Dracula would have been more..

Had Bram Stoker continued in the same vein and style as he did in the beginning of "Dracula" the book would have given me shivers throughout the reading. Regrettably, Stoker seemed to have diluted his horror and spent more time on boosting the male ego and portraying women as being nothing but the admirers of the male sex. I did enjoy the read but found it difficult to go through the last quarter with it's mushy dialogues.

Why, oh why, did Stoker have to introduce Helsing as a foreigner? Couldn't a simple Englishmen have done the job? His verbosity merely added to the thickness of the book and little to make the narrative more crisp.

Anybody else have the same feeling?

How does sexuality play a role in the gothic genre? (specifcally relating to Bram Stoker's book on Dracula that is)

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Originally Posted by Dark_Twinkle

How does sexuality play a role in the gothic genre? (specifcally relating to Bram Stoker's book on Dracula that is)

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I think you misinterpreted what was being said he is referring to gender roles, as seen in Bram Stoker "Dracula" Women are potrayed as weak male adorers. Regardless of the genre the course of a book can be greatly altered by the way that the gender roles are set and how characters react to them. Not that saying a book with ego boost or adoring women is bad but gothic horror just isn't quite the place to focus on them.

I personally think yasminasim has a great point.
Does anyone know the sources Stoker used for his Dracula/Vampire idea? I am especially interested in stories of Lilith, supposedly the first vampire - or succubus. Along with being Adam's first wife, before Eve. And the Queen of Sheba.
She was a busy girl.
I'm reading The Hebrew Goddess and have read The Story of Lilith but any new suggestions would be very appreciated.
Thanks, JMarkCampbell

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Originally Posted by yasminasim

Had Bram Stoker continued in the same vein and style as he did in the beginning of "Dracula" the book would have given me shivers throughout the reading. Regrettably, Stoker seemed to have diluted his horror and spent more time on boosting the male ego and portraying women as being nothing but the admirers of the male sex. I did enjoy the read but found it difficult to go through the last quarter with it's mushy dialogues.

Why, oh why, did Stoker have to introduce Helsing as a foreigner? Couldn't a simple Englishmen have done the job? His verbosity merely added to the thickness of the book and little to make the narrative more crisp.

Anybody else have the same feeling?

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Stoker made Helsing a foreigner because in order for him to have a braod mind, and accepting of many different cultures and beliefs, a simple Englishman would not have been able to comprehend the meaning and existence of Dracula and vampires.

It is because he has travelled that he has so much knowledge.

Rather old topic, but for what it's worth I agree with the OP. I would have thought Dracula was an amazing read if it hadn't been for the almost-incessant male ego-boost. Not only that, but the book was tedious and rather boring once Jonathan Harker's journal entries from inside the castle stopped.