During this period the gothic novel under went a period of transition also. This was redirected into a new form entitled “Irish gothicism”. This new branch of Gothicism is illuminated in many different dimensions; a form that dealt largely with contemporary concerns and discovers a vocabulary for that which cannot be spoken about – taboo subjects. Sex was one of these taboos, which had a dominant presence in Bram Stoker’s “Dracula”. The sexual content is at times explicit as well as being deeply rooted in the text.
The first instance of this is during Jonathan Harker’s imprisonment in Castle Dracula. In this essay I hope to examine the episode in some detail in order to highlight how women were oppressed in this era.
In Chapter 4 the author relates what happened the night before to Jonathan. In the middle of the night he is confronted by three women who were, as he described “both thrilling and repulsive.” This comment can be compared to the two extremes of Dr Jeckyll and Mr Hyde, where Robert Louis Stevenson raises the issue that Victorian society had a dark side in many cases a public and private face. We can equate this with Jonathan Harker and his feelings towards the women. The character of Dr Jeckyll was a pillar of respectability, yet there was a darker, repressed side as revealed by Mr Hyde. The darker side of Mr Hyde was one of lust and adventure.
This becomes apparent to us through the episode with the three female vampires. Harker is amazed at these creatures as he has never seen women so unrestrained before and he is deeply stunned. He seems helpless to do anything to fight against them and we find out that he does not want to fight them off as he finds them very attractive. He describes himself as having “a wicked burning desire” this implies that sex was regarded as evil and wrong. He knows that it is wrong and yet he waits with “delightful anticipation” of what is to come. In the Victorian society such feelings would not have been discussed, however Bram Stroker makes no attempt to cover up the intentions of the three vampires. Instead he chooses to place emphasis on the sexual element with vivid descriptions of the women and their seductiveness. He describes their lips as being “voluptuous” and their appearance very pleasing. Count Dracula is very much the master of the house, who as in Victorian society, was expected to provide for the women he has total control over them and they dare not disobey him for fear of the consequences. In this episode he provides them with a baby so that they will leave Harker alone.
At the end of the episode we read that the three vampires disappeared into thin air. In my opinion Stoker was comparing this to the role of Victorian women, who in the home were expected to fade into the background. For indeed the concept of the ideal women was a much sought after creature “innocent but sensual passive but alert and always obedient to men”. The power of women is continually being undermined in Dracula. They are continually perceived as of weak, and even Mina one of the stronger women in the novel falls under the spell of Dracula. Mina is forced to suck blood from his bosom. This reflects the manifestation of male dominance and female servitude is evoked through the imagery.
Stoker’s Dracula is an ambiguous figure, a source of both erotic anxiety and corrupt desire. He is the symbol of a relatively uncomplicated evil, which resided in secret wants and unconscious desire. This can be compared to the way the Victorians viewed themselves, they saw their feelings as wrong so they chose not to expose them:
yet all these taboo subjects are highlighted in Bram Stokers novel. It is not known whether or not he intended to do this or if it was simply an unconscious telegraphing of his inner thoughts at the time.
