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Dracula as a story regarding the repression of female sexuality during the Victorian era

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This job offers ideas about the role of women in Victorian society and how did the author present this in the story, "Dracula."

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Some have described Dracula as a story regarding the repression of female sexuality during the victorian era.

The characters Lucy and Mina embody the revolt against the ideal that women were to be put on a pedestal from which they cannot come down. We can see the obvious effects of being drawn into what van Helsing calls the cult of vampirism. Prior to encountering Dracula they are meek, submissive, stereotypical Victorian women. Lucy is especially so - witness her cringingly self-sacrificial "I'm only dying but don't make a fuss" attitude when she is on her sick bed. However, contrast this with her when she is left alone and prepares for the entrance then she is eager for the hard, brutish, almost rapine physical contact with Death. Dracula here represents sexual liberation at its most overt. The same applies to Mina. She changes from the wife to the wanton.

In Chapter 18, Van Helsing explains how society views women and ...

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