DRACULA

Please make sure to read the rest of Dracula for Tuesday. You will also want to start on Stephen D. Arata's essay, "Dracula and Reverse Colonization." Below are a few questions we'll be exploring this week. Feel free to draw from them, or to develop your own questions. You should also feel free to respond to another student's post.

1) In our edition of Dracula, Phyllis A Roth writes, "Perhaps nowhere is the dichotomy of sensual and sexless women more dramatic than it is in Dracula and nowhere is the suddenly sexual woman more violent and self-righteously pesecuted than in Stoker's 'thriller'" (412). There's been a great deal of discussion in our class blogosphere about the role of women in Dracula. Check it out:
http://samjanssen.blogspot.com/
http://kindling263.blogspot.com/
http://cihtog362hsilgne.blogspot.com/
http://leahgriesel.blogspot.com/
http://gothicnovel263.blogspot.com/

For your post, explore the depictions of women in the novel. Could "vampirism" be a way in which women can express an otherwise repressed sexuality? Consider Jonathan's run in with the "Brides of Dracula." How is he both allured and repelled by these women? Explore how Lucy and Mina both exceed but then at times transgress the stereotype of the angelic, Victorian woman. In what ways do both characters play "dangerously" with the role of the New Woman? How does Vampirism become symbolic of "dangerous" female sexuality?
2) In our last class, we explored the symbolism of the vampire and debated the question, "Why are we so obsessed with vampires?" Explore the symbolism of the vampire in this novel. In what ways is Dracula an "uncanny" figure? What sort of repression might he be symbolic of? Why? You might also want to explore why the Dracula character has continued to prevail in pop culture and film.
3) Examine the role of Dr. Seward in this novel. What do you think is the significance of the insane asylum in this novel? What is the significance of the emerging "science" of psychology in terms of the themes of this novel? Why is the character of Renfield signficant?
4) In our last class, we touched briefly on how Dracula functions differently than a novel such as The Monk precisely because it juxtaposes "modern" characters with "archaic" demons and monsters. Explore Dracula's relation to modernity. What is the role of technology in this novel? How,and why, does it work side by side with superstition and ancient Catholicism?
5) How does "blood" work symbolically in this novel? Consider the significance of the many blood transfusions that were given to Lucy. How does this quickly become sexual? What does that say about the symbolic "exchange" of fluids in this novel? Given that Victorians were so obsessed with "blood," bloodlines, and "race," how could this constant exchanging of fluids and "mixing" be considered an "uncanny" sort of trope in the novel?

Finally, here's a great link to an article that Keri found the other day. I thought it was worth sharing given are previous class discussion. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33509755/ns/health-sexual_health/?GT1=43001#storyContinued