Early Feminism: Dracula

By analyzing aged works of fiction, we can see when women began their liberation within the media. Dracula is a very unique case due to the fact that Bram Stoker was seemingly more progressive with his portrayal of women, especially given the time period. A point to note is that during the writing of Dracula there was a shift worldwide on how women were written and viewed by society. Dracula contains two notable lead women that can be observed to give us a more insightful view into early feminism.

The story displayed subtle feminism with it's portrayal of the female lead, Mina, who is kind and gentle yet determined and unwavering. However, the whole book wasn’t so progressive with the portrayal of women. They also had a character, Lucy, who fell into the “damsel in distress tropes”, with her feminine attributes making her seem naive and shallow to the people around her except for Mina. Lucy needed saving and it was almost harped upon how unfortunate it was for a woman of Lucy’s beauty and elegance to be afflicted by someone as dastardly as Dracula. Lucy was almost concocted to highlight Mina’s “masculine”, therefore “positive and admirable” traits. It was even mentioned by a character in the novel that Mina was a unique woman “sent by god” because she provided actual help and value to the situation.

It’s not that women were more useless at the time, they weren’t given the same chance or value as their male counterparts so it was impossible to do anything except bear children and be a housewife. Lucy is a good woman. Lucy’s femininity is exaggerated to unintentionally make traditional femininity seem annoying and shallow. Lucy is a caricature of a woman. Uninspired portrayals of women usually tend to ignore the humanity in women, opting to see an object of one’s desire. Either way, the woman is undeserving of an opinion and her value is constantly in question. Lucy’s traits would normally be very positive and admirable. She’s kind, she’s thoughtful, she’s loyal, and she also knows what she wants. However, because these traits belong to such a feminine exterior they are belittled and weak. Mina is driven, intelligent, mentally strong, and most importantly, human. Mina can be accepted more because she is relatable and balances the perfect blend of femininity and masculinity. Which at the time, seemed to be a beautiful, elegant woman while also being very assertive and quick witted when needed. Her femininity makes her wanted (beauty, grace, innocence) and her masculinity makes her needed (intelligence, determination, capability). Mina is an image of “the new woman” which was a media induced movement at the time towards more important female characters. Characters that add purpose and are integral to the story. This movement was the shift of women being an accessory to men, and instead being a partner, a helper, and even possibly, an equal.