Initially this paper will give an overview about the role of women in the Victorian era during which "Dracula" was written. This is important in order to identify to what extent the main female characters - Mina Harker and Lucy Westenra - go conform to those former roles. Their characters and respective roles in society will be analysed arguing that Mina represents a role model of a Victorian woman and Lucy an example of a fallen woman.
Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula is set in England and Eastern Europe at the end of the nineteenth century. It consists of a collection of journal entries, letters and telegrams so that there are several narrative perspectives. The main characters are Jonathan Harker, his fiancée Mina Murray, her friend Lucy Westenra, her fiancé Arthur Holmwood, Quincey Morris, Dr. Van Helsing and Dr. John Seward.
The novel opens with Jonathan Harker, an English lawyer who travels to Transylvania to conclude a real estate transaction with a man called Count Dracula. On his way to the destination he is being warned about the castle of Count Dracula. Just a few days later Harker learns why: he is kept in prison in the castle and nearly attacked by three seductive, female vampires. Concurrently with this, his fiancée Mina visits her friend Lucy Westenra and finds her sleepwalking one night. She believes that she has seen a creature with red eyes bending over Lucy what proofs to be true: Lucy has been bitten by Dracula and therefore is slowly transforming into a vampire.
As one night a wolf breaks into the house of the Westenra’s, Lucy’s mother gets a heart attack and Lucy herself gets killed. After her death Van Helsing wants Quincey, Seward and Holmwood to come Lucy’s tomb because he wants to convince them that Lucy has transformed into a Vampire after her death. The men see her preying upon a child and get to the conclusion that she has to be destroyed. Her former fiancé Arthur Holmwood stabs a stake through her heart and hereby ultimately kills her.
After this incident Jonathan, Mina, Dr. Seward and Van Helsing start hunting Dracula. One night Mina is also attacked by Dracula but she does not transform into a Vampire. At the end of the novel the male characters finish their hunt by killing Dracula and his three female vampires.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. The Role of Women in the Victorian Era
3. Mina Harker: A Portrayal of the Victorian Woman
4. Lucy Westenra: A Portrayal of the Fallen Woman
5. Conclusion
Research Objective and Scope
The primary objective of this paper is to examine the portrayal of the two main female characters in Bram Stoker's Dracula, Mina Harker and Lucy Westenra, against the backdrop of Victorian gender norms and societal expectations to determine how they conform to or deviate from these ideals.
- The historical construction of gender roles within the Victorian patriarchal society.
- Mina Harker as a representative of the ideal Victorian woman and mother figure.
- Lucy Westenra as a manifestation of the 'fallen woman' and her departure from moral codes.
- The impact of the 'New Woman' archetype on Stoker’s characterization.
- The restoration of social and moral order through the punishment of transgressing characters.
Excerpt from the Book
3. Mina Harker: A Portrayal of the Victorian Woman
Mina Harker is, besides Lucy Westenra, the main female character in Dracula and is introduced to the novel by her husband Jonathan who writes about her in his diary, mainly in the context of recipes. At the beginning of the novel they are not married therefore she is named Mina Murray initially.
Before her marriage Mina works as a schoolmistress, which was an accepted occupation for women of the Victorian period (Mewald 3). Moreover she has some journalistic ambitions: she learns shorthand and typing. Mina basically acquires this practical knowledge to “be useful to Jonathan” (Stoker 75). Therefore she also learns the train timetable by heart “so that [she] may help Jonathan in case he is in a hurry” (ibid. 196). Although Mina is economically independent before her marriage due to her career, she accepts her function as her husband’s helpmate after her wedding. She even seems to be glad about her new tasks as a wife because when she writes to Lucy about being married she mentions the “grace and sweet responsibilities [she has] taken upon [herself]” (ibid. 123). So she does not perceive her new tasks as a burden but as something she seems to be pleased with. By reference to this statement one can also identify Mina’s sense of duty: she is anxious to her new tasks and to write her diary to practise her shorthand and typewriting skills.
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: This chapter introduces the narrative structure of Bram Stoker's novel and outlines the paper's aim to analyze the roles of Mina Harker and Lucy Westenra in the context of Victorian femininity.
2. The Role of Women in the Victorian Era: This section details the patriarchal structure of the 19th century, highlighting the legal and social constraints placed upon women and the emergence of the 'New Woman' archetype.
3. Mina Harker: A Portrayal of the Victorian Woman: The chapter argues that Mina embodies the ideal Victorian woman through her devotion to her husband, her moral conduct, and her domestic role as a mother figure.
4. Lucy Westenra: A Portrayal of the Fallen Woman: This analysis explores Lucy’s transition from a conformist Victorian girl to a 'fallen woman' whose suppressed sexual desires are liberated through her transformation into a vampire.
5. Conclusion: The concluding chapter contrasts the two characters, summarizing how Mina's adherence to social rules leads to her salvation, while Lucy's deviation from these norms results in her death.
Keywords
Dracula, Bram Stoker, Victorian Era, Gender Roles, Mina Harker, Lucy Westenra, Fallen Woman, New Woman, Patriarchy, Morality, Chastity, Female Sexuality, Vampirism, Social Order, Gender Identity
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the primary focus of this academic paper?
This paper examines how the two main female characters, Mina Harker and Lucy Westenra, from Bram Stoker’s *Dracula* reflect and interact with the gender-specific social roles and moral expectations of the Victorian era.
What central themes are explored in the text?
The core themes include patriarchal ideology, the definition of the 'ideal' Victorian woman versus the 'fallen' woman, the emergence of the 'New Woman,' and the social anxiety surrounding female sexuality.
What is the thesis statement regarding the female characters?
The author argues that Mina Harker represents the prototype of the ideal Victorian wife and mother, whereas Lucy Westenra serves as an example of a 'fallen woman' whose uncontrolled desires lead to her destruction.
Which methodology is applied in this analysis?
The work utilizes a literary analysis approach, drawing upon historical context, contemporary Victorian studies, and secondary literary criticism to interpret character behavior and social dynamics within the novel.
How is the main body of the paper structured?
The body is structured to provide an initial overview of Victorian social standards, followed by separate analytical chapters on Mina Harker and Lucy Westenra, concluding with a comparative summary.
What does the term 'fallen woman' imply in this context?
In this paper, a 'fallen woman' refers to a female character who has abandoned or violated the strict moral codes of chastity and obedience, often associated with sexual liberation or transgression.
How does Mina Harker’s intelligence affect her role as an ideal Victorian woman?
While her intelligence makes her a valuable asset to the 'vampire hunters,' Mina consciously suppresses her potential to remain within the domestic sphere, ensuring she does not threaten male authority.
Why does the text argue that Lucy Westenra must die?
The paper suggests that Lucy represents a threat to the patriarchal order; therefore, her destruction—a violent act described as potentially sexual—is necessary to punish her transgressions and restore social purity.
What symbolic meaning does the blood transfusion have for Lucy Westenra?
The blood transfusions are interpreted as a symbolic sexual union that defies the Victorian marriage ideal, thereby marking Lucy as a 'polyandrist' and a 'fallen woman' whose purity cannot be reclaimed.
- Citar trabajo
- Katharina Zeiger (Autor), 2013, Female Characters in Bram Stoker’s "Dracula", Múnich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/458182
