Lily Burkin L&S Arts & Humanities
Feminine Repression in Bram Stoker's Dracula and Nosferatu (2024)
Robert Eggers’ 2024 remake of Nosferatu centers on the erotic and deeply parasitic relationship between the maiden and the Gothic monster and, in doing so, illuminates a connection between femininity and the undead that has persisted throughout–and beyond–Victorian gothic horror literature. Works of horror intrinsically serve as a mirror of the conditions within which they were created–as in Bram Stoker’s Dracula, which displays the shifting roles of women in the late nineteenth century while also revealing anxieties about homosexuality, the aristocracy, and the Jew. A tale as widespread as Dracula, as it is passed down and retold, also shifts and adapts to the whims and proclivities of the subsequent authors and directors who retell Stoker’s story. Using Eggers’ interpretation of Nosferatu as a focal point, I will analyze how the depiction of the Gothic feminine has changed between 1897 and the present day, and use vampirism as a lens to examine modern fears and desires centered around the female body–which has been thrust into the limelight with the recent overturning of Roe vs. Wade and the regression of women’s rights in the United States.
Message To Sponsor
I would like to thank my donors for funding my research on the relationality between gothic literature and the progression of women's rights. In a time when our autonomy is being attacked, it is imperative to bolster the voices of female creators and scholars, and to examine works of art that concern and reflect the impact of recent political developments. I hope conducting this research will help to elucidate the plight women are facing today, and help advocate for a better future for us all.