Boundaries and Bram Stoker's 'Dracula'

Paper Summary:

In this article, the writer discusses that Bram Stoker's 'Dracula' highlights the collection of nineteenth century stories forming a popular vampire lore that has been well-received by the public. The writer maintains that unbeknown to the public at the time, Stoker's 'Dracula' actually poked holes in the Victorian society's need to adhere to strict cultural values that they believed would cause a cultural decline. Stoker's 'Dracula' and the vampire tales of the nineteenth century portray the evils that the people of the Victorian Era fought hard against: corruption, homosexuality, sexuality, and the transgression of boundaries or actions that violated the moral codes and cultural values of the time. The writer concludes that Stoker's Dracula offers a chance for readers to live out their sexual desires and fantasies that are deemed as taboo.

From the Paper:

"Stoker relays his story through the memory of his characters; their recollections of the events are presented in dairy journals and news clippings. Also, the clinical reports of Dr. Stewart and Dr. Abraham Van Helsing contribute to the narrative, as well as the ships logs that record journeys of the characters, specifically Jonathan Hacker and Count Dracula.
"The novel is essentially split into two parts that tell the story of Dracula's attempt to turn two different types of women into vampires: Lucy Westenra and Mina Hacker. The central victim in the first half of Stoker's novel is Lucy Westenra who emulates the perfection of the Victorian woman. It is clear that Stoker projects Lucy as an angelic Victorian symbol to illustrate how her own demise will be brought about by her desire for the wicked Count Dracula. Drawing close to death, Lucy slowly becomes a vampire. Yet even in this representation, Stoker still projects Victorian beauty onto the vampire Lucy.. "

Sample of Sources Used:

• Cawelti, John. "The Concept of Formula in the Study of Popular Literature." Popular Fiction: An Anthology. Ed. Gary Hoppenstand. New York: Addison-Wesley, 1998.
• Cominos, Peter. "Innocent Sensual Females in Unconscious Conflict." Suffer and Be Still: Women in the Victorian Age. Ed. Martha Vicinus. Bloomington: U of Indiana P, 1973. 14-25.
• Craft, Christopher. "'Kiss Me with Those Red Lips': Gender and Inversion in Bram Stoker's Dracula." New Casebooks: Dracula: Bram Stoker. Ed. Glennis Byron. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1999. 93-117.
• Conway, Jill. "Stereotypes of Femininity in a Theory of Sex of Sexual Evolution." Suffer and Be Still: Women in the Victorian Age. Ed. Martha Vicinus. Bloomington: U of Indiana P, 1973. 140-155
• Ludham, Harry. A Biography of Dracula: The Life Story of Bram Stoker. London: Fireside Press, 1962.

More papers on Boundaries and Bram Stoker's 'Dracula':

• Analytical Essay # 7573 : "The Bram Stoker/Peter Cushing Alliance"
• Essay # 137840 : "A Psychoanalysis of Bram Stoker’s Dracula"
• Analytical Essay # 141406 : "Literary Analysis: Bram Stoker and "Dracula"

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