Berten suggests that feminist critics show how literary representations of women are often “familiar cultural stereotypes”. How far does you reading of ‘Dracula’ conform to this feminist view and what can be inferred through Stokers presentation of his female characters?
From the opening chapters of Dracula, the reader is faced with under-developed female characters who often fit into the limited cultural stereotypes presented by Bertens. The clearest example of this is Jonathan’s encounter with the female vampires, who fit into the “dangerous and immoral seductress” stereotype. Through the use of these stereotypes, Stoker makes political statements about the roles of women at the time and many of these statements can be perceived as negative. …show more content…
In her letters, she often presents herself as less innocent than she many seem from other accounts of her (Mina’s letters, Dr. Stewards diary). Lucy seems to enjoy the attention she gets from other men, especially Quincy, and describes herself as a “terrible flirt”. Although Lucy may not be dangerous, some of her actions would have been seen as immoral to a Victorian audience. One example of this is her statement to Mina; “why can’t they let a girl marry three men, or as many as want her, and save all the trouble?”. Although this statement comes across as playful, it is implied that Lucy has a sexual appetite that cannot be satisfied, and foreshadows her later transformation. However, so that Lucy stays innocent to the reader, Lucy immediately recognises what she has said is inappropriate “but this is heresy, and I must not say it”. (However, the lines are still left in her letter) . Lucy also kisses Quincey after she rejects him, something that would not have been seen as completely appropriate in the context of the time. Here Lucy rejects social conventions in a subversive move that undermines the light-hearted tone of her
From the opening chapters of Dracula, the reader is faced with under-developed female characters who often fit into the limited cultural stereotypes presented by Bertens. The clearest example of this is Jonathan’s encounter with the female vampires, who fit into the “dangerous and immoral seductress” stereotype. Through the use of these stereotypes, Stoker makes political statements about the roles of women at the time and many of these statements can be perceived as negative. …show more content…
In her letters, she often presents herself as less innocent than she many seem from other accounts of her (Mina’s letters, Dr. Stewards diary). Lucy seems to enjoy the attention she gets from other men, especially Quincy, and describes herself as a “terrible flirt”. Although Lucy may not be dangerous, some of her actions would have been seen as immoral to a Victorian audience. One example of this is her statement to Mina; “why can’t they let a girl marry three men, or as many as want her, and save all the trouble?”. Although this statement comes across as playful, it is implied that Lucy has a sexual appetite that cannot be satisfied, and foreshadows her later transformation. However, so that Lucy stays innocent to the reader, Lucy immediately recognises what she has said is inappropriate “but this is heresy, and I must not say it”. (However, the lines are still left in her letter) . Lucy also kisses Quincey after she rejects him, something that would not have been seen as completely appropriate in the context of the time. Here Lucy rejects social conventions in a subversive move that undermines the light-hearted tone of her