Lizette Arellano
I. Dracula’s New Women
When writing on the changing image of women, an anonymous writer from the 1894 East & South Devon Advertiser states, “There is something exceedingly attractive to the female mind about the New Woman...but, as a matter of fact, the New Woman, taken exactly as she is described in the works in question, is the Wrong Woman, and hardly exists at all,” (“New Woman”). During the fin de siècle, society was very critical about how the image of the Victorian women was beginning to evolve, and often believed them to be betraying the noblest traditions of their own history and of other civilizations. However, with the way in which Victorian England was changing, it was easy to say the same about their society. The novel Dracula by Bram Stoker assesses this growing society through his reanalysis of how gender functions within his novel. Dracula proves, on recent examination, to be a novel about patriarchal dominion and the dangers of the flesh. Stoker through his depictions of his female characters, neither advocates nor shuns the New Women, and past scholarship has debated what exactly Stoker is attempting to do with the women in his novel. In this paper, I will argue that during the fin de siècle, when the definition of what it means to be a woman drastically changes, Dracula illustrates how the appetites of Mina and Lucy become symbolic of the rising image of the New Woman.
II. Victorian Women
During the mid-nineteenth century, the “Woman Question” began to sweep through both the private and public sphere as society questioned what they were to do with their women. Women were only able to dominate the private sphere and as a result, there was an influx of idle women. Coventry Patmore’s poem, “The Angel in the House” published in 1852, depicted the ideal Victorian woman as one who is submissive, kind, domestic, and feminine. This poem set the standard for women of the nineteenth-century and can be seen represented in works of literature, as female characters who are docile and sweet, contrasting their masculine male counterparts. During this period, society began to emphasize the differences between the sexes and how their duties are dramatically separate from one another.
Legislation was barely beginning to transform in favor of women with the Divorce Act of 1857 and the Married Women’s Property Act of 1882, yet in 1894, Sarah Grand published her essay, “The New Aspect of the Woman Question” in The North American Review, drastically altering society’s perception of women. Coventry Patmore’s “angel in the house”, was in turn occluded by a new term: “New Woman.” Grand defines the New Woman as the woman who has been enlightened on what is wrong with the domestic sphere, and calls for women to be made aware of their position in society. The response to this new image is seen through representations in literature such as in Stoker’s Dracula. However, others were highly critical and viewed the New Woman as one who was mannish, loud and outspoken, and most importantly, disavowed marriage. Like the writer from the East & South Devon Advertiser, they viewed this woman as “lamentably deficient” and an “uncomfortable paradox” (“New Woman”). The independence of the New Woman shocked society because she was unconventional and strayed from the traditional notion of what it meant to be a woman. Through her rational dress and individualism, the New Woman began to dominate nineteenth-century society, causing a radical reversal in gender roles. Dracula is written during this moment of social upheaval and Stoker even mentions the New Woman in a correspondence between his female characters. Mina and Lucy, the leading female characters in Dracula, become critical to analyze as their appetites stray away from the traditional characteristics of Victorian women.
Eating habits play a minor role in the private sphere of women, but are relevant to Stoker’s novel when considering the development of the New Woman. Women were often pushed to stifle their appetites, which led to the rise of eating disorders among women. The ideal figure of women was often pushed onto young women by overbearing mothers hoping for an advantageous marriage. Therefore, women are often depicted as hardly eating in nineteenth century novels, or being very prim and proper when confronted with a meal. To be a gluttonous Victorian woman became a paradox, and this description of hyper-consumption is often attributed to men. Due to New Woman being characterized as masculine, disorderly eating habits would have been expected from this progressive female.
III. Scholars on the New Woman in Dracula
Within past scholarship, Lucy and Mina were often discussed as females who present New Woman tendencies through their more masculine traits. Critics discuss that the way they try to stay within the realm of the angel in the house archetype make them New Woman. Furthermore, various articles discuss the hyper-sexuality of the female characters within the novel. Though rarely viewed as sexually transgressive, Victorian novels often, according to Demetrakopoulos, created characters like Mina and Lucy that challenged gender norms of the century (110). Multiple scholars have viewed this reversal in gender roles within the novel to connect the women to the New Woman because they encapsulate more masculine traits. Mewald, who writes on the portrayal of Mina, asserts that her intelligence and usefulness ultimately help the men and grant her social autonomy, which strips the men of their masculinity arguing that without her role as the distributor of information, the men would have not been capable of capturing the Count (Mewald 35).
However, others have paradoxically contended that Mina and Lucy’s more feminine traits are what make them New Woman. Current articles that discuss feminist literary theory within Dracula have suggested that they become New Women through their ability to masquerade as “deceptively docile” characters, according to Chez (Chez 78). Often critics draw connections to their hyper-femininity to the New Woman. They suggest that though the New Woman is considered to be a more masculine character, Dracula’s women prove that they can achieve social agency through their kindness and helpful nature. Kistler even demonstrates through her article that female sympathy is what allows not only Mina to connect to the Count, but also allows the men to capture him (Kistler 374). Similarly, when discussing Lucy’s character, others have contended that Lucy’s blonde hair, fragility and naiveté act as guise for her desire to have three suitors. Demetrakopoulos views this as a way for Lucy to achieve power despite her lack of intelligence and strength (111). Though there is this juxtaposition that is created between these two different female characters, they both become categorized as New Woman in similar ways.
IV. Mina
Mina Harker’s character is widely discussed within current scholarship as the absolute representation of the New Woman in Dracula. Critics have argued that her involvement in the capture of the Count, her proficiency as a stenographer, and her independence is what marks her as the representation of the changing Victorian woman. However, I will discuss how her New Woman-ness can be seen characterized through her appetite. Chez’s article on “Deceptive Docility” analyzes these traits which Mina possesses, and rather concludes that her submissive and docile traits act as a facade to her more autonomous nature (Chez 81). Mina even describes herself as “not of a fainting disposition,” reminding readers that she is not as naive and weak-willed as others may perceive (Stoker 123). Though this may be, it becomes critical to analyze how her appetite distinguishes her as a New Woman. Within the novel, Mina is seen eating enough to “shock the New Woman” to provide a way in which to describe the manner and amount of food she is consuming (Stoker 110). Though women of the time are meant to be dainty and present impeccable table manners, Mina describes herself as the opposite, connecting her to the New Woman.
Food plays a central role in the novel, particularly to the women, because they are often told to eat to relieve the trauma from either death or attacks from the Count. However, when Mina describes herself eating it is seen as an act of hyper-consumption in which her appetite garners a comment on the New Woman which Mina has argued against, “I believe we would have shocked the ‘New Woman’ with our appetites’” (Stoker 110). Mina even goes to depict the amount of tea she has consumed as “severe” to further explain the caliber of her appetite (Stoker 110). Scholars have viewed consumption within Dracula as an indication of the female characters’ progressive nature, because it is often correlated to hyper-sexuality. This creates a connection to the New Woman through her more transgressive behavior and Domínguez-Rué illustrates how this erotic connotation of consumption is present through the way in which the Mina eats (Domínguez-Rué 300).
Perhaps one of the more prominent displays of Mina’s appetite is through her consumption of blood during the Count’s assault. This scene becomes a perversion of the image of a woman breastfeeding her child as Mina is seen drinking blood directly from the Count’s chest. Mina’s appetite within this scene exudes hyper-sexuality, tying her to the New Woman due to her countenance and state of dress. The description of the Count’s expression by Dr. Seward is depicted as “devilish passion,” highlighting the scene’s sexual connotations, and by illustrating how Mina’s consumption of blood is seen as a sexual act, Stoker emphasizes her New Woman characteristics (Stoker 287). Further, there is the repeated image of the state of Mina’s blood-smeared face and hands from this act of consumption. This image can be described as unconventional to her gender because of she does not display the the typical pristine appearance of a Victorian woman. Rather, Stoker’s savage description of “blood [which] smeared on her lips and cheeks and chin” demonstrates a more atavistic connotation of the New Woman (Stoker 286).
IV. Lucy
Lucy is presented in the novel as a fragile and naive character who succumbs to the sins of the flesh through her transformation into a vampire. Past scholars have written on her “angel in the house” characteristics and how they are overshadowed by her New Woman perspective on marriage. Lucy’s appetite can be seen represented through her more transgressive nature and her ultimate transformation into a vampire.
Lucy’s sexual appetite connects her to the New Woman through her openly-sexual character. Within the novel, Lucy represents the “angel in the house” through her naivete and her angelic appearance, as she is doted on by her three suitors and is a very vulnerable character because she falls prey to the Count’s own appetite. However, her “deceptive docility” can be seen contrasted within her letters to Mina where she reveals her dissatisfaction with monogamy, “Why can’t they let a girl marry three men, or as many as want her” (Stoker 82). Lucy’s sexual appetite is seen through this radical declaration and Weissman argues that this foreshadows to her transformation into a vampire (395). Lucy’s appetite can be construed as a demand for sexual autonomy, correlating to the New Woman’s desire for social autonomy. Though Stoker makes Lucy chastise herself and calls her statement “heresy”, Lucy still represents the New Woman because, like Mina, she uses her helpless nature as a guise of her more transgressive nature. Demetrakopoulos views this as a way for Lucy to achieve power in spite of her lack of intelligence and strength that Mina displays (111).
As the novel progresses, Lucy falls victim to vampirism and her sexual appetite becomes drastically more pronounced. When the men are about to capture Lucy she exclaims, “Come to me, Arthur. Leave these others and come to me. My arms are hungry for you” (Stoker 221). Her hunger can be depicted as both sexual and as a hunger for the blood running through Arthur’s veins. Stoker’s diction illustrates how Lucy’s appetite is a prominent facet of the description of her character because it reveals the severity of her transformation. This declaration becomes an example of how Lucy’s excessive appetite parallels the trope of the New Woman’s imprudent nature. Within the nineteenth-century, New Womanhood is depicted as an overindulgence, and Lucy’s overly sexualized appetite as a vampire indirectly addresses this trope.
Following Lucy’s transformation, she begins to display an unconventional appetite for children. Though described as a complete turn from perhaps any normal Victorian woman, New Woman and “angel in the house” alike, I suggest that her appetite becomes a representation of the rejection of motherhood. Lucy’s precarious nature is evident throughout the novel and when she transforms into a creature, which is argued to exemplify a manifestation of sexual desire, an extreme form of her true nature is revealed (Weissman 402). Proceeding her transformation, Lucy’s appetite becomes an indication that she encapsulates more of the New Woman image. New Woman within the nineteenth century were often stereotyped as women who dismissed motherhood because it hindered feminist goals. In Dracula, Lucy’s appetite for children becomes a dismissal of motherhood because she chooses to prey on children. This can be seen through how the children refer to her as the “Bloofer lady” (Stoker 190) which reveals how her beauty is correlated to the perversion of motherhood. Lucy’s appetite encompasses this New Woman stereotype as the New Woman was often believed to be detrimental to children, because of she was driven towards a more liberated position in society, rather than the role of a mother.
VI. Conclusion
Stoker’s novel examines the ways in which Victorian women were repressed by the societal pressure that pushed them to be submissive and virtuous; in contrast, it is evident that Mina and Lucy stray from societal norms as the novel progresses. Dracula’s women are often the subjects of literary debate as they become representations of how gender roles are beginning to change during the fin de siècle. Mina and Lucy become stark portrayals of the New Woman through their consumption of blood and sexualized appetite. Whether Stoker simply happened to be a product of this period and responded to these changes within his novel, or was unknowing of his women’s characterizations, it becomes interesting to see how these dynamic characters are infused with tropes of Grand’s New Woman.
Works Cited
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Biography
Lizette is currently a first-year graduate student at CSUF. She double-majored in English and Comparative Literature and received by BA at CSUF in May 2018.