Hollis 1 Averie Hollis Professor Sharon Miller English 102 14 May 2020 DraculaPaper 1 Author ofDracula, Bram Stoker, reflects on his own life in the Victorian era and his hardships when constructing the fictional story of the now famous vampire, Count Dracula. He uses the character interactions to depict the strict unforgiving nature of the social expectations. He does this by utilizing the epistolary writing style. Stoker develops the novel to monsterize the Victorian society he had to endure. Mina Murray is the model Victorian damsel. She is near perfect in the eyes of their community; she epitomizes purity and innocence. Victorian is defined: “The qualities regarded as typically Victorian are thus seen to emphasize 'good' morals, often to the point of prudery, and strict discipline,” (Hansen, 2004). Because Mina is arguably prude, she very well fits in Victorian society. This is shown in the novel when she calls herself “unclean” because she was raped by Dracula. She is so pure that she feels she has done wrong to her husband, despite the encounter being out of her own control. There is never any mention that Mina has any sexual desire, even after she is married. Stoker used Mina, her innocence, and her encounter with Dracula to fight social normalities of how women were ridiculed in his time. He showed that she still deserved her husband’s love because purity is not the sole factor in determining one’s worth. Stoker had a good bond with his mother, which led to his portrayal of Mina as the heroine, (Browning, 2017). Contrary to Mina, her best friend, Lucy Westenra, was not seen as pure. Lucy had fallen victim to Dracula much earlier in the novel. Because of her fate, she became sexualized. After
Hollis 2 her encounter with Dracula, she craved men. She desired touch. The men wanted her as well. She was proposed to three times in one day. Her heart was still good, as she did not want to hurt any of the men with denial; however, she could not marry all of them. It was because of Dracula that
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