The character Mina Harker from the novel Dracula by Bram Stoker represents Stokers ideals of the perfect Victorian period woman.
Married to Jonathon Harker, Mina is innocent, polite and quiet. She is a passive character, seen maternally by the men and is never sexualised. These Victorian woman characteristics enables her to be a perfect and devoted wife. Mina’s regular diary entries feature Jonathon, as she expresses her worries for him and the ways in which she can help him. While being the only woman of the group fighting Dracula, Mina devotes herself to the cause by spending hours typing up the records to make the men’s jobs easier.
Some might argue that Mina is shaped by the Late Victorian Era through her contributions and her ability to work. Van Helsing even said “Ah, that wonderful Madam Mina! She has a mans brain- a brain that a man should have were he much gifted.” The ‘mans brain’ implies the independence of men and their ‘superior intelligence’, which Van Helsing is identifying in Mina. Although she does work and is very intelligent, Mina only works for the mens benefit, she is only a supporting act.
The ‘new woman’ of the Late Victorian Era is defined by confidence of her sexuality, her independence from men and her individuality. The ‘Woman Question’ of the changing of political, economic, and professional roles for women is a great influence to the novel as Stoker explores this concept as well as his own opinions. Mina’s character represents many of the aspects of the new woman but she is confined by the old social standards of the era.
A passage that explores this concept is a letter from Mina to Lucy (pg 59). She starts with how overwhelmed she is with her work as an assistant schoolmistress, but in the next sentence she tells Lucy how hard she has been working learning shorthand so that she can keep up with her husbands studies. She is learning and practicing new skills simply for his benefit so that she can do more work for him in the future. The image of the new woman is represented with her professional job, but she is still tied down to her husband and her role as a Victorian woman.
After being bitten by Dracula, Mina became subdued and weary. She was no longer involved with the men’s activities and spent most of the day sleeping and isolated. This portrayal of her character is just a shadow of herself, but is also a shadow of the ‘ideal’ Victorian woman. The vampire bite took away her individuality and independence, which left her with the mens protection and pity. The vampire bite is significant for a vast amount of reasons, and could be interpreted as a symbol of the conventions of the society structured by men that holds the new woman back.
Mina’s character inconsistency is a reflection of both Stoker’s and societies confusion of the change during the Late Victorian Era. She is a representation of the contrast between the ‘old’ and ‘new’ women, as well as representing Stoker’s ideal woman.
Married to Jonathon Harker, Mina is innocent, polite and quiet. She is a passive character, seen maternally by the men and is never sexualised. These Victorian woman characteristics enables her to be a perfect and devoted wife. Mina’s regular diary entries feature Jonathon, as she expresses her worries for him and the ways in which she can help him. While being the only woman of the group fighting Dracula, Mina devotes herself to the cause by spending hours typing up the records to make the men’s jobs easier.
Some might argue that Mina is shaped by the Late Victorian Era through her contributions and her ability to work. Van Helsing even said “Ah, that wonderful Madam Mina! She has a mans brain- a brain that a man should have were he much gifted.” The ‘mans brain’ implies the independence of men and their ‘superior intelligence’, which Van Helsing is identifying in Mina. Although she does work and is very intelligent, Mina only works for the mens benefit, she is only a supporting act.
The ‘new woman’ of the Late Victorian Era is defined by confidence of her sexuality, her independence from men and her individuality. The ‘Woman Question’ of the changing of political, economic, and professional roles for women is a great influence to the novel as Stoker explores this concept as well as his own opinions. Mina’s character represents many of the aspects of the new woman but she is confined by the old social standards of the era.
A passage that explores this concept is a letter from Mina to Lucy (pg 59). She starts with how overwhelmed she is with her work as an assistant schoolmistress, but in the next sentence she tells Lucy how hard she has been working learning shorthand so that she can keep up with her husbands studies. She is learning and practicing new skills simply for his benefit so that she can do more work for him in the future. The image of the new woman is represented with her professional job, but she is still tied down to her husband and her role as a Victorian woman.
After being bitten by Dracula, Mina became subdued and weary. She was no longer involved with the men’s activities and spent most of the day sleeping and isolated. This portrayal of her character is just a shadow of herself, but is also a shadow of the ‘ideal’ Victorian woman. The vampire bite took away her individuality and independence, which left her with the mens protection and pity. The vampire bite is significant for a vast amount of reasons, and could be interpreted as a symbol of the conventions of the society structured by men that holds the new woman back.
Mina’s character inconsistency is a reflection of both Stoker’s and societies confusion of the change during the Late Victorian Era. She is a representation of the contrast between the ‘old’ and ‘new’ women, as well as representing Stoker’s ideal woman.