Sexuality in Bram Stoker’s Dracula Essay Example for Free

Sexuality in Bram Stoker’s Dracula Essay Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula is a blend of legendary motifs regarding the myth of the vampires. The author’s imagination transposes the legend of Count Dracula in modern times. It is significant that the novel is a product of the Victorian Age. It is well known that the Victorians had very exact requirements regarding the social conduct and the education of the individual. The basis of their ethical system was restraint, moderation and the stifling of all instincts. Against this backdrop of inhibition and control of freedom, Stoker’s vampire fantasy appears extremely exotic. The essential element in the plot, Count Dracula’s attempt to leave Transylvania and settle in the midst of the bustle of civilization in England, translates the fear of a civilization of being undermined and destroyed by this wave of exoticism, coming from a distant primitive and superstitious country. The story has moreover notable and strong sexual connotations. The vampire myth can be easily interpreted in terms of sexual symbols. The act trough which a vampire passes on the practice of vampirism as well as immortality resembles a sexual act in the utmost. The vampire’s lust for blood, the piercing bite on the neck and the idea of possession are all strong indicatives of the sexual act. The novel is therefore the fantasy of the civilized world’s plunge into primitiveness, into the obscurity of the instinctual life. As it has been noted, Dracula’s attempt for establishing a vampire cult in the midst of the busy London life is a key element in the novel. To add to the contrast of the primitive world represented by Count Dracula and the mysterious women in his castle and the modern world represented by the story-tellers or journal writers-Jonathan Harker, Mina, Dr. Van Helsing, Dr. Seward, Quincey Morris and so on, Stoker shifts the place of his story form the Transylvanian strange and uncivilized world, where the castle of Dracula is located, to the London scene. The characters move from one place to the other, pointing to the clash of these two worlds. The fantastical legend seems to contain all the elements that the Victorian world perceived as threats. Beyond the obvious religious connotations, the legend imposes a predominance of the instincts over the human reason. The sexual aspect is extremely marked. The victims of Dracula are transformed from virtuous and integer characters, into lustful and wonton creatures. Lucy Westenra, a veritable symbol of purity and sweetness before her contact with Count Dracula, becomes in the end utterly corrupted. The vampires do not only play with the life and death of the body, but also with that of the soul. Through the symbolic bite, the victim also loses his or her soul. Although the symbolism attached to this idea is very complex, one crucial aspect of it is the gradual slide of the victim into a world of complete immorality and lack of scruple. The whole of the story seems therefore to be derived from a dark, subconscious fantasy of power, lust and immorality. The purity and uprightness of the characters is obviously not immune to this corruption. Jonathan Harker is ineluctably attracted into this fantastic world, while he stays at Count Dracula’s castle in Transylvania. Although he is repulsed and horrified by the Count, he cannot be above corruption. His encounter with the three unnamed women vampires, during his stay in Transylvania, is particularly sensual. The description itself is nearly shocking for the Victorian audience. The persistent feeling of uneasiness around the vampires is given by the man’s plunge into the instinctual world. Despite his love for Mina, Harker is inescapably tempted by the voluptuousness of the three women: â€Å"There was something about them that made me uneasy, some longing and at the same time some deadly fear. I felt in my heart a wicked, burning desire that they would kiss me with those red lips† (Stoker 33). The act of vampirism is, at the same time, one of promiscuity. The sexual thrill that Harker feels is at once exciting and repulsive. His body and spirit are drawn, against his will, to the animal – like possession intended by the woman: â€Å"There was a deliberate voluptuousness which was both thrilling and repulsive, and as she arched her neck she actually licked her lips like an animal, till I could see in the moonlight the moisture shining on the scarlet lips and on the red tongue as it lapped the white sharp teeth† (Stoker 34). The act of vampirism is concluded through a symbolic kiss that seals the lapse into the fantastical and unnatural world. Unknowingly, Harker is drawn precisely to these details, being fascinated with the red, voluptuous lips of the woman and her sharp white teeth. Along with Harker, Lucy is one of the most significant victims of vampirism in the novel. She is deliberately portrayed as a thoroughly innocent and vulnerable woman. Her sensibility however is one of the things that lead her to perdition. A crucial aspect of the sexual dimension of Lucy’s possession by Dracula is the time and the nature of their encounters. Everything seems to happen only in her dreams. The dreams are nightly manifestations of the subconscious and, therefore, Lucy is completely subjugated by the Count at a time when her reason is asleep. These nightly encounters with Dracula are the equivalent of erotic dreams. Dracula’s influence is so pervasive, that Lucy is soon completely lost: â€Å"The sweetness was turned to adamantine, heartless cruelty, and the purity to voluptuous wantonness† (Stoker 198). Her initial characteristic sweetness and innocence are transformed into a luring, demoniac voluptuousness. Her tempting invitations to Arthur have a clearly erotic substratum: â€Å"She still advanced, however, and with a languorous, voluptuous grace, said, ‘Come to me, Arthur. Leave these others and come to me. My arms are hungry for you. Come, and we can rest together. Come, my husband, come! ’†(Stoker 198) The sexual act is here almost undistinguishable from the act of vampirism per se. The demoniac possession is realized through debauchery. Sexual orgies seem to be a pattern in cases of demonism. The story also evinces many other sexual connotations. One of them is simply given in the specific conditions in which Dracula is able to exist. He is thus bound to sleep in his coffin during daytime and perpetrated his horrid crimes only during the night. Darkness itself is not only associated with the fear of the unknown, but also with the world of the subconscious. In obscurity, these deeds seem to become even more real. Another important aspect of the novel that is closely related to the sexual connotations of the text is the basic motif of corruption. Dracula defiles precisely the most holy of the characters, choosing his victims among them in order to inflict even more pain: â€Å"Just as their hideous bodies could only rest in sacred earth, so the holiest love was the recruiting sergeant for their ghastly ranks† (Stoker 278). The corruption of the innocent and even holy people is in itself a semi-sexual act, resembling the act of taking away someone’s virginity. In this sense, Dracula’s corruption of the innocents is a sign of violent rape. The gain of immortality through vampirism is another essential aspect of the work. This state is the opposite of the Christian idea of a heaven, where all the reformed souls reside contently. Dracula’s immortality is one in which only the body survives, while the soul dies forever. This demoniac state is synonymous with a state of absolute debauchery and corruption, in which the senses are free and the idea of morality does not exist. In this state, sexuality is practiced in all its forms, without restraint. The vampire symbolically feeds on other human lives, being nurtured by death and by the absence of a soul. It is also notable that this particular form of sexuality is not necessarily similar to the natural form. What is distinct about it is that there are no restraints and no obstacles to it. It is sexuality in the purest beast-like form. This fact is emphasized by another symbol present in the novel. As it is well known, the legend of the vampires must have been initially inspired by a simple, natural element: the bat and its way of feeding itself with blood. This particular similarity between a bat and Count Dracula himself points to the clear hint towards an animal-like life: â€Å"‘Do you mean to tell me that Lucy was bitten by such a bat, and that such a thing is here in London in the nineteenth century? ’†(Stoker 218) The story reveals a civilization that is unable to come to terms with the inherent traces of primitiveness. The ‘bat’ is a symbol for this return to nature and its eccentricities. The above quoted passage best illustrates the fear of a civilization to relapse into a primitive state. The modern world assumes that it can effectively control the whole range of natural phenomena, but as Stoker shows, civilization is still liable to its own myths and ancient beliefs and superstitions. It is significant that the characters have to fight their enemy not only with their modern means, but also through the weapons that are prescribed by popular lore and superstition. Along with garlic and other cures which are prescribed by superstition, the characters have to use yet another weapon to vanquish the demonic influence: the pole or stick that pierces the heart of the vampire and kills it. This phallic symbol is the only weapon that is able to kill a vampire. The scene where Arthur uses this instrument in order to kill Lucy is probably one of the most significant in this sense. Thus, the mythical and the modern world can meet in reality and the belief that science and development can completely eradicate myths and ancient beliefs, may be wrong. Although the book has a happy ending, and the evil is vanquished, the author does not share the optimism of his characters, and in an overall picture, the book actually demolishes the modern myth of a human civilization that moves steadily towards progress and that is not liable to a relapse into primitiveness. Works Cited: Stoker, Bram. Dracula. Ed. by Nina Auerbach and David J. Skal. New York: W. W. Norton 1996.

Bram Stoker report Essay -- Essays Papers

Bram Stoker report Bram Stoker was born in Dublin, Ireland on November 8th, 1847. His father was a civil servant in Dublin Castle, and his mother, Charlotte, was a women’s lib advocate. They had seven children in nine years; the third of which was Bram. The first seven years of his life he was bedridden with an undiagnosed disease which may have been anything from rheumatic fever, asthma or a form of nonparalytic polio. During these first years of his life as he laid in his bed he listened to stories his mother told him of the cholera epidemic of 1832; people buried alive, and entire families dying in a matter of days. At the age of 12 Bram left his home to attend school at Dublin’s Rutland Square under Reverend William Wood. During these years he made up for his childhood sickness by becoming involved in athletics and became an endurance walker. Following his older brothers lead in 1863, at the age of 17, he entered Trinity College in Dublin. Only ten years after he took his first steps he was now six foot two and 175 pounds. He joined several clubs and groups; he became president of the Philosophical Society, auditor of the Historical Society, he played soccer, was unbeatable in his walking marathons, and after two years he became the athletics champion of Trinity. In 1866 Bram took a one year leave of absence from Trinity to work as a clerk in the Registrar of Petty Sessions at Dublin Castle. Later in the year he saw the play The Rivals playing the lead, Captain Absolute, was the British actor Henry Irving, a person who would play a major role in Bram’s life. He was so impressed by Irving’s performance he wrote: â€Å"What I saw, to my amazement and delight , was a patrician figure as real as the person of one’s dreams, and endowed with the same poetic grace. A young soldier, handsome, distinguished, self-dependent; compact of grace and slumberous energy. A man of quality who stood out from his surroundings on the stage as a being of another social world. A figure full of dash and fine irony, and whose ridicule seemed to bite; buoyant with the joy of life; self-conscious; an offensive egoist envy in his love-making; of supreme and unsurpassable insolence, veiled and shrouded in his fine quality of manner.† He returned to Trinity after his absence and graduated in 1871 with a degree in science, he then stayed on... ...ns. In the last year of his life Stoker suffered from a number of illnesses from: Bright’s Disease (a painful kidney disease), gout, syphilis, and exhaustion. On April 15th, 1912 Florence Stoker rushed to her husbands bedroom to tell him that the luxury liner Titanic had sunk the night before. Five days later April 20th, the day the investigation into the Titanic disaster began, Bram Stoker died at the age of 64. His death certificate listed three causes of death: Locomotor Ataxy (tertiary syphilis), Granular Contracted Kidney (Bright’s Disease), and exhaustion. The story of Dracula has been played out many times over in Hollywood with the most famous being; Nosferatu (1928), Dracula (1931) starring Bela Lugosi, Count Dracula (1971) starring Christopher Lee, and Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992) starring Gary Oldman. It was first a Broadway stage play in the late 1920’s. It’s leading actor, Bela Lugosi, would go on to play the original Dracula and play the part in over 80 other horror movies. Dracula still remains the one work Bram Stoker is remembered for and today, over 100 years after it was published, it remains one of the most popular books of all time.

Human rights Essay

The United Nations defines human rights as â€Å"[†¦] rights inherent to all human beings, whatever our nationality, place of residence, sex, national or ethnic origin, religion, language or any other status† (OHCHR 2009). They are rights that are guaranteed to all human beings simply because they are human. When people speak of ‘having a right’ or ‘it is their right’ to have this or that or to do that or the other, it is usually a reference to their human rights. To have a right implies an entitlement to something. Other people are obligated to give it to you and if this right is endangered or denied then you can make special claims on political, moral and social grounds that will galvanize the concerned parties into action and obligate the person guilty of denying the rights to discharge them even if they are not willing. Rights can therefore be termed as rules of interaction between persons; guidelines on how humans should relate to each other. A violation of these rules is not only improper; it may subject someone to special corrective claims as well as sanctions usually but not always at the discretion of the rights holder. Right holders are therefore not just passive beneficiaries of their rights but are actively in control of them. It is worth noting that human rights are not simply abstract principles such as equality, security or liberty. Rather, they refer to the social practices that have been instituted precisely for the realization of those values and are recognized by law (Donnelly 2003, p. 7-8; 11). The international treaties on human rights have summarized human rights under two categories; civil and political rights on one hand and socio-cultural and economic rights on the other. Civil and political rights constitute the freedom of assembly, freedom from torture, freedom of speech, freedom from slavery and the right to a fair trial. On the other hand, socio- cultural and economic rights cover the right to social security, the right to equal wages for the same work irrespective of gender, right to leisure time with control of working hours, right to good health, right to free basic education and the right to take part in the community cultural life (Asher and Banks 2007, p. 4). The violation of human rights is more commonly referred to as human rights abuse. It may include physical and sexual assault, mass killings, torture, unlawful detention, disappearances of persons, forced displacement among others. Asher and Banks (2007, p. 4) point out that abuses of socio- cultural and economic rights are not as easy to pinpoint as civil and political rights violations but include forced labor, withholding of humanitarian relief supplies, destruction or seizing of property, and the various forms of discrimination. It is precisely because of these violations of human rights on a global scale that the international community sought to form treaties and declarations that would legally bind countries and compel them to observe human rights, thereby protecting all humans regardless of their place in society and their country of origin. However, before analyzing human rights in international relations, it is important to first of all understand their justification. Justification of human rights As earlier mentioned, human rights are guaranteed to humans simply by virtue of their being humans. They are equal rights, that is, one is either a human being or not. Therefore they apply equally to all humans across the board. They are also inalienable, that is, one cannot stop being a human even though he or she behaves in a totally inhuman way or conversely, is treated in an inhuman manner (Donnelly 2003, p. 10). Some people may argue that human rights should not apply to certain categories of people especially those who behave in an inhuman way towards others. But since these people cannot stop being humans, their rights remain inalienable. Thus even prisoners have their rights. However, it is worth noting that infringement of other people’s rights may cause one to loose some of his or her rights as a form of sanction. Our entitlement to human rights comes with the responsibility of ensuring that the rights of others are respected as well but even when some of these rights are taken away as a sanction for violations, it is well nigh impossible to forfeit all rights and one remains entitled to at least some fundamental rights whose violation may cause an outcry from human rights advocates – never mind that this person has violated other people’s rights (Orend 2002, p. 7). This gives rise to the question; what justifies the holding of human rights? One of the grounds on which the holding of human rights is justified is the fact that it is intrinsic to human nature. We all share a core belief that it is profoundly and distinctly wrong to cause a fellow human being to suffer. The occasioning of such harm and suffering is viewed as unjust and below what is expected of human behavior and can therefore not be tolerated at any cost. The only exception to this is if the harm inflicted is in self defense or defense of others. Thus human rights do not exist because of force or over-romanticizing of issues but simply because of an intrinsic compulsion to treat fellow human beings in a minimally civilized manner (Orend 2002, p. 69; 73). This argument draws heavily from social morality. Human rights exist in the beliefs that are shared by humans across the globe. They are a result of ethical customs and practices and their codification into law only facilitate their application though they existed before the law (Orend 2002, p. 76). The grounding of human rights on morality and ethics has however come under criticism. Some people feel that moral norms are an illusion that has subconsciously been entrenched into our thoughts and our language. This gives rise to the problem of justification. It is important for human rights to be grounded on an objective viewpoint rather than the subjectivity of others who wish to impose their beliefs on the rest of the populace (Gorecki 1996, p. 19). However, morality appears to be the best grounds for justification of human rights. This is because morality and ethics are universally upheld and all societies have a code of conduct that implies respect for fellow human beings with some sanctions when these are violated. In deed as Gorecki (1996, p. 17-18) asserts, the inalienable rights of liberty, life as well as the pursuit of happiness as proclaimed in the American Declaration of Independence were not proclaimed because of the subjective thoughts of Thomas Jefferson or the imposition of the Continental Congress. They were given independent of any subjective views since every man has these inherent rights by virtue of their humanity. Thus in this sense, human rights are objectively justified. Other validations for human rights are based on religious principles. Such arguments usually posit that human rights are ordained by God and should therefore be observed since not doing so would be in violation of God’s teachings. The grounding of human rights in religious teachings places them beyond interference by man or government. Such arguments have been referred to as metaphysical justifications and they place human rights justification beyond human design; linking them to the supernatural (Edel 1978, p. 126; 128). However, Orend (2002, p. 73) argues that the premises on which religious justifications are based are ‘controversial’ as well as ‘exclusionary’ and go against the principle of equality and universalism with respect to the protection of human rights. A third human rights justification is based on the premise of legal positivism. Legal positivism implies that it is only those rights which have been ratified into law that are applicable and legitimate. Thus people are compelled to observe human rights lest they be punished by the law. The penalties for not obeying human rights are outlined and include imprisonment, the payment of fines and simply the burden of a criminal record. There are numerous declarations, charters and treaties which provide these legal guidelines for the countries and they apply across the globe. However, Orend (2002, p. 4) points out a weakness in this justification, stating that in the event that some important human rights have not been ratified, then this may pose a problem since people do not feel obliged to observe them. Human rights and international relations Human rights are universal and are therefore guaranteed by international law. International human rights laws have been expressed through the formation of treaties, application of general human rights principles and customar y international law among others. International laws on human rights obligate governments across the globe to act in certain ways or to desist from engaging in particular acts that may violate the rights of the citizens. This is done with a view to protecting the fundamental rights and freedoms of all humans across the globe (OHCHR 2009). There are numerous international treaties, charters and declarations that have been internationally agreed upon through numerous human rights conventions and which outline how international human rights will be handled. For instance, the 1945 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights Article 7 states that no one should be subjected to any inhuman, cruel or degrading treatment. Ignatieff terms this article as the ‘juridical revolution’ of human rights. Other internationally recognized human rights documents are the 1948 Geneva conventions, the 1949 Geneva conventions revision, the International convention on asylum of 1951 and the Universal Declaration of human rights (Ignatieff et al 2003, p. vii). The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948. It is one of the most recognized human rights documents and outline basic rights and freedoms of the individual which are to be recognized globally (UN 2009). The Universal declaration of human rights- this great and inspiring instrument was born of an increased sense of responsibility by the international community for the promotion and protection of man’s basic rights and freedoms. The world has come to a clear realization of the fact that freedom, justice and world peace can only be assured through the international promotion and protection of these rights and freedoms. U Thant, Third United Nations Secretary- General, 1961-1971 (UN Cyberschoolbus, 2009) The above quote perhaps best exemplifies the commitment of the international community towards the promotion of human rights. The internationalization of human rights meant that they were no longer the preserve of the state but that the states were answerable to the international community for the treatment that they accorded their citizens. However, there is no decisive action with which to deal with states that violate international rights violations (Forsythe 2006, p. 5).

John Winthrop s The Puritan - 1610 Words

In the Puritan religion, one cannot love anything more than one loves God. In the case of John Winthrop, this edict became an issue. He did not want to abandon the Church of England as the separatists did, a decision which eventually led to the pilgrims starting their own new church. Winthrop wanted to purify the church; however, the government in England made this particularly hard and eventually this is what led to Winthrop leaving England for the New World to solve the Puritan Dilemma. The Puritan Dilemma was a figurative battle between the Church of England and the Puritan religion. It was also a real threat with opposing religions that would come and threaten the Puritans way of life. John Winthrop recognized these problems and sought to remedy them. In the early 1600’s, John Winthrop grew up in a very wealthy family. He attended college at 15 and at 17 he was married. Winthrop loved his wife very much but at times he thought maybe too much (he remarried 3 times because his first 2 wives passed away). As a Puritan, Winthrop dedicated his life to God, but as he got older, England’s government made it harder and harder to be a Puritan, due to the fact that the king said outright he hated Puritans. Winthrop went on to study law and eventually became a common attorney in the court of wards; though Winthrop was happy to get this job, it kept him away from his family. After a short while in this position, Winthrop began to feel less and less important, as Puritans were theShow MoreRelatedA Model Of Christian Charity1525 Words   |  7 PagesEnglish 473 March 4, 2015 â€Å"TITLE† A Model of Christian Charity is a sermon, or more of a simple speech delivered by Winthrop in order to inspire his fellow Puritans who sailed in order to settle in the New England. This speech was given in order to keep them committed to their new settlement. 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On the other hand, Winthrop believed that the new world was a religious safe haven only for the Puritans. American Exceptionalism was overall the main focus, guiding