Engaging with Research on Female Sexuality in Dracula
Cite: Demetrakopoulos, Stephanie. “Feminism, Sex Role Exchanges, and Other Subliminal Fantasies in Bram Stoker’s ‘Dracula.’” Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies, vol. 2, no. 3, 1977, pp. 104–113. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/3346355. Accessed 11 Nov. 2020.
Define: This essay scrutinizes the unconventional sex roles Stoker assigns to men and women in Dracula — men as passive victims and women as sexual aggressors. The dualism of sexual passion and sexual innocence, respectively portrayed as bad and good, is an overarching theme in the essay as Demetrakopoulos compares Stoker’s strong yet sexually repressed Mina with the sweet yet eventually promiscuous Lucy. Demetrakopoulos notes the transformation into a vampire that makes one sexually aggressive, and as such links vampirism with sexuality, ultimately demonizing sexual desires.
Understand: In her essay, Demetrakopoulos argues that Stoker presents his own feminism in portraying characters that go against Victorian norms of sexuality — the conventional sex roles are reversed, a positive light is shed on the “New Woman” characterization that Mina Harker embodies, and female vampires in the novel withdraw from conventional feminine norms. Despite Stoker’s own deviation from the norm, the sexuality he portrays is never more than a side effect of vampirism, and as such the repressed sexual desires of the Victorian era are once more demonized.
Evaluate: Demetrakopoulos’ essay on feminism in Bram Stoker’s Dracula is cited in numerous scholarly essays and continues to offer a strong basis for feminist critiques of the novel. Her decision to build the foundation of her essay on the repressed sexual desires of Victorians and the conventional sex roles of the time provides the opportunity for a strong critique of Stoker’s response to these conventions and the feminism he produces. By incorporating various quotations throughout her essay to support her claims, Demetrakopoulos solidifies her critiques in a flawlessly coherent essay. Various other essays I read cited Demetrakopoulos’ work, solidifying the significance of this essay.
Distinguish: I share many of Demetrakopoulos’ points in my own writings. In her essay, she notes the exchanging of sex roles within in the novel, which I highlight in my depiction of the unconventional portrayal of the vampire sisters and Jonathan Harker. Additionally, she explores the transformation into a vampire makes one sexually aggressive, as I do when analyzing Lucy’s character and the implications vampirism has on her fate and characterization. In this essay, Demetrakopoulos focuses on Mina and the “New Woman” role she encompasses. In my writings I have focused more on Lucy and her transformation from purity into promiscuousness, and while Demetrakopoulos also studies this change, she focuses heavily on the feminism and limitations Mina presents. Most notable is Demetrakopoulos and my mutual acknowledgement of Stoker portraying sexual passion as bad and sexual innocence/repression as good as well as the linkage between sexuality and vampirism and the consequential demonizing of sexuality. As such, Demetrakopoulos’ work and ideas will heavily support my own writing if not expand it.
Create: While we share many of the same ideas, Demetrakopoulos’ focus on Mina offers many critiques of her femininity that I would like to include in my writings. A look at Mina and Lucy and the implications of their fates will offer an interesting insight into Stoker’s own beliefs and prejudices towards femininity, feminism, and sexuality. As suggested to me before, a dive into Stoker’s own personal lives and relation to women, as Demetrakopoulos examines, could offer perspective on Stoker and the ways he decides to portray feminism in his novel. The overlapping between mine and Demetrakopoulos’ interpretation of feminism and sexuality in Dracula offers a solid basis for new ideas to implement in my future work with the novel.