Dracula context Flashcards
Theosophy
A popular belief in the Victorian Era which combined religion with science and the supernatural
Translation of ‘Drac’?
‘Dragon’ or ‘Evil’
Cornerstone of Victorian Society?
Motherhood
Why were working class mothers seen as irresponsible and neglectful?
Because the ideal of motherhood demanded women to be constantly present for their children
Demeter:
Greek goddess of grain, harvest and fertility
Believed there was a direct link between sleepwalking and…
madness
When was Oscar Wilde sent to prison for gross indecency?
1895
Who believed criminals were a throwback to a more primitive evolutionary phase?
Lombroso, Italian criminologist
What were prostitutes called?
‘Fallen women’
Key red light district for prostitution?
Soho
There were more … than schools
Brothels
What act was passed to medically examine prostitutes due to fears of them bringing disease into the home?
Contagious disease act 1864
Expectations of women?
Emotionally weaker, no vote, uncomfortable and restrictive clothing
Who coined the term ‘New Woman’?
Sarah Grand 1894
How was the ‘new woman’ viewed?
- Mannish intellectual standard
- Oversexualised vamp
Key features of the new woman?
Financially independent, participated in politics, free and comfortable clothing, own decisions around marriage and children
What was the immigration law used to limit Jewish immigration from Eastern Europe and prevent criminals from entering?
The Aliens Act 1905
Which novels are precursors to Dracula?
‘Carmilla’, Le Fanu
‘Varney the Vampire’, James Malcom Rymer
‘The Vampyre’, John Polidori
What was the original vampire?
More animal than man, scavenger, no intelligence, called Nosferatu
Who criticised the New Woman as destroying tradition?
Nordau
What was Invasion Theory?
Fear the Empire might collapse and fear British culture would be destroyed by influence from colonised places
Centre of the British empire?
Queen Victoria and London
When was the industrial revolution?
1760 - 1840
Technology used in Dracula?
Camera (Kodak), postboxes, phonograph, typewriter, shorthand / stenography, hypnosis, telephone
What was the belief a person’s appearance determined their characteristics - (popularised by Cesare Lombroso)?
Physiognomy
Characteristics of ‘born criminals’ (Lombroso)
Sloping foreheads, Large eyebrows, protruding lips, wrinkles (both drac and van helping have large eyebrows)
High forehead suggests …
wisdom
On the origin of the species?
1859
Charles Darwin
What spurred fears of degeneration?
An increase in criminality
The Angel in the House
Poem by Coventry Patmore
around 1862
Quote from The Angel in the House
Man must be pleased but to please him is a woman’s pleasure
Henry Irving
Leading actor in Shakespearean company. Employer of Stoker. Worked for him for 28 years.
Where was Stoker born?
Clontarf near Dublin
Who advised Stoker on medical aspects when writing Dracula?
Thornley
Stoker’s university?
Protestant Dublin University
Irish Literary Society
Stoker helped to form in 1892
Performance of Dracula at Lyceum Theatre
‘Dracula, the Un-dead’
Stoker’s original title for ‘Dracula’
‘Un-dead’
What were Stoker’s descriptions of Transylvania based on?
Eastern European folklaw and geography he had researched
Degeneration
Cultural concept in the final decades of the 19th century. Stemmed from Darwinian ideas of evolution, that there was progressive evolution to higher forms and so there could be reverse evolution.
The suffrage
Began to champaign for the vote
Aesthetes and Decadence
New definitions of masculinity:
- Interested in Art and writing
Dandy
Effeminate men
1885 Criminal Law Amendment Act
Raised the age of heterosexual consent from 13 - 16
Who suffered under the Criminal Law Amendment Act
Oscar Wilde
The Society for Psychical Research
Researched into telepathy, hauntings, spiritualism and hypnosis
Stoker’s opinion on Mesmer
Didn’t like how he was blurring the lines between Christianity and superstitions with hypnotism
‘New Imperialism’
- Occupation of Egypt
- Competing with European Nations for Africa
Jingoistic
Cultural manner of extreme nationalism in which imperial rule and foreign policy is implemented and celebrated
Ireland and home rule
Stoker campaigned for home rule and independence from England.
Mawkish
Sentimental in a nauseating way
Marxist literary reading of Dracula
Allegory of situation of Irish under the rule of British.
Bourgeois
relating to the values and ideologies of the middle class
Taboo
Practices or behaviour which a particular society considers to be forbidden.
Who was Van Helsing in an earlier draft?
As Clive Leatherdale discovered, he was a detective and not a scientist.
