An essay on common exam question of comparing the presentation of women in Oscar Wilde's 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' and Bram Stoker's 'Dracula' from a current university student that achieved an A* in English Literature A level by memorising the material in this essay laid out in an easily acces...
Introduction:
Bram Stoker’s ‘Dracula’ and Oscar Wilde’s ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray,’ are works of
gothic literature born out of a face of Fin-de-siecle Victorian London and some of the
increasingly feminist beliefs that were emerging at the time.
However, these are not supported in either novel and instead, traditional gender
roles seem to be reinforced.
In ‘Dracula,’ women are primarily victims of Dracula to be saved by the heroic figures
of the men in the novel.
Conversely, in ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray,’ women fall victim to the eponymous
character in his journey to moral degradation that includes fleeting relations with
impressionable young women.
Point one:
Looking firstly at the portrayal of women as victims or objects in predominantly
masculine exchanges in ‘Dracula,’ the contrasting characters of Mina Harker and
Lucy Westenra offer two stereotypes of women in Victorian society.
Mina is presented as a chaste and subservient woman whose life revolves around
being “useful” to her husband, conforming to Victorian norms of the woman being
the “angel of the house.”
In contrast, Stoker portrays Lucy as an “honest-hearted girl” with flirtatious
tendencies.
This is evident when Lucy is trying to decide between her three suitors and candidly
wonders why she cannot “marry three men,” which undermines Victorian ideals of
monogamy.
This underlying corruption in Lucy’s character could be the reason she is susceptible
to Dracula’s influence.
Once Lucy is attacked by Dracula, Stoker contrasts her past “purity” and innocence
with her “voluptuous wantonness” and “heartless cruelty” which is demonstrated
when “she flung [the child] to the ground, callous as a devil.”
Context: The simile comparing Lucy to the “devil,” the ultimate evil to the majorly
Protestant Victorian readership, emphasises the evil nature of Lucy now that she
openly embraces her sexuality and rejects social standards.
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