In Eltis’ essay he mentions the term “New” Woman. We can see representations of the “New” woman in Bram Stoker’s Dracula. With the introduction of the “Brides of Dracula”, who are the opposite of the “traditional” Victorian woman, who are pulsing with sexuality, something normally unheard of in this time. Although this introduction is brief, it does allude to the behaviors of Lucy who later becomes a victim of Count Dracula, also possess these qualities. Although Lucy does not have the qualities to the extent of the brides, as she has not completely turned into a vampire thus far.
The “new” woman described in the novel strays from traditional roles and has no regrets. As Eltis states “Vampirism infects women with masculine sexual aggression and perverts their maternal instincts…” Although I do agree that the women who are turned into a vampire, I would not necessarily say that it turns them into a masculine state per se; I think that it unhinges hidden or oppressed feeling of sex and violence. Essentially it undoes what makes us human, the capability to know what is right and wrong.
5 comments:
Well, what I think Eltis meant by that quote was that once a vampire, they no longer have the motherly instinct that normally overrides their sexual desire. We see this by the three female vampires and by Lucy where they are more interested in feeding their hunger even if it is by a child. The question I have regarding this is the following: Is Eltis saying that with males, they would be willing to kill children to feed this hunger/desire? I agree they don;t necessarily have that "maternal bond" like a woman might, but this seems to be severe.
I agree that Eltis is not saying that males would be more willing to kill children, but the point of the reference is to toy with the idea of motherhood and nurture - which the female vampires do NOT follow, obviously. In the article "Feminism, Sex Role Exchanges, and Other Subliminal Fantasies in Bram Stoker's 'Dracula'," which I will be presenting on in class, the author Stephanie Dematrakopoulos says the following: "Stoker's vampire women not only reject motherhood, they dine on children, as special gourmet items peculiar to the female palate; the male vampires never touch children." This highlights the bond between female (mother) and child, and plays with what we know as the norm s of parenting and the woman's role.
I do believe that the vampire women portray a more sexual manner that women would of that time. However, I do also believe that their traits are masculine because of the time this was written. The vampire women are seen as dominant, striking, and lustful objects that when seen, men fall into a daze. These traits were rare to have on display in Stokers time.
I agree with Barry, that once becoming a vampire their sexual desire takes over. This is evident the three vampire brides and how they approach Jonathan Harker. This is also clearly shown when Lucy is dying. She begs Arthur to kiss her, when Vanhelsing forbids him to do so Lucys voice auddnely becomes, "Soft and voluptuous" as she begs him to kiss her. Arthur does not and she evenutally passes.
The interesting thing about the idea of the "New Woman" is that Stoker is not exactly clear as to how he views this type of woman. Even though the maternal instinct is destroyed because the women feed on children their beauty is described as increasing after their transformations. This ambivalence is seen in Eltis in the lines, "the label stuck, being adopted by both the champions of sexual equality and by the conservative press to mock these misguided and unbecomingly manly women."(452) This ambivalence is present is present in Stoker's writing as he attributes the New Woman title to some of the female characters without proclaiming whether he uses it as a term of endearment of mockery.
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