MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS DIPLOMATIC ACADEMY OF VIETNAM ENGLISH FACULTY SUBJECT AMERICAN ENGLISH LITERATURE Based on characters of Dracula, (selected chapters) and the adventure of Charles Augustus[.]
MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS DIPLOMATIC ACADEMY OF VIETNAM ENGLISH FACULTY SUBJECT: AMERICAN ENGLISH LITERATURE Based on characters of Dracula, (selected chapters) and the adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton (Arthur Conan Doyle) , analyze the treatment of women in Victorian literature Student’s name : Nguyễn Phương Mai Class : TA46A Student ID : TA46A-015-1923 HÀ NỘI – 2020 TABLE OF CONTENTS I Introduction An overview of the treatment to women in the Victorian society II Body Women in the novel ‘Dracula’ 1.1 Introduction of ‘Dracula’ a Introduction of Bram Stoker b The novel “Dracula” 1.2 Women in ‘Dracula’ (chapter and chapter 16) a Lucy Westenra b The Dracula’s Brides 1.3 Conclusion Women in the novel ‘The adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton’ 2.1 Introduction of ‘The adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton’ a Introduction of Arthur Conan Doyle b Introduction of ‘The adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton’ 2.2 Women in ‘The adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton’ a Lady Eva Blackwell b The lady in black c The maids 2.3 Conclusion Conclusion Introduction When facing the Industrial Revolutions and the French, in the 19th century, suffering in England was mostly limited to the women, children and the poor In the early 19th century, a new gender principle ascended in which “women were apparently restricted to the home, or ‘private sphere’, while men’s field was interpreted as the ‘public sphere’, as a scheme to protect women from the exploitation in the street While such contrivance constrained women’s opportunities, however, women still carried on public activities The perspective on women was both inferior and superior to men in the Victorian era Neither did they have their legally rights nor could they vote They were made to domestic tasks like cleaning the house, cooking for their family and raising children Women on the other hand, don’t even have the right to possess any of the property Married women had to deal with many kinds of violence, both physically and mentally, yet they didn’t have the right to divorce The intellectuals, exclusively the writers, seemed to go against such injustice Victorian treatment to women displays in both literature and visual arts, a growing interest in nineteenth-century women's periodicals has found appearance in countless literary and historical creation A large number of authors started to write about the sufferings and strengths of women in the Victorian Era Their works mostly focused on typical, traditional Victorian female characters and their interactions The treatment to women can be seen clearly in the two novels that was written in the nineteenth-century: ‘Dracula’ by Bram Stoker and ‘the Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton’ by Arthur Conan Doyle As the nineteenth century was a flourishing age for fiction novels, there is no other way to appreciate the mechanism of Victorian life more gratifying than reading There is no doubt that Victorian novels are worth reading, because of women’s crucial role in Victorian fiction novels, it is recommended that we go into details about this phenomenon Women in the novel “Dracula” 1.1 Introduction of Dracula a Introduction of Bram Stoker Bram Stoker, also known as Abraham Stoker (Nov.8,1847 – April 20, 1912), born in Clontarf, County Dublin, Ireland, died in London, England He is and Irish writer, best known for the horror novel Dracula Not until he was seven could he walk; however, he outgrew his disadvantages to become a football player and athlete He played at Trinity College where he earned a gradation in Mathematics He spent 10 years at Dublin Castle in civil service, he was also a drama critic for the Dublin Evening Mail who wasn’t paid He then met his idol, Sir Henry Irving and became his manager Later in his life, Stoker turned to fiction and published his first novel, The Shake’s Pass in 1890 In 1897, Dracula, his masterpiece, made the appearance This novel was written in the form of journals and diaries, with the principal characters: Jonathan Harker, vampire Count Dracula, Mina Harker, Dr John Steward and Lucy Westenra b Introduction of the novel ‘Dracula’ Dracula is a Gothic horror novel written in 1897 by Bram Stoker The story revolving around Count Dracula and his attempt to move to England to find new blood sources Although Stoker did not initiate the idea of vampires, the book's influence on vampires was the source of many plays and film adaptations of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries The plot of the story is mainly built on diaries and letters of the narrators and the main characters Stoker sometimes adds pieces of news in the newspaper about relevant events that the characters in the story not witness directly The story began when Jonathan Harker, an English legal advisor, travels by train and carriage from England to Count Dracula's old and outback mansion (located on the Carpathian Mountains, at the border between Transylvania and Moldavia) The purpose of his trip is to provide legal advice to Dracula in a real estate transaction with his director, Mr Peter Hawkins, in Exeter, UK Initially, Harker is seduced by Dracula by being polite, then soon discovers that he is imprisoned in the castle He is also starting to see uncertain aspects in Dracula's nightlife One night, while searching for a way out of the castle, Harker falls into the hands of three female vampires - who live with Dracula, and is captivated In the end, he is saved by the Count, however, this is only to keep Harker alive to assist him in legal matters, helping him learn about England and London It was very difficult for Harker to escape from the castle Not long after that, a Russian ship, anchored in Varna, circled the coast of Whitby, England, in a great storm All sailors aboard were missing and possibly dead, only one body was found tied to the mast - the body of the captain The captain's diary told strange events that happened during the ship's journey These events caused the disappearance of all sailors 1.2 Women in ‘Dracula’ a Lucy Westenra Lucy Westenra is a model of innocence and virtue; she has the qualities that draw three suitors to her Lucy’s beauty captivates her suitor, she shows a playfulness and comfort about her desirability that differs from Mina Lucy wrote a letter to Mina, in which she said: “ Why can’t they let a girl marry three man, or as many as they want her, and save all this trouble” This indicates that although such a thought is seen as utterly forbidden, immoral, and promiscuous in the Victorian culture, it cannot stop her from having the thought of overcoming the boundaries set up by the social conventions of the Victorian society Her statement shows that she has desires that cannot be fulfilled Stoker describes the undead Lucy as a wanton creature of ravenous sexual appetite In her demonic state, Lucy appears as a threat to men, therefore, she must be demolished Lucy’s death brought back the purity to her face that the world and women are just as they should be Lucy’s death is understandable as it protected her purity after transforming into a super-natural creature The death of Lucy immediately alerts us that she has crossed into the realm of the supernatural: the wounds on her neck disappear and all of her “loveliness back to her in death.” Lucy, also realizing she is becoming inhuman, requests to Van Helsing that he protects Arthur Helsing swears to that for Lucy’s sake just as she passes away The men think it’s over, but Helsing knows that with Lucy’s death, her transformation into the undead is just beginning Van Helsing’s statement implies that a woman who cannot manage this much truth, sweetness, nobility, and modesty has no place in Victorian society As Lucy returns to a state of beauty, Van Helsing reassures Holmwood that he has saved Lucy’s soul from eternal darkness and has given her peace at last b The Dracula’s Brides Stoker describes the Dracula’s three bride as ‘wanton’ and ‘voluptuous’ repeatedly, which helps to emphasize and exaggerated fully sexualized women The idea of women with supernatural power over men should be destroyed is the key idea behind Stoker writing of the brides They have a desire that in the Victorian era would seem inappropriate and anti-God The form of this novel is another key to the brides being understood as a threat to the society The danger in Dracula is represented by Count Dracula but carried out by the ‘wanton’ vampire brides Stoker used another way to emphasize the brides’ threat in which he wrote the novel in epistolary form, this is a professional attempt to add realism and believability to the narrative Stoker created a mythology figure in a society long before media, which could be seen as a danger to a sexually repressed society Stoker used animalistic imagery to enhance the idea of these brides representing our darkest desires, something everyone has in their nature but we dare not confront In describing the brides, Stoker crafted fully sexualized women who distort men’s desires Bram Stocker does not give any of them an official name, three seductive female vampires are called “sister” or “weird sister” As vampires, they are powerful in their own rights They have beauty and seductive charm despite being lethal Their beauty and flirtatious manner appear to be their greatest power when it comes to bewitching their victims Harker and Van Helsing are both attracted to, and yet repulsed by them However, they are in no way similar to Mina or Lucy before her transformation These three vampires are aggressive, evil, and dangerous, while the living women are virtuous and pure 1.3 Conclusion The novel draws attention of mostly men due to the female sexual symbolism The novel is shown to involve all the prejudices and beliefs of the society as it is set in the Victorian culture, specifically according to the social roles of men and women Women were expected to put down socially, whereas men were lifted up and known for the freedom and authority they held Through the main female characters of his novel, Stoker presents both the ideal Victorian model and the opposite of this model showing what a woman should not be; for the second turns out to be a threat to patriarchal Victorian society and will definitely ends up in ruin Overall, Stoker used Lucy and the brides to confirm his sexist Victorian prejudices about the roles of both gender in society The social structure involved men being superior to women in every aspects of life Women’s value was only seen in their submissive to men and maternal qualities Through the female characters, the author shows what women would end up if they go against what they were expected to behave, on the other hand, exhibits the virtuous and ideal Victorian woman and their benefits Just like Lucy, in the Victorian society, women who attempt to break free from the patriarchal boundaries will end up ruined Women in the novel ‘The adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton’ 2.1 Introduction of ‘The adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton’ a Introduction of ‘Arthur Conan Doyle Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (May 22, 1859 - July 7, 1930) is a Scottish writer best known for his detective novel Sherlock Holmes, whose work is considered a major initiative in the field of detective fiction Sherlock Holmes's original name was Shelling Ford (unfinished detective name) His works include a variety of science fiction stories, historical novels, historical dramas, novels, poems and autographs b Introduction of ‘The adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton’ The adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton is one of the 56 Sherlock Holmes short stories, written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Published in 1904, it is one of the thirteen stories in a collection The Return of Sherlock Holmes 2.2 Women in ‘The adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton’ a Lady Eva Blackwell Lady Eva Blackwell, a British society lady and debutante She was a client of Sherlock Holmes Lady Eva Blackwell was engaged to marry the Earl of Dovercourt, while some letters from her past fell into the hands of the notorious blackmailer Charles Augustus Milverton He demanded that she pay 7000 pounds for the letters or else they would be sent to the Earl, which will ruin her engagement Since Lady Eva could not pay the price because of her financial situations, she hired Holmes to help her retreat those letters Holmes and Watson tried to intimidate Milverton but failed They eventually broke into his house to steal them Holmes then recovered and burned the letters that Milverton stole after Milverton was murdered unexpectedly by his old victim Lady Eva presumably marry the Earl as planned after the letters were no longer a threat to her engagement b The lady in black The lady in black was an anonymous noblewoman, the wife of an important nobleman, one of countless victims of Charles Augustus Milverton She blamed Milverton for causing the death of her husband after he was sent several letters as the lady refused to pay him blackmail She pretended to be a maid willing to sell compromising letters of Countess d’Albert to him and arranged a meeting at his home This meeting proceeded coincidentally when Holmes and Watson were hiding in Milverton’s room with an attempt to burgle Milverton’s letters on behalf of lady Eva Blackwell After letting the lady enter the room, Milverton recognized her immediately as she removed her veil She blamed Milverton for causing the death of her husband but Milverton demanded her to leave She then vowed to save other victims from the same fate as hers, shot him several times then stomped on his face after he was dead before escaping Holmes later realized who the woman was and took Watson to a store displaying photographs of celebrities, he showed Watson a picture of a woman in a diamond tiara and court dress When Watson knew the name of her husband, Holmes put a finger on his lips and walk away c The maid Agatha is the name of the maid in Milverton’s household that Holmes seduces Holmes pretended to get engage to Agatha as he want to get her information about Milverton’s house, which later became useful when Holmes and Watson invaded Milverton’s house Holmes seems to think the fake engagement was nothing since Agatha has another suitor who is likely to actually marry her 2.3 Conclusion Sherlock Holmes is generally considered to have been written by men, for men and about men Most of the stories of Sherlock Holmes tell the greatness and masculinity of Holmes and Watson in solving criminal cases, whereas the victims are most likely women Through “the Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton”, Conan Doyle depicted women from several classes in the Victorian Era: married women, working women, upper- and middle-class women But whatever class they might be in, in Sherlock Holmes, the women are described as harmless, but single woman cannot be safe and will easily become criminal target Conan Doyle described single women as helpless, they must have man accompanying and protecting them all the time That means women in Victorian era that lived alone with no family has a risky position and are likely to become target, while male in the same era was a powerful and superior figure In conclusion, from “the adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton” and Sherlock Holmes in general, the writer found that women in the Victorian era were in a stagnant position and unable to really find any hope or success when they are forced into these life-long roles and an independent life as they are always second to men Conclusion According to the two novels, all the female characters are helpless, weak as they are expected to put down socially Women have to rely on men to survive, they work and live for men, even if they can be independent financially, their job and knowledge is devoted to their husband Through the main female characters of these novels, the authors present both the ideal Victorian model and the opposite of this model showing what a woman should not be; for the second turns out to be a threat to patriarchal Victorian society and will definitely ends up in ruin The life of women in these works is the same with the real condition of Victorian era Women are described at home, at work, single or married However, wherever they appear, whatever actions they take, they are depicted realistically and reflect the social situation The novels draw attention of mostly men due to the female sexual symbolism Their works are shown to involve all the prejudices and beliefs of the society as it is set in the Victorian culture, specifically according to the social roles of men and women In conclusion, from “the adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton” and “Dracula”, the writer found that women in the Victorian era were in sluggish and unable to really be successful without men They are forced into these life-long roles as they are always second-class to men Reference: https://vi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dracula https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/dracula/character/lucy-westenra/ http://cis01.central.ucv.ro/revistadestiintepolitice/files/numarul54_2017/12.pdf (Victorian Women in Literature by May Hasan Srayisah*) https://jillenglishext.weebly.com/blog/female-character-analysis-mina-harker https://tomdavidson123.wordpress.com/2011/04/09/what-importance-are-the-vampirebrides-to-the-novel-dracula/ UKEssays (November 2018) The Feminine Roles in Dracula English Literature Essay Retrieved from https://www.ukessays.com/essays/english-literature/the-feminine-roles-in-draculaenglish-literature-essay.php?vref=1 https://bakerstreet.fandom.com/wiki/Eva_Brackwell https://bakerstreet.fandom.com/wiki/Milverton%27s_murderer ... adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton? ?? a Introduction of Arthur Conan Doyle b Introduction of ? ?The adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton? ?? 2.2 Women in ? ?The adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton? ??... from the patriarchal boundaries will end up ruined Women in the novel ? ?The adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton? ?? 2.1 Introduction of ? ?The adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton? ?? a Introduction... dramas, novels, poems and autographs b Introduction of ? ?The adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton? ?? The adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton is one of the 56 Sherlock Holmes short stories, written