In The Victorian Era, Society’S Views Of Men And Women

In the Victorian Era, society’s views of men and women and their roles in the world were beginning to dramatically change, and not all were content with these changes. The novel Dracula, by Bram Stoker, represents the mindset that those who felt threatened by these changes had. Mina and the men of the vampire slaying group act in the traditional manner associated with their gender and represent the ideal way Stoker believed the sexes should behave meanwhile, Dracula and the female vampires are used to signify, and portray in a threatening light, those who didn’t conform to his society’s standards for men and women. In Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Stoker sets up traditional gender roles and ideals that he believed the sexes should embody and†¦show more content†¦This clearly demonstrates Stoker’s opinion about the traits of women and what they were meant to do in society. In addition to this, just as Mina is portrayed as the ideal women and embod ies the traditionally feminine associated traits, the weird sisters are shown to be monstrous, possessing none of these traditional characteristics and represent an exaggerated, and evil, version of the â€Å"New Woman†. The weird sisters, or the three female vampires who live with Dracula in his castle, are a representation of the perceived threat from the changing of women’s role in society and their increased independence. The weird sisters are portrayed as the exact opposite of the caregiver and are ruthless with absolutely no maternal feelings. The weird sisters kidnap and kill children and in addition try to seduce and then murder men, seen when Jonathan describes his first encounter with them writing in his diary as them saying the following, â€Å"Are we to have nothing tonight?† said one of them, with a low laugh, as she pointed to the bag which he had thrown upon the floor, and which moved as though some living thing within it. For answer he nodded his head†¦If my ears did not deceive me there was a gasp and a low wail, as of a half-smothered child† (Stoker 156). This scene is used to establish the ruthless and horrific nature of the female vampires. Regarding this encounter with the female vampires, Carol A. Senf, a college professor and Stoker expert:Show MoreRelatedSummary OfThey Shut Me Up In Prose937 Words   |  4 PagesIn â€Å"They Shut Me Up in Prose,† Dickinson discusses how women are confined in society’s structured roles on women in the Victorian era. 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