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class in 'dracula' - Coggle Diagram
class in 'dracula'
context
written in 1897
Victorian age - expressed by high morality
celebrated by the upper class
more than ever felt superior to the lower classes
socioeconomic problems struck society
great scientific progress
richer upper class, but lower classes remained poor
final result was a strong belief in materialism for people who thought scientific progress was important
growing interest in Roman Catholicism and spirituality for thse who were skeptic of science
Dracula and vampirism were not within moral Christian values in England
Stoker uses Dracula to embody these foreign and dangerous values into Western culture
begins a reign of terror in Romania which slowly infiltrates into Western society
society was increasingly divided into rich and poor
poor problems increased
one of the reasons the church lost its power and influence on the majority of society
England invaded other countries to increase colonization
most powerful country in the world
men felt superior to women
women were supposed to be opressed repressed and supressed by men
meant to stay at home, care for the family and not work
women were meant to be the 'angel of the house' pure, good, motherly
couldnt have any opinions
marriage was arranged with love, but also social rank and money
most of the characters are members of the ruling class - the aristocracy
lower classes dont occour in the novel (excluding Dracula's gypsies)
they were unimportant in the era, and it was impossible to mix social ranks
Arthur Godalming represents the Victorian upper class
represents wealth, money, tradition and generosity
gives money to defeat Dracula
named after 'King Arthur'
Godalming = 'God almighty' he is important
'my life is hers, and i would give the last drop of blood in my body for her' 128
has all the qualities expected of a member of the upper class
polite, generous, full of courage
'he is too true a gentleman' 242
Johnathon embodies all Victorian ideals
strength of his youth, strong belief and faith
as a lawyer he represents the state and is a member of a professional class
stands for law, order and knowledge
strong belief in good things of life and deeply faithful
wants to give strength to people with doubts
Lucy represents a woman of the upper class
young, beautiful woman of a rich family with a respectable name
brought up with a good education
3 marriage proposals show that she is appealing
Stoker juxtaposes Lucy and Mina to shed light on the two types of Victorian women: stereotypical woman (Lucy) and the 'new woman' (Mina)
becomes Dracula's first victim
becomes a slave to her sickness - dies - becomes a vampire
Stoker kills off the wealthy character and lets the lesser class character live - symbolic of the stratified social classes of this era, merging towards a more unified existence with more broken social barriers
parallels between Lucy (human) and Dracula
Lucy has 3 marriage suitors - 'why cant they let a girl marry 3 men'
Dracula has 'three young women, ladies by their dress and manner'
Lucy relies on blood to survive (blood transfusion)
Dracula relies on blood to survive (feeding)
suggest that anyone is capable of being a monster
Lucy must break the hearts of two men
supernatural is not so far from humanity
Lucy's blood donations are taken in descending order of social status
Aruthur
member of the gentry
Seward
working class doctor
Van Helsing
foreigner
Quincey
American
ironically ends up being the most celebrated hero among the men
Mina is of the middle/ working class
attractive and well educated
humble, practical, clever
puts honest effort into working to make a living
Stoker juxtaposes Lucy and Mina to shed light on the two types of Victorian women: stereotypical woman (Lucy) and the 'new woman' (Mina)
Mina is not a victim of Dracula's bite
lives to help solve the mystery
Stoker kills off the wealthy character and lets the lesser class character live - symbolic of the stratified social classes of this era, merging towards a more unified existence with more broken social barriers
upper class characters are killed off while lower class characters continue to live
Upper class characters all die fairly suddenly (anyone who embodies upper class characterisation
Lucy, Mrs Westenra, Mr Hawkins, Arthur's father
Johnathon and Mina escape death, vampirism and still have a baby
lower characters live and procreate whie richer ones cant.
Stoker expresses the urge for the three dimensional characters to triumoh at the end
lower class citizens are vindicated at the end
Dracula believes he is superior to everyone
prides himself on family history - page 25
by presenting his family and himself as integral to the national fate of Romania
tries to prove to Johnathon that he is deserving of his noble blood and therefore respect
wants to migrate from an impoverished, uninfluential nation to the world's most powerful country
even though he is powerful among his own people, he is unsatisfied
''peasant is at heart a coward and a fool.' 20
to be able to subjugate the people of the world's most powerful country would finally prove Dracula worthy of his ancestor's bloodline
feels superior to commoners - classist tendencies
'we Transylvanian nobles love not to think our bones may lie amongst the common dead' 71
disdain for commoners is so great that he is comforted that even in death they wont mix
mirrored in the way he treats the common woman whose baby he steals
lets the wolves eat her, her blood will taint him
sucks Lucy's blood, she is not a commoner
doesnt want to interact with people with common blood
he is a quintessential aristocratic figure who also prides himself on superior bloodlines
irony that the poeple who slay him are of assorted nationality, gender and economic privelidge
interacions betweem characters of various socioeconomic status are due to class based prejudice in society
storytelling is forensic
fragmented story into a variety of narrators relects Dracula's spreading influence
once in England his evil spreads, resulting in a cacophony of voices
superiority of British society
townsfolk of the East are aware of the danger within their nation
'it is the eve of St Georges Day'
Johnathon dismisses them
Dracula is seemingly a battle of good vs evil, but really is a battle of the classes
social disparity between men and women
3 female vampires are kept by Dracula, which reflects hyperboliically of the role of women at the time
permission from a male superior was always needed
average Victorian woman wasnt concerned with hunting prey
shows Johnathon more hospitality than the female vampires, whom he 'keeps'
interested in the knowledge he brings
by Dracula's standards the female vampires should be elevated above Johnathon's social status