A shift in the meta: Dracula as a sign of changing times

It was apparently VERY important that Bram Stoker stayer there once.

In a modern day context, Dracula is one of the most well icons in the current culture, numerous works of fiction have either included him or referenced him at some point. His presence is practically impossible to avoid when even mentioning the word "Vampire" and has become as synonymous with the term as King Arthur with "Knights". Of course, many people also know by now that the real-life Dracula, Vlad the Impaler, was not an actual vampire, but the association is ironclad at this point. I myself knew about "Dracula" long before I ever heard the name "Vlad Tepes", and I have no doubt that for all reading this, it was the same way with you.

"Dracula" was written by Bram Stoker and published in 1897, on the cusp of the 20th century. It was the founder of many Horror tropes still used to this day, and can actually be considered one of the most famous examples of "Zombie Horror" in literature (Albeit intelligent zombies, but the point still stands). It tells the tale of an undead creature in the guise of a man named Count Dracula who seeks to spread his "disease" to all the people of England, and how his efforts are ultimately thwarted by a small group of extraordinary gentlemen (and Mina, she's important too). This story of ordinary people trying their best to thwart a large supernatural creature created a new sub-genre of the trope of "Knight versus Dragon", namely that man who accomplishes with wits and integrity that which required his predecessors divine or magical intervention.

Of course, what exactly does Dracula represent as a symbol (that is the point of this post, right)? As Tanya Pikula points out in her paper "Bram Stoker's Dracula and Late-Victorian Advertising Tactics", Dracula is a social predator, a literal "consumer" of women, and the only women in the novel who get turned by him are those girls who deviate from the Victorian Ideals of the time: Soft-spoken, motherly and submissive to their spouses. To this end, Dracula is "the enabler", the one who leads those astray further off the path. He could also be seen as a literal avatar of the changing times, with promiscuity on the rise and crime emerging from the underground. He was the rockstar of his era, the "Bad Boy" that we see so much in television, and an omen of times to come.

Image Credit: "Bram Stoker Commemorative Plaque" obtained via Wikimedia Commons

Equal Opportunity

Adam Bede is a story of the imaginary town of Hayslope in 1799. Mary Anne Evan's (George Elliot) wrote and published the novel during the Victorian period. This was a time where patriarchy tended towards tyranny rather than benevolence. Physical labor like carpentry and farm labor was performed by the men whereas housework was performed by the women. According to the Journal of Ankara University, the novel indirectly argues that the separation of these roles was maintained through the means of the traditional family structure and the church.(1)

Despite the lack of opportunities women had to express their opinions, this novel was a perfect example of enlightenment value of enfranchisement of the individual. Despite the weak initiative of the main female character, Hetty Sorrel, there are female characters who go against the cultural norms of their times and voice their opinions in ways that wouldn't have been considered inappropriate during that time period.

Feminists like Mary Anne Evans and other great thinkers of the enlightenment have paved the way for the equality of opportunity given to women today. When I left my family to serve a two-year church mission, my mom was recently divorced, with no formal work experience, and six children to provide for. She left Canada to move to the States where there would be more opportunity for a single mother. Because of the progress that has been made in gender equality, she was able to find a job and after a series of promotions over three years she is now an executive at the company she started working for. Because the progress that has been made since Mary Anne Evans published Adam Bede woman have more freedom than ever before.



Sources:

(1) 2017, Ankara Üniversitesi Dil ve Tarih-Coğrafya Fakültesi Dergisi, Vol 57, Iss 2 (2017), volume 57, issue 2