Peng Lu

 Wuhan University

Abstract：

Dracula, written by Bram Stoker and published in 1897, is a gothic horror novel which tells a story of Jonathan Harker’s encounter with the vampire Count Dracula whose evil quest to spread vampirism sparks a battle with “the crew of light”, a group consisting of Jonathan, Mina and their friends. This book, in Victorian time, is a pivotal work that explores the intersection of Gothic horror, gender and sexuality. Marriage, as a central theme in Victorian literature, often serving as the culmination of the protagonist’s journey and reflecting societal norms of the time, is also a important issue in gender and sexuality. In Victorian time, novels centered on domesticity often follow such a logic that marriage is a legitimate way of constructing gender identity and social roles as well as performing sanctioned sexuality. While Dracula diverges from this convention by placing marriage in the context of horror and introducing “New Woman”. The characters of Lucy and Mina, despite embodying contrasting figures of femininity and sexuality, both serve as representations of Stoker’s challenging attitude toward marriage. Also, the encounter between Jonathan and Dracula provides a queer subtext which conveys a subversion of heterosexual marriage. By examining Lucy and Mina’s contrasting gender roles and the underlying queer dynamics in Dracula, we can better understand how Stoker navigates between traditional Victorian expectations and a more progressive view of gender and sexuality, questioning the restrictions and roles placed on women and homosexuality through the institution of marriage.

Key Words：

Marriage; Bram Stoker; Dracula