suggsts she is more
clever than the
stereotypical woman
knowlege based mainly on facts
Can be viewed both positively
and negatively. Insults women
but also allows for
proto-feminists within the
novel. Suggests comment is
due to the repressive social
conventions of the time
'she is one of God's
women ... so true, so
sweet, so noble'
religion
Connection:
Duchess of
Malfi - 'noble'
'Mina indeed acts and is
treated as both the saint
and the mother' - Phillis.
A. Roth
Mina's sexual behaviour fits in with traditional societal norms. - Kathryn Boyd
'But I suppose the New Woman won't
condescend in future to accept; she will
do the proposing herself. And a nice job
she will make of it; too!'
General acceotance of others
further entrenches the idea
of her as the Ideal Victorian
Woman
Open Mindset
Depicts a change in thought
process from only being
rational to delving into the
possiblities of the future
'I felt an infinite pity for him,
and opened my arms
unthinkingly'
motherly nature
Inherent kindness
'Lucy and Mina are essentially the same figure: the mother' - Phillis, A. Roth
'I should never forgive myself if any act of
mine, were it even a negative one, brought
harm on poor dear Lucy.'
Very forgiving
strong friendship
self -sacrificing
ideal characeteristic of a women during that time
'The power of love manifests
itself in self-sacrifice' - David
Gates
'I shall be glad as long as I live that even
in that moment of final dissolution, there
was in the face a look of peace, such as I
never could have imagined might have
rested there.'
sees the good in everyone
Similar to smile on the woman's
face in The Bloody Chamber. Death
produces contentment in everyone
'our teacher'
"There are darknesses in life, and there are lights; you are one of the lights."
From Van Helsing
"We need have no secrets amongst us; working together and with absolute trust, we can surely be
stronger than if some of us were in the dark."
Hamartia
Group morality - union
working together
"The world seems full of
good men-- even if there
are monsters in it."
'The virtuous characters in
Dracula have the power of
love...which sustains them
when in distress' - David Gates
'For Mina...all the men become her sons' - Phillis. A. Roth
"tainted by that Vampire Baptism"
Van Helsing
Mina's change
'Mina seems the antithesis of the
frail and emotional Gothic heroine' -
David Gates
'The worst horror it can imagine is not Dracula at all, but the released, transforming sexuality of the
Good Woman.' - Gail Griffin