Dracula Through a Feminist Lens

Dracula by Bram Stoker is a popular Gothic novel that describes a group of characters trying to thwart the plans of the evil vampire Count Dracula. While most interpret this story as good vs evil, this novel can also be seen as a feminist story. This can be clearly seen when Lucy says, “In a sort of sleep-waking, vague, unconscious way she opened her eyes, which were now dull and hard at once, and said in a soft, voluptuous voice, such as I had never heard from her lips, ‘Arthur! Oh, my love, I am so glad you have come! Kiss me!’”(Stoker, 1897). By showing the sexual desires of women during this Victorian Era, Lucy is breaking traditional Victorian norms. 

To begin with, Lucy, in her vampiric state, breaks society’s expectations of how women should act. During the Victorian Era, women were expected to be polite and submissive, never to express any sexual feelings that they had, especially in public. Moreover, women were controlled by men and could only express any sexual feelings when their husband allowed it. Additionally, women’s main roles were to be mothers and help raise their children as they were confined to their homes. However, when Lucy becomes a vampire, she becomes the antithesis of a mother. Stoker states that, “with a careless motion, she flung to the ground, callous as a devil, the child that up to now she had clutched strenuously to her breast, growling over it as a dog growls over a bone. The child gave a sharp cry, and lay there moaning”(Stoker, 1897). Instead of helping to raise and nurture a child, Lucy preys on it and uses it as a source of food. Rather than being looked at as polite and submissive, Lucy is looked at by the group as seductive and powerful. She is no longer the once innocent and pure woman that she was before becoming a vampire. Under the masks of vampires, Stoker cleverly hides themes of women’s independence as well as criticizes society for forcing women to repress sexual feelings. 

Similar to Dracula, the Disney film Mulan can also be seen from a feminist point of view. Mulan tells the story of a young Chinese woman named Mulan leaving her home and disguising herself as a male soldier to take her father’s place. In the beginning of the film, Chinese women are portrayed to be housewives while men are supposed to be soldiers when called upon by their country. For example, Mulan says, Quiet and demure. Graceful. Polite. Delicate. Refined. Poised. Punctual”(Mulan, 1998). In this scene, Mulan lists adjectives that women should be to their husbands as she prepares to meet a matchmaker in order to demonstrate her ability to be a future wife. This demonstrates how women had to meet certain expectations of how they should act in order to bring honor to their families. There was no place for outspoken or powerful women as these traits wouldn’t be able to attract a good husband. Later in the film, Mulan joins the army in place of her father in order to try and bring honor and pride to her family. In the beginning, Mulan is portrayed to be weak, scared, and fragile. In fact, Captain Li Shang even kicks her out stating, “You’re unsuited for the rage of war. So pack up, go home, you’re through”(Mulan, 1998). Despite this setback, Mulan is able to prove herself by climbing a pole with two weights, something no other soldier was able to accomplish. Interestingly, instead of climbing the pole normally like every other soldier, Mulan uses the weights to better grip the pole and propel herself upwards. While not being able to have the strength of her male counterparts, Mulan is able to be an effective soldier through her bravery and cleverness on the battlefield. This can be seen when Mulan cleverly shoots a rocket into a mountain to cause an avalanche and defeat the Hun army. To sum up, this film helps to show how women can be equally skilled to men when given the opportunities. 

Both Dracula and Mulan display feminist themes. Although both pieces of work are initially viewed as good vs evil stories, they also display many feminist characteristics. Stoker is able to use vampires in order to show the independence and sexual desires of women that were often repressed during this era. Mulan is able to display the skills of a brave woman as she challenges traditional gender norms of ancient China by becoming a soldier and fighting for her country. Additionally, both works help to challenge the ideas that women can only be homemakers. In Dracula, Lucy acts as the opposite of a mother by feeding on a child instead of nurturing it. Instead of being a quiet and graceful woman, Lucy lashes out and tries to kill and feed on everything in her path. In Mulan, Mulan becomes a strong and independent warrior instead of the housewife she was always destined to be. The film shows that women don’t have to bring honor to their family by just getting married, but instead can do more and even take on many of the roles that were assumed to be too “manly” for women to handle. While there are many similarities in how feminism is portrayed, there are also some key differences between the two works. Stoker takes the approach of hiding feminism under the mask of vampires while also making out the vampire Lucy to be a villain. As a result of this choice, many have said that Stoker was actually trying to paint women in a bad light and show how this kind of independence wasn’t acceptable. On the other hand, Mulan displays feminism through the traditional hero’s journey while clearly establishing Mulan as the hero of the story. Despite these differences, ultimately, both pieces of work help to show that women can become more than what society expects them to be. 

To conclude, both Dracula and Mulan can be seen as feminist stories. Dracula shows how women of the Victorian Era were repressed of their independence and sexual desires by men. Similarly, Mulan shows how women were deprived of their independence as well as access to equal opportunities as men in ancient China. Both pieces of work help to show how women don’t have to conform to the expectations set by society in terms of the way they act and their roles in society. Overall, both works do an excellent job displaying feminist messages in entertaining, innovative, and unexpected ways while also showing how society always favored men in the past. 

Works Cited

Mulan. (1998). [Film]. Walt Disney Pictures.

Stoker, B. (1897). Dracula. Archibald Constable and Company