The key factor in this novel is the use of the vampire. Both of the female characters, Mina and Lucy, are rebellious and use their vampire forms as a way to express their New Woman behavior. As they transform into vampires this dual side of them can be shown clearly and the male characters begin to see it throughout the novel. For example when Lucy is in her vampire like state she becomes more flirtatious and request Arthur to kiss her.Dr Seward writes:” Arthur oh my love, I am so glad that you have come! Kiss me!” ( Stoker 172). In the previous quote Dr. Seward writes in his diary the events that took place on September twentieth and witnesses Lucys unusual request which is a result of her transformation into a vampire. Lucy is no longer
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Even though Lucy and the three sisters don't specifically say they don't want children it is implied symbolically by stoker through their actions as Vampires. Alan P. Jonson writes:
The fact that her victims are all children suggests that her animosity like the rebelliousness of the most radical heroines in New Woman fiction is directed not only at the vows and legal constraints of the role she has been expected to assume but at motherhood itself. ( Johnson 4)
Lucy and the three sisters prey upon children in Dracula. This symbolic act shows that they do not have protective feelings for children as the traditional woman does but rather a resentment towards them as the New Woman has. With this in mind, it is clear that Stoker is trying to send a moral message to the audience. He finds a clever way to express his opinion on the New Woman by stating that he appreciates their desire for higher education but does not like the idea of sexual expression or a resentment to …show more content…
In a statement by Carol A. Senf she explains how Mina is an important character in the story. “ if it were not for Mina Harker, the reader might conclude that Stoker is a repressed Victorian man with an intense hatred of women or at least a pathological aversion to them” (Snef 1). Mina demonstrates some characteristics of the New Woman however she does not express herself in a sexually inappropriate way such as Lucy and the count's mistress do. Although she does posses some of the positive characteristics of the New Woman which actually help the group find and kill Dracula towards the end of the story. When the group is trying to locate Dracula they debate on whether or not they should allow Mina to come as well. However Mina is responsible for using her knowledge to determine where Dracula will be. On october 30th she writes in her diary: “ I have asked Dr. Van Helsing and he has got me all the papers I have not yet seen… whilst they are resting, I shall go over all carefully, and perhaps I may arrive at some conclusion” (Stoker 381). Mina goes over all of the maps and documents and eventually figures out the best route Dracula would have to take to get back to his castle. This discovery was made by her without the use of supernatural help showing the audience that she is very intelligent and educated which was a quality of the New
Even though Lucy and the three sisters don't specifically say they don't want children it is implied symbolically by stoker through their actions as Vampires. Alan P. Jonson writes:
The fact that her victims are all children suggests that her animosity like the rebelliousness of the most radical heroines in New Woman fiction is directed not only at the vows and legal constraints of the role she has been expected to assume but at motherhood itself. ( Johnson 4)
Lucy and the three sisters prey upon children in Dracula. This symbolic act shows that they do not have protective feelings for children as the traditional woman does but rather a resentment towards them as the New Woman has. With this in mind, it is clear that Stoker is trying to send a moral message to the audience. He finds a clever way to express his opinion on the New Woman by stating that he appreciates their desire for higher education but does not like the idea of sexual expression or a resentment to …show more content…
In a statement by Carol A. Senf she explains how Mina is an important character in the story. “ if it were not for Mina Harker, the reader might conclude that Stoker is a repressed Victorian man with an intense hatred of women or at least a pathological aversion to them” (Snef 1). Mina demonstrates some characteristics of the New Woman however she does not express herself in a sexually inappropriate way such as Lucy and the count's mistress do. Although she does posses some of the positive characteristics of the New Woman which actually help the group find and kill Dracula towards the end of the story. When the group is trying to locate Dracula they debate on whether or not they should allow Mina to come as well. However Mina is responsible for using her knowledge to determine where Dracula will be. On october 30th she writes in her diary: “ I have asked Dr. Van Helsing and he has got me all the papers I have not yet seen… whilst they are resting, I shall go over all carefully, and perhaps I may arrive at some conclusion” (Stoker 381). Mina goes over all of the maps and documents and eventually figures out the best route Dracula would have to take to get back to his castle. This discovery was made by her without the use of supernatural help showing the audience that she is very intelligent and educated which was a quality of the New