Symbolism In Dracula: The Fearful, The Rebellious, And The Skeptics

nameteacherclassdateThe Fearful, the Rebellious, and the SkepticsIn history, there have been authors who create objectives that cross the line to talk about confrontational topics. Depending on the author, the approach of the message could be either direct or hidden. For example, in The Importance of Being Earnest, Oscar Wilde decided to use humor to discuss the debate of marriage directly. Bram Stoker, on the other hand, does not talk about his confrontational topic, feminism, directly. He uses symbolism to talk about feminism, and some symbols are more noticeable than others. To illustrate the different points of views of feminism in Dracula, Stoker uses the vampire women, Mina Harker, and Van Helsing.The vampire women could be a part of a couple of themes of Dracula such as the expression of sexuality or the anti-belief of religion. However, the vampire women could also represent how the majority were fearful of feminism. According to Bressler, women were seen as weak and “possess a sensual nature that lures men away from spiritual truths” (145). In other words, women were a distraction from the potential of men’s spiritual abilities. In Dracula, the vampire women are only seen a couple of