In the 1890’s the roles of women were changing. Women were entering the work force more and some were demanding equality. As all stories and novels are influenced by the time period they are written, Stoker’s Dracula follows the same pattern by addressing the changing social norms pertaining to women. In his novel, Stoker has only a few female characters, but in these characters, one can see the good and dark side of the new woman of the nineteenth century. In Mina Harker, Stoker reveals an example of how the traditional and contemporary can be mixed within one person while in the other women, Lucy and the female vampires, he shows the dark side of the changes in the female society, revealing that the changes social norms occurring at the
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Kathryn Hughes notes in her article Gender Roles of the 19th Century, that it was assumed that all women only desired marriage in order to have children. The vampire women’s lack of care towards children is first apparent in Dracula’s castle when the Count brings a bag containing, what is assumed to be, a child to the three vampire women for them to feed on (Stoker 43-44). According to Carol Senf, this behavior is very troubling to Jonathan Harker (Senf 50), who’s demise by these women were delayed by the Count delivering an alternative meal (Stoker …show more content…
In the time frame Dracula was written women were entering fields of work where they had previously not been (Senf 47), however, it had long been acceptable for a woman to hold a job in the fields of education and child care. Mina’s job fell into one of the socially acceptable positions as she was employed as an assistant school mistress (Stoker 55). She does, however, speak of a plan to imitate the more contemporary women for her journal entries when she writes, “I shall try and do what I see the lady journalists do: interviewing and writing descriptions and trying to remember conversations” (Stoker 56)
She again shows a traditional aspect by learning shorthand. This, she comments in a letter to Lucy Westenra, would be something useful to her soon to be husband in his work (Stoker 55). According to Lydia Murdoch (81) wives would often help their husbands in their work, although they did not receive recognition for their
Kathryn Hughes notes in her article Gender Roles of the 19th Century, that it was assumed that all women only desired marriage in order to have children. The vampire women’s lack of care towards children is first apparent in Dracula’s castle when the Count brings a bag containing, what is assumed to be, a child to the three vampire women for them to feed on (Stoker 43-44). According to Carol Senf, this behavior is very troubling to Jonathan Harker (Senf 50), who’s demise by these women were delayed by the Count delivering an alternative meal (Stoker …show more content…
In the time frame Dracula was written women were entering fields of work where they had previously not been (Senf 47), however, it had long been acceptable for a woman to hold a job in the fields of education and child care. Mina’s job fell into one of the socially acceptable positions as she was employed as an assistant school mistress (Stoker 55). She does, however, speak of a plan to imitate the more contemporary women for her journal entries when she writes, “I shall try and do what I see the lady journalists do: interviewing and writing descriptions and trying to remember conversations” (Stoker 56)
She again shows a traditional aspect by learning shorthand. This, she comments in a letter to Lucy Westenra, would be something useful to her soon to be husband in his work (Stoker 55). According to Lydia Murdoch (81) wives would often help their husbands in their work, although they did not receive recognition for their