The New Woman

Dracula, by Bram Stoker, is a classic novel that focuses on many political points, one being the New Woman. This topic was very controversial in the nineteenth century and there is also controversy on what woman in the novel was in fact the New Woman. The New Woman emerged towards to end of the nineteenth century. These women tended to be more promiscuous than the traditional Victorian women. Many critics and commentators believe that Mina Harker is the traditional woman and Lucy Westenra is the New Woman, but some think otherwise. In class, our discussions were centered around Lucy being the New Woman and Mina being the traditional woman, which is what I agree with. With the information that I have found, I intend to argue for Lucy being the New Woman and for Mina progressing into the New Woman as the novel progresses. The first half of the novel is about Lucy fighting off Dracula. The second half of the novel begins when Lucy dies and Mina becomes the new focal point. Mina tends to represent the end of the nineteenth century because of her change from the traditional Victorian woman to the New liberated Woman. Stephanie Demetrakopoulos explains feminism and sex role exchanges in Dracula in Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies. It seems clear that the first half of the book is dedicated to Lucy turning into a vampire and the second half is Mina trying to resist Dracula. Demetrakopoulos states, “The novel falls clearly into two parts, each half centered around a different type of woman” (105). What is meant by “a different type of woman?” Mina is more of the traditional woman whereas Lucy is more modern. Demetrakopoulos also notes, “Like many current depictions of ‘liberated’ women, Stoker's heroine Mina is most feminine when aping masculine pseudo-rationality and eighteenth--century gentlemanly stoicism; she is, however, typically Victorian in her sexual repression. Stoker's attempt at feminism in this novel is explicit, but the other appeals of this best seller are subliminal” (104). Demetrakopoulos considers Mina to be a Victorian woman; however, I don’t think it is just because of her sexual repression. In the book, Stoker tells us: “Ah. That wonderful Madam Mina! She has man’s brain – a brain that a man should have were he much gifted – and woman’s heart. The good God fashioned her for a purpose” (250). In my opinion, that is what makes her the Victorian woman. She is not wild like the New Woman. Mina has a job and works for everything she has whereas Lucy doesn’t have to work and she wants to be able to marry as many men as she wants: “Why can’t they let a girl marry three men, or as many as want her, and save all this trouble?” (67). Lucy has a whole new outlook on life, which is something that wasn’t common for that time. It definitely wasn’t something Mina strives for. Demetrakopoulos also discussed another aspect of the feminism and sexuality in the novel: “Yet the sexuality is violent, brutal, intriguingly evil; emanations of irresistible sexuality break through into consciousness in fantastic and grotesque forms. It presents a fantasy world that would have provided escape from many of the sexual and psychic restraints prevalent in Victorian culture” (106). I agree with this statement because the sexuality is violent but it also shows just how much power a person can hold. The scenes with Dracula and Harker, Dracula and Lucy, and Dracula and Mina are very sexualized. There seems to be a lot of sexual tension that goes on between Dracula and these people. There is a scene, with Lucy as a vampire, that shows the sexually liberated woman: There was something diabolically sweet in her tones – something of the tingling of glass when struck – which rang through the brains even of us who heard the words addressed to another. As for Arthur, he seemed under a spell; moving his hands from his face, he opened wide his arms. She was leaping for them, when Van Helsing sprang forward and held between them his little golden crucifix. She recoiled from it, and, with a suddenly distorted face, full of rage, dashed past him as if to enter the tomb. (226) The men are repulsed by what they see. This is not something that they consider attractive. It also shows how the New Woman works and the effect she has on the outside world. They all want this to happen, in a way, but they don’t want to give in to temptation. There is only one person who really does, and that is Lucy. Lucy does not have the ability to fight Dracula off. She is not able to resist his temptation. Lucy constantly keeps her windows open, and even opens them in her sleep, allowing for Dracula to come inside her room and drink her blood. Mina is able to resist him and saves herself from being turned into a vampire. Thus, the New Woman is weaker that the traditional woman. In Dr. Seward’s diary, one of the sections of the book, the reader is shown a vision of the New Woman: There was a long spell of silence, a big, aching void, and then from the Professor a keen ‘S-s-s-s!’ He pointed; and far down the avenue of yews we saw a white figure advance – a dim white figure, which held something dark at its breast. The figure stopped, and at the moment a ray of moonlight fell between the masses of driving clouds and showed in startling prominence a dark-haired woman, dressed in the cerements of the grave. We could not see the face, for it was bent down over what we saw to be a fair-haired child. There was a pause and a sharp little cry, such as a child gives in sleep, or a dog as it lies before the fire and dreams. We were starting forward, but the Professor’s warning hand, seen by us as he stood behind a yew-tree, kept us back; and then as we looked the white figure moved forwards again. It was now near enough for us to see clearly, and the moonlight still held. My own heart grew cold as ice, and I could hear the gasp of Arthur, as we recognized the features of Lucy Westenra. Lucy Westenra, but yet how changed. The sweetness was turned to adamantine, heartless cruelty, and the purity the voluptuous wantonness. (225) Charles E. Prescott and Grace A. Giorgio make a comment that I find very interesting just because of the wording they use and the way they refer to Mina: “Although Mina would like to understand herself as the ideal Victorian woman described by Van Helsing, her affinity with the vampire becomes legible through her ambivalence about the ‘New Woman,’ her passionate friendship with Lucy, and the uncanny moments when her gender performance comes into question” (487). The fact that they say that Mina wants to understand herself as the Victorian woman is interesting because I have no doubt that she is the Victorian woman. Mina is an orphan and has had to work for everything in her life. Lucy, on the other hand, was born into a high social class and has never had to work for anything. This New Woman is a threat to society because women are feeling the need to become liberated and think/do for themselves. When reading the novel, I understood Mina to be that traditional woman. I never thought she strived to be that person. I always thought that she worked hard to be an ideal woman for Harker. Prescott and Giorgio also noted, “Just as Stoker's other Gothic disruptions flirt with and transgress boundaries of personal identity, his portrayal of Mina Harker as ‘a stereotypically 'good' little Victorian Miss’” (487). I definitely agree that Mina possesses all of the qualities of the Victorian woman. She is traditional whereas Lucy is wanting to branch out and do her own thing. One more interesting thing I found was the statement, “Mina Harker exists on the cusp of culturally overdetermined boundaries that were undergoing extensive revision during the Victorian fin de siécle” (487). This phrase came up in a couple of articles I found, so I googled it to find the meaning. It means the end of a cycle on era. What I took from this quote was that Mina represented the end of the nineteenth century because of her transition from the traditional woman into the New Woman. This happens towards the end of the novel when Mina gets bitten and then they race to find Dracula. The novel ends with the end of the nineteenth century. The New Woman is more promiscuous that the traditional woman. She is more open to sex, such as Lucy. She wants three lovers, or three husbands, while Mina only wants Jonathan. That’s a big difference between Mina and Lucy. Not only is Mina the Victorian woman, she is also a mother figure, which is something Lucy isn’t. Mina guides the men through their hunt for Dracula, and she is also their shoulder to cry on. Mina comforts these men through the tough times. Lucy, on the other hand, is more of a sex idol in this novel. Dracula takes advantage of this. Lucy is only the caricature to the New Woman. Mina does earn her salvation, but when she emerges from that fight with Dracula, she emerges as someone else. That someone else is the New Woman. Mina is the conduit to Dracula. He can see into her mind and he knows each and every move the team makes. To salvage parts of the New Woman and to keep her from being completed destroyed and turned into a vampire, Mina gets turned into the New Woman. The book is broken up into numerous journal entries and letters between the characters. One in particular is a journal entry made by Mina on September 25th. She writes down a conversation that she has with Jonathan, her husband, that tells a great deal about women without her really even trying to. Van Helsing speaks to her and says, “but that there are good women still left to make life happy – good women, whose lives and whose truths may make good lesson for the children that are to be” (197-198). The key word is “still.” Van Helsing is referring to the traditional woman. There are still a few of these women left. He tells us that it is important because children need the traditional woman guidance versus the New Woman. He is also saying that only the good traditional women can make life happy. It shows his hesitation to adapt to the New upcoming Woman. Van Helsing is also calling Mina this good woman. This quote shows the characterization of the traditional Victorian woman, and how she relates to Mina. In English Literature in Transition, Tanya Pikula notes, “Mina Harker and Lucy Westenra are also, from the outset, identified with forms of unrestrained consumption, or one’s desire for it: while Mina states that their appetites would have shocked the New Woman, Lucy wonders why a girl cannot marry three men” (288). Mina knows that there is a New Woman emerging from the shadows, and she eventually realizes that it is Lucy. To me, this quote shows that the book is divided into two different types of women. The first half is dedicated to Lucy being the caricature to the New Woman. The second half is all about Mina being the traditional woman and resisting becoming a New Woman. Pikula also states, “Although the women in the novel do betray some very questionable desires, it is important to emphasize that neither Mina nor Lucy is an example of the New Woman” (289). That is interesting because I definitely understood Lucy to be the New Woman. I don’t necessarily agree with this statement. To back up her theory, Pikula says, “Lucy, on the other hand, is characterized as an ideal of Victorian, upper-class, innocent femininity” (289). I definitely don’t agree with this. Mina is the traditional Victorian woman, not Lucy, which was discussed during class. Lucy is an upper class woman, but she is more sexualized than the traditional upper class woman. That, in theory, makes her the New Woman. Mina comes from nothing, but she is the traditional woman in the novel. In the novel, the realization of the New Woman seems to make the men anxious. Their anxiety levels rise when they first see Lucy after she has become a vampire: We shuddered with horror. I could see by the tremulous light that even Van Helsing’s iron nerve had failed. Arthur was next to me, and if I had not seized his arm and held him up, he would have fallen. When Lucy – I call the thing that was before us Lucy because it bore her shape – saw us she drew back with an angry snarl, such as a cat gives when taken unawares; then her eyes ranged over us. Lucy’s eyes in form and colour; but Lucy’s eyes unclean and full of hell-fire, instead of the pure, gentle orbs we knew. At that moment the remnant of my live passed into hate and loathing; had she than to be killed, I could have down it with savage delight. As she look, her eyes blazed with unholy light…(225) Not only does this section in the novel give us a good understanding of what kind of woman Lucy has become, but it also shows the fear through the men. This New Woman that has appeared has frightened them, but not just because of her appearance. Lucy has changed. In my opinion, the vampires in this story show the colonization of the New Woman. Dracula is creating his vampire species while the New Woman is emerging. The two seem to be connected. Is it that Dracula is feasting on the New Women and changing them into vampires? To me, that is what it is. Dracula scopes out women that he senses are becoming liberated and decides to transform them. That is why Lucy is transformed first. She is the New Woman. Mina, on the other hand, gets bitten later in the novel, but she is not fully transformed. She is able to resist the Count, but she does end up becoming the New Woman. In my opinion, Mina was not originally chosen by Dracula because she has a man’s brain but a woman’s heart. She is liberated, because of her ability to type, but she was not what Dracula was originally searching for. Mina actually plays a joke on Van Helsing, which makes him think a little differently about her: ‘Oh you so clever woman!’ he said. ‘I long knew that Mr Jonathan was a man of much thankfulness; but see, his wife have all the good things. And will you not so much honour me and so help me as to read it for me? Alas! I know not the shorthand.’ By this time my little joke was over, and I was almost ashamed; so I took the typewritten copy from my workbasket and handed it to him. (196) Mina tricks Van Helsing because he can’t read her shorthand. This example shows how liberated Mina is. It also shows her transition starting to take form, which is shown through Helsing’s new view of her. She also makes the effort to type a copy for him so he can read it. Mina says, “‘I know your time must be precious – I have written it out on the typewriter for you’” (196). The typewriter is a new invention during this time. The fact that she uses one shows that Mina is modernizing. Van Helsing’s response to this tells us what kind of woman Mina is. “He took it, and his eyes glistened. ‘You are so good,’ he said” (196). He tells Mina that she is good, which shows that she is the good traditional woman. Carol A. Senf says, “the fight to destroy Dracula and to restore Mina to her purity is really a fight for control over women” (33). I think that goes back to the idea of the traditional Victorian woman. These women were controlled for most of their lives and Mina begins to branch out when she is bitten. Senf states, “It is absurd to complain (as, I am afraid, some have) of the excessively 'Victorian' treatment of Mina Harker. She is no Victorian; she is a medieval lady whose honor and virtue are protected” (33). That would make sense due to the fact that Mina is portrayed as this traditional person and Lucy is more modern. Mina does have modernistic characteristics, but I think it is because she is trying to adapt with the world around her. England is changing and Mina is trying to change as well, in some ways, but she is still considered to be that good traditional woman. Stoker is not a fan of the New Woman. Senf goes into that a little in detail by saying, “Indeed Stoker's treatment of women in Dracula does not stem from his hatred of women in general but, as this paper demonstrates, from his ambivalent reaction to a topical phenomenon - the New Woman” (34). He seems to dislike change, which could be why he dislikes the New Woman. The way Stoker portrayed Lucy and Mina shows the reader his thoughts on women. Lucy wants to marry three men whereas Mina is learning shorthand and wants to be the homemaker. In my opinion, since Stoker disliked the New Woman he chose to kill Lucy off. That seems to be his overall feeling on the subject. Senf expands on the topic a little more by stating, Because the New Woman was a subject of controversy in journalism, fiction, and - presumably, at least - drawing rooms, Mina's initial reference merely characterizes her as a well-informed young woman of the 189os. In fact the first passage is neutral and suggests only that she is familiar with the New Woman's insistence on greater freedom and physical activity. (35) At the time, this topic was a controversy. Stoker went out on a limb and discussed the differences between the New Woman and the traditional woman in his novel. Mina is the supportive one of the bunch. She is a good woman and she is also a Godly woman, which juxtaposes her with Lucy. In class there was a question that was raised: Does Dracula take advantage of the new liberated woman? In my opinion, the answer is yes strictly because Lucy was under his control. She would leave the window open so that he would come inside her room. Lucy feeds Dracula with her blood. She does end up getting her three lovers, but it isn’t in the way that she thinks. There are three different blood transfusions that take place in order to save Lucy. Dracula would then drink the blood that was put into her. Dracula is the one who turned Lucy into a vampire. Mina, on the other hand, did not fall under his control like Lucy did. She is able to resist the temptation and Dracula himself. The New Woman, Lucy, is more vulnerable than the traditional woman, Mina. Mina is used as a conduit to Dracula. He can see into her mind and figure out what their moves are. Mina does earn her salvation, but she emerges as someone else at the end: the New Woman. The New Woman was managed to be salvaged through Mina, which in my opinion, signals the end of the nineteenth century. Mina types all of the notes and diaries to figure the puzzle out. She takes charge and isn’t just the “mother” of the group. She has a very vital role in hunting down Dracula. Throughout the entire book, Mina is the traditional woman, until she gets bitten by Dracula. That moment is the turning point for her. She becomes the new liberated woman. She has a few New Woman traits throughout the book, but we reach that combination of the traditional woman and the New Woman when she gets bitten. When that happens, she has an involuntary sexual arousal. Mina would not have normally become sexually aroused, of if she does we would not have seen it on the page. It seems to be a part of middle ground that is reached. In my opinion, she does become the New Woman. In class, we also danced around the idea that Dracula is behind the New Woman and that the New Woman is part of an invasion. I think that there are two different things that go on. First, Dracula does invade and create a new vampire race. Second, the New Woman is invading because women are starting to want to do more than just be homemakers and teachers. In a way, Dracula is connected with the New Woman. This book is about empowering women and that is definitely something that Stoker focuses on. This novel, and the New Woman, “is nineteenth century up-to-date with a vengeance” (43). That is the purpose of the New Woman. As one can see, there are many different views on who the New Woman is, and there are also many different views on the topic itself. The controversy over the years has left extensive evidence, but I continue to think that Mina is the traditional woman and Lucy is the New Woman, that is until Mina gets bitten by Dracula. This book focuses on giving women power and also the end of the nineteenth century. Mina represents the end of that era and the beginning of a new one. Works Cited Demetrakopoulos, Stephanie. "Feminism, Sex Role Exchanges, and Other Subliminal Fantasies in Bram Stoker's Dracula" Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies 2.3 (1977): 104-13. JSTOR. Web. 03 Nov. 2015. Pikula, Tanya. "Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Late-Victorian Advertising Tactics: Earnest Men, Virtuous Ladies, and Porn." ProjectMuse. English Literature in Transition, 1880-1920, Volume 55, Number 3. Pp. 283-302 (Article), 2012. Web. 03 Nov. 2015. Prescott, Charles E., and Grace A. Giorgio. "Vampiric Affinities: Mina Harker and the Paradox of Femininity in Bram Stoker's Dracula" JSTOR. Victorian Literature and Culture, Vol. 33, No. 2 (2005), Pp. 47-515, 2005. Web. 03 Nov. 2015. Senf, Carol A. "Dracula: Stoker's Response to the New Woman." Victorian Studies 26.1 (1982): 33-49. JSTOR. Web. 03 Nov. 2015. Stoker, Bram, and Maurice Hindle. Dracula. London: Penguin Group, 2003. Print.