is losing a great amount of blood each night and becoming closer and closer to dying, the only thing to save her is a man’s blood.  “A brave man’s blood is the best thing on this earth when a woman is in trouble” (Stoker, 160).  This quote by Van Helsing is an excellent example of how men during this time period thought of women in trouble.  Men are the heroes always swooping in to save the day.  In this novel, no women are there to save Lucy.  Perhaps one of the nurses could have used their blood to conduct the transfusions however, it ultimately ends up being one of the men to always aid in this process.

Ultimately, it ends up being Arthur who turns Lucy back into a human.  “Arthur took the stake and the hammer, and when once his mind was set on action his hands never trembled nor even quivered” (Stoker, 230).  Arthur, without hesitation, drives the stake into Lucy’s heart declaring him her saving grace.  Lucy could not save herself, no woman could save her, but a man was the only person who could save her life.  This passage is also a great example of a man taking possession of a woman.  Throughout the novel, Lucy had received blood from many different men symbolizing her many relationships.  Arthur, however, declares her his own by physically taking her heart for himself in this somewhat sexual resurrection of Lucy’s life.

Masculinity and femininity are a quite common theme among novels of this time period, yet Stoker takes Dracula a step further offering insight on how women not only need men in their life but they quite literally need men to save their life.

Bram Stoker’s Dracula uses blood in different ways. One function being, the feeding of blood by Dracula to represent sexual desire and the exchange of bodily fluids associated with sexual intercourse. In Victorian England at the time of this novel, women’s sexual behavior was dictated by society’s strict expectations. She was either a virgin, the model of purity and innocence, or she was a wife whose job was to bear children.

Lucy was a pure and innocent woman, but Dracula changed that. Dr. Seward describes in his diary how “the sweetness was turned to adamantine, heartless cruelty, and the purity to voluptuous wantonness” (225). He goes on to say, “…on Lucy’s face we could see that the lips were crimson with fresh blood, and that the stream had trickled over her chin and stained the purity of her lawn death-robe” (225). Lucy is now like Dracula, desiring blood, therefore desiring sex. A death-robe was usually white, which is playing on the idea of purity and the image of marriage. In Victorian England, women almost always wore a white dress on their wedding day since white is a color used to indicate purity. However, once a woman is married she loses her virginity and innocence. That is exactly what Stoker is trying to touch upon. Lucy is not yet officially married, but the blood stains on her white dress infer that she has lost her virginity and her purity is gone. Dracula has penetrated Lucy, taken blood from her and changed her into a blood thirsty vampire/sex desiring woman. This behavior coming from a women was not socially acceptable, so the men want to kill her in order to return her to a purer state, the only state in which women can be respected.

 

Stoker, Bram. Dracula. London: Penguin Group, 2003. Print.

Dracula by Bram Stoker seems to be about the manipulative powers vampires have due to their superficial human appearance, but is really about the limitations vampires have.

Count Dracula appears to be invincible because of his many supernatural forms, such as the “thin white mist” (Stoker, 246), “I saw a bat rise” (Stoker, 245), and “stood a tall, thin man, all in black” (Stoker, 246). He can appear and vanish into any three of these forms: mist, a bat or man. Since Dracula can transform into these varied forms he has a greater chance of taking blood from humans by being able to fit into different spaces and situations.

However, there are more limitations to Dracula’s powers. While he can look young and full of life, which increases his chances of luring in women, he can only look this way and have strength with the blood from humans. Dracula, or vampires in general rely on their looks to live. For example, after Lucy had been bitten by Dracula and was considered dead, she looked “more radiantly beautiful than ever” (Stoker, 171) which Arthur began to “loathe” (Stoker, 172). Beauty plays with the human mind and manipulates one.

Also while Dracula could live forever, and has for centuries he has to hide, constantly change location, “the Count may have many houses” (Stoker, 250) and fake his death. In order for him to live he has to constantly mold to societies fashion in each new era. Vampires are also limited to man’s powers from sunrise to sunset, “to-day this Vampire is limited to the powers of man, and till sunset he may not change” (Stoker, 261). While vampires have a superficial human appearance and use it to their advantage, they also are limited by it. Their powers become leveled to actual humans during certain times of the day. It’s interesting because while Dracula has lived for centuries and had the time to gain all the knowledge possible through experimentation, he was still not ahead of human knowledge, “for had he dared, at the first, to attempt certain things he would long ago have been beyond our power” (Stoker, 260).

What I am trying to say here is that while vampires seem invincible, they are not, they have many limitations. Viewers can even emphasize with them because their souls are trapped, and cannot be set free until they are dashed with a stake through their heart.

(Page numbers may vary- Dover Thrift Editions of Bram Stoker Dracula)

A motif that features prominently in Bram Stoker’s Dracula is that of sleeping and dreaming. The act of sleeping itself becomes congruent with various meanings. Apart from the traditional associations of ‘eternal sleep’ as a metaphor for death, a good night’s sleep, for example, is considered to be “deep, tranquil, life-giving, health-giving’’ (202). However, for Lucy Westenra and Mina Harker, their nights turn into “presage[s] of horror” (201) that do not grant the two women rest and peace but leave them “feel[ing] terribly weak and spiritless” (419). The reader knows that both women feel weakened in the morning because Count Dracula visits them at night to feed on their blood. Sleep therefore also becomes a human (and predominantly female) weakness in Stoker’s novel. It takes men like Dr. Seward, Professor Van Helsing and Jonathan Harker to protect these two women in their sleep. Dracula only ever manages to come close to Lucy and Mina when, for some reason, none of the men is close by. What seems especially interesting in this context is the fact that the male characters in Stoker’s novel desperately need sleep to mentally and physically strengthen themselves in order to defeat the antagonistic Count Dracula. Prioritizing their own sleep, however, forces them to abandon Lucy and Mina which in turn, leaves the women defenseless and therefore weakens the novel’s female characters.  Thus, Stoker creates a framework in which male strength equates female weakness.

All in all, by falling asleep and transgressing into an unconscious state, Stoker’s (female and male) characters lose all capabilities of taking active agency for themselves. Therefore, they surrender themselves to Dracula. In Jonathan Harker’s case, by falling asleep in a different room in the Count’s castle (Chapter 3), he similarly surrenders himself to the three female vampires. The very idea and practice of nightly sleep is therefore inverted by monsters that walk the night. To be even more precise: the sheer existence of a supernatural creature such as Bram Stoker’s vampire contorts the natural order of Victorian England including the traditional human activity of sleeping.