Subverting expectations and promoting women as the heroine has long been a hallmark of gothic fiction. This is exemplified in the novel Dracula, written by Bram Stoker, and the story “The Bloody Chamber”, written by Angela Carter, both of which cast their female leads, Mina and the narrator, in key roles to help defeat the evil of the narrative. While both the novel Dracula and the story “The Bloody Chamber” still readily uphold some of the traditional expectations of femininity for their respective eras, they also take strides to propel women into a new age of power not previously heard of or experienced.

 

 

The battle against evil in Dracula is of course against a centuries old vampire, but the true battle for the men of the novel is for Mina’s continued purity. After she is forced to drink the Count’s blood, she realizes that her is well on her way to becoming something unholy, just as Lucy had become. She recoils from her husband in horror: “‘Unclean, unclean! I must touch him or kiss him no more. Oh, that it should be that it is I who am now his worst enemy, and whom he may have most cause to fear.’” (Stoker, 303) The assault by Dracula is an assault on Mina’s sanctity as a Victorian woman; it is a perversion of all she stands for. However, this is not only about her chastity as a devout Christian woman being in jeopardy. This is about power. With the blood of a vampire inside her, and a mark of his corruption upon her head, her transition into a creature more powerful than men is imminent. This is what she and the men fear the most. They fear the potential of Mina growing into her seductive power, and therefore taking control over them men, both sexually and economically, which is unheard of for the time. Van Helsing and the others already experienced the power that Lucy attained with Dracula’s blood, as so their fear of the same power affecting Mina feels justified to them. 

 

 

Fortunately enough for the men, Mina does all she can to combat this corrupting agent and remain fast in her faith. This is evident in how she asks the men to have mercy on Dracula’s soul, even as they destroy him: “‘That poor soul who has wrought all this misery is the saddest case of all. Just think what will be his joy when he too is destroyed in this worser part that his better part may have spiritual immortality. You must be pitiful to him too..’” (Stoker, 328)

Her piety is an inspiring force for the men as they go into battle. She reminds them of the goal of their faith, and how all souls must be protected. This meaningful exchange offers hope that her soul, is still struggling to remain pure. It also reaffirms the traditional ideal of femininity and how she must reject this new power that she is confronted with in order to remain as the true Christian woman: docile and compassionate.

 

 

However, while Mina struggles with this new sexually charged power, she in many ways also rejects her traditional station in the Victorian society by involving herself as a key player in Dracula’s eventual defeat. Her first instance of helping in the fight against evil comes in teaching herself new skills in order to better herself. It is at first unrelated to Dracula, as she learns shorthand, as well as journalistic and observational skills in order to help her husband in the business. Once the fight against the vampire becomes a reality however, she compiles all of her husband’s notes from Transylvania. When she gives those notes to Van Helsing, she subtly expresses her pride in the work she has done, knowing that her composition is enough to outsmart Dracula, and even impress Van Helsing: “I could not resist the temptation of mystifying him a bit - I suppose it is some of the taste of the original apple that remains still in our mouths - so I handed him the shorthand diary.” (Stoker, 195) Mina knows that she is intelligent, and fully embraces the satisfaction and praise she then receives from Van Helsing when he realizes what she has done. She relies on logic and new technology to thwart Dracula’s plans and impress the men all at once. She rejects the traditional role of women, and instead advances her mind with new technologies, which end up being the key to ending Dracula’s threat. 

 

Mina also proved instrumental in her later connection to Dracula, and how she uses that to track him down. Van Helsing realizes that after ingesting the vampire’s blood, Mina and Dracula’s minds are now linked. Mina takes full advantage: “‘You men are brave and strong. You are strong in your numbers, for you can defy that which would break down the human endurance of one who had to guard alone. Besides, I may be of service, since you can hypnotize me and so learn that which even I myself do not know’” (Stoker, 348) This prominent scene illustrates Mina’s strong knowledge of the situation, and her new place in the power structure. One could argue that it is the influence of Dracula’s blood, but perhaps it is Mina’s growing awareness of exactly what kind of power she has. She first stokes teh men's’ egos, letting them know that she believes them to be strong and protective, and that they will prevail. Then she continues to remind them of how useful she is to their cause, all while acting demure in order to convince  them. Mina uses her new found powers, and the new technology at hand, as well as her knowledge of the men’s desire to protect her, to bring all of the necessary elements together to defeat Dracula, making her the true hero of the story.

The narrator of Angela Carter’s “The Bloody Chamber” similarly reaffirms some of the traditional values of women’s femininity and sexuality, though in a different way than Mina did. The star of the story embraces her role in society in terms of her station and trying to improve her lot in life my marrying up in class. She reiterates this to her mother when asked about it, “‘Are you sure you love him?’ ‘I’m sure I want to marry him,’ I said. And would say no more. She sighed, as if it was with reluctance that she might at last banish the spectre of poverty from its habitual place at our meagre table.” (Carter, 2) Due to the fact that her mother married for love, the she does not object to the narrator’s desire to accept the Marquis’s marriage proposal. The narrator follows along with his wishes like a dutiful was expected to at the time, complying to his demands for her attire and behavior. 

 

 

This story also reflects the well known allegory of a woman being left alone to care for the house with a list of instructions by her husband. It tells the tale of what may happen to women who disobey their husbands. “‘Who can say what I deserve or no?’ I said. ‘I’ve done nothing but that may be sufficient reason for condemning me.’ ‘You disobeyed him,’ he said. ‘That is sufficient reason for him to punish you.’ ‘I only did what  he knew I would.’ ‘Like Eve,’ he said. ” (Carter, 40-41) The conversation between the narrator and the boy after she discovers the chamber reveals the inherent belief that women will always betray men, linking back to the Biblical story of Genesis. As a woman following her insticints, she is already condemned. Women shall be punished for disobedience of men seen as above them, especially their husbands. The narrator goes where she was not allowed to go, discovering the bodies of previous wives that had also somehow displeased the Marquis, and thus must be punished accordingly. The key is permanently stained with blood, and along with the mark on her brow, it signifies her betrayal of her husband’s trust, branding her as an example for the audience of the consequences for her decision. 

 

 

On the other hand, Carter’s story also rejects many of the traditional notions women must uphold in terms of their femininity and sexualtiy. The first instance is in how the narrator admits to the audience her pleasure in being desired sexually by a man. This is apparent in the opera scene where the Marquis’s gazed both shocks and excites the narrator: “I saw him watching me in the gilded mirrors with the assessing eye of a connoisseur inspecting horseflesh… And, for the first time in my innocent and confined life, I sensed in myself a potentiality for corruption that took my breath away.” (Carter, 6-7) Believing herself to be plain and unattractive, she is excited at the idea of a man sinfully lusting after her virginity. She is curious about the corrupting powers of this newfound sexuality in her marriage, which introduces a sort of power for her.

 

 

This story also turns away from the old teachings of punishment for women disobeying their husbands by allowing for the narrator’s escape from death at the hands of the Marquis. Rather than be killed by a domineering husband, or be saved from him by another man, the narrator is instead saved by another woman. It is her mother that comes riding in with force, ending the threat to her daughter’s life: “Now, without a moment’s hesitation, [my mother] raised my father’s gun, took aim and put a single, irreproachable bullet through my husband’s head.” (Carter, 44) By having a woman save another woman, Carter rejects all of the classic notions of women being a damsel in distress. Rather, it empowers women against men, conveying that bonded together, women are the stronger sex. It then becomes a story of triumph over the dictatorial power of men who feel the need to punish disobedient women, marking a shift in the values for women, and the discourse of femininity.

 

 

Both Stoker’s Dracula and Carter’s “The Bloody Chamber” comment on the traditional ideas surrounding women’s femininity and sexuality, while also working to call for progress in giving women more power. It is interesting, though, how both stories comment on the sins of women, referring to the original sin of Eve in taking the forbidden fruit and acting of her own volition. Women must be chaste and obedient of the men in their lives. It is for Mina’s purity that the men fight, and it is as a passive and oppressed wife the the narrator must act. At all cost, they are expected to uphold these norms, and remain as women were supposed to be seen. However, the two stories subvert these ideas by giving the women a taste of Eve’s power. They take charge, exploring the potential for sexual power, and making plans to save others and themselves through mediums they were previously cut off from. Mina teaches herself new skills as to be useful in the hunt for Dracula, ultimately saving the day, while the narrator and her mother work together to stop the Marquis from committing his next murder. It is only through giving women power, as is seen in many other pieces of gothic literature, that the narratives come full circle. The women are the heroines of their own story, marking the progress towards the world of the New Woman and a new sense of the power of femininity.