Within ‘Dracula’ femininity appears to have clear boundaries. On the one hand women are innocent and virtuous before they have been lured towards evil by Dracula, whilst after they take on characteristics of ‘whores’ in that they are presented as manipulative Sirens; in particular Dracula’s Brides who have “voluptuous lips” which promote a “wicked, burning desire” from Harker. Though the males within the novel can have positive characteristics regardless of whether they are ‘good’ or ‘evil’- for example both Dracula and Van Helsing are intelligent- the women change completely, as though women can only follow the path of either being a ‘Madonna’ or ‘whore’.
Mina is presented as the ultimate symbol of feminine virtue in ‘Dracula’. Her devotion to her husband is at a parallel with the polygamous situation of Dracula’s Brides and Lucy’s three suitors. Her refusal to accept the ideals of the ‘New Woman’, mockingly saying how they would want to “do the proposing herself”, shows she remains conservative in terms of her distaste for the change in view of femininity and so keeps to the traditional values of a woman. Consequently, she must preserve her innocence to keep her reputation of being virtuous, so she resorts to daubing her feet with mud “so that as we went home no one, in case we should meet anyone, should notice my bare feet”. It is clear that she regards her reputation as her greatest asset since it would be the only thing of value she can own as for her the only duty she has is to serve her husband and he would also be judged partly through her reputation. Overall, Mina is shown to be the antithesis of the ‘New Woman’, and to some extent this could also be shown to be an opposition to Dracula’s Brides. They make the first move whilst seducing Harker, just as Mina is suggesting would happen with the new feminist movement, and their exclamation to the Count that “you yourself never loved; you never love!” may also share a similarity to the ‘New Woman’ movement as they do not immediately submit to Dracula’s commands. Mina’s innocence and her almost sacrificial virtue mean she can retaliate against Dracula’s control, so she is able to use their connection for her own advantage, almost showing that her purity shows she can combat evil even when it is supposed to be in control of her.
On the other hand, Dracula’s Brides appear to represent what women could become if they succumb to the lure of temptation. Once they have been brought under the control of Dracula they themselves become the tempters and use their attractions to lure men into the realm of evil. These are shown to be powerful in this respect as even the objective Van Helsing was “lapsing into sleep, the open-eyed sleep of one who yields to a sweet fascination” when opening their tombs. Their use of primeval attractions to gain the attention of men draws parallels with the Sirens, whose use of base attractions would culminate in the deaths of men. Essentially, Dracula’s Brides can be said to be a warning to women that this how they would end up if they were to take part in behaviour contradictory to what would ordinarily be expected of women. In particular, the inference of Dracula’s polygamist relations would suggest that this is more specifically a warning against sexual deviancy, as Dracula’s Brides have descended into what is presented as little more than prostitution. However, though these women have entirely fallen from virtue, they are still at the mercy of Dracula who exclaims to them “How dare you cast eyes on him when I had forbidden it?” which suggests that despite their ability to corrupt men they must still remain under some form of masculine control.
Women in ‘Dracula’ are all presented as needing protection in one form or another- even Dracula’s Brides rely on Dracula for nourishment and a home. Mina, and to some extent Lucy, are the ‘Madonnas’ of the novel and so are presented as being naïve and innocent meaning they are particularly susceptible to Dracula’s temptations. A woman’s virtue is valued highly, to such a degree that four men are willing to risk their lives to remove her ties to Dracula, with Quincey Morris saying “it was worth this to die!” upon noticing the burn from the communion wafer on Mina’s forehead had disappeared. This displays the male desire to protect women from the dangers of the world and to prevent them falling from grace at the hands of Dracula, who can be seen almost as an antichrist figure, representing the dangers that men could bring- possibly the lure of sexual desire. The protective feelings of the four men fighting to save Mina may not have been triggered by such desires, but rather more paternalistic emotions as her innocence may be equated to that of a child; one who needs to protected from such evils as are represented by Dracula. Though on the one hand Dracula can be said to primarily represent the dangers of deviant sexual behaviour, he could also be a symbol of the fear that it was believed could itself harm women; indeed the appearance of the wolf’s head in Lucy’s bedroom had killed her mother through shock. Therefore, the novel is suggesting that women require the help of men if they are to successfully repel the dangers they face, and that without their help they could easily face corruption or even death.
Femininity within the novel is also seen as being liable to corruption. Dracula only attempts to suck the blood of women; even with Harker he says to the Brides “when I am done with him, you shall kiss him at your will”, suggesting that he is not concerned with corrupting men. This may be a belief that women are easier to manipulate and seduce for Dracula, who could use the sexual tension between them. There was a similar case with Lucy when she was feeding from children on Hampstead Heath- that the children would be more susceptible to a woman who could be comparable to a maternal figure. Although Dracula achieves his corruption through sexual means, such as Lucy’s metaphorical rape at the church in Whitby, there is also a corruption of religion involved, which would further reduce the integrity of the women, as they are now not only unsuitable in the eyes of man for marriage, but now they are “unclean” in the eyes of God. That it is women who are tempted by Dracula draws parallels with Eve being first to taste the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden, which further shows that Dracula shares similarities with the Devil as he is prepared to corrupt women who were previously virtuous. Therefore, the corruption of women in the novel underlines Dracula’s position as an ‘antichrist’ to religion as well as their innocence as they are presented as easy prey for Dracula.
In conclusion, femininity within ‘Dracula’ is very clearly defined within the boundaries of religion. Those who have not been corrupted by Dracula are seen as virtually faultless in terms of the conventional view of a virtuous woman, for example Mina is entirely willing to serve her husband and takes care of Lucy whilst she is ill much as a mother would look after a child. On the other hand, Dracula’s temptation and corruption of Lucy shows how her femininity had been degraded after succumbing to his attacks, until eventually she is reducing to sucking the blood of children, whom she would ordinarily be expected to protect. This emphasises the power Dracula can hold over women, as he can override their maternal instincts. Consequently, ‘Dracula’ shows the ‘ideal’ woman who would herself be protective and virtuous, in other words one who would be the pure ‘Madonna’ type image, but also shows the antithesis of this, a woman who has been corrupted by the lure of Dracula’s physical presence which has resulted in a loss of innocence as well as a fall from God. Therefore, issues of femininity within ‘Dracula’ are largely black and white as women on the side of ‘good’ are seen to be caring, maternal figures while those who have turned over to the side of ‘evil’ have become temptresses whose have purely sexual desires and seek to seduce men through these base emotions.
