Femininity Gothic 2

The Feminine in Gothic Literature
The Gothic genre is fluid; it evolves alongside context, reflecting and challenging social values; the changing
nature of the genre is accountable for the versatility of its characters and its ability to remain relevant. This is
evident through the portrayal of female characters; their role in Gothic fiction has evolved from the
archetypal 'damsel in distress' character to the contemporary female heroine. Bram Stokers 1987 novel
Dracula reflects the patriarchal dread concerning the New Woman through the opposing characters of
Mina and Lucy in their vampiric context. The Yellow Wallpaper, a short story by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
written in 1982, explores the sense of entrapment faced by women under the patriarchal order of society
though the incorporation of the Gothic dopplegnger. . Guillermo del Toros film Crimson Peak was
composed in 2015, and although set in the Victorian Era, the modern context of the director is evident
through the strength and importance of the female characters. As modern times have allowed for women to
defy social structures, the influence of male characters over females has lessened; and as a result, emerges the
figure of the powerful Gothic woman.
The ideal woman in the Victorian Era was the virginal maiden; pure, innocent, and aware of her role
in society to be a wife and mother. The emergence of the physically independent New Woman threatened
the ideal of the submissive and virtuous female; Stoker capitalises on the fear of female liberation in his
Gothic novel Dracula, through the characterisation of Mina and Lucy. Mina is portrayed as the perfect
Victorian woman: she is loyal to her husband, virtuous and firm in her role as a woman, rather an extension
of her husband as opposed to an autonomous individual. This is demonstrated when Jonathan contrasts
Minas pure womanhood with the sexually devious Brides of Dracula,Mina is a woman . . .They are devils of the
Pit!, highlighting the dichotomy of the whore and the virgin. Lucy is portrayed as a unconventional woman,
as she courts three men at the same time, contrasting against Minas virtuous nature. Sexual independence
and desire were seen as unnatural and devious for women at the time; Lucys transformation into a vampire
highlights the synonymous relationship between sex and evil. Lucys entire character is subverted, her
. . .sweetness was turned to adamantine, heartless cruelty, and the purity to voluptuous wantonness. The devilish mockery of
Lucy's sweet purity and the dread she evokes in the male characters is ultimately a reflection of the contextual
fear of women refusing to adhere to Victorian gender roles. The Gothic genre enables the unconventional
woman to be characterised as monstrous, while the pure and virtuous woman can be saved from her
gruesome fate.
The Yellow Wallpaper was written at the turn of the 20th Century, the same time as Dracula, however,
the female author provides a deeper exploration of the heteronomy of women in a Gothic context. The
narrator of Gilmans story is a woman whos husband has her confined indoors as part of the Victorian rest
cure, and is gradually driven to madness by her obsession with the wallpaper. Entrapment is a common
Gothic motif, usually physically represented by setting, such as the ancestral estate the narrator is confined to,
and the position of the woman behind the wallpaper. In The Yellow Wallpaper, this entrapment can be
related to the constraints faced by women, expected to conform to their domestic and submissive role.
Gilman explores the dopplegnger, another Gothic convention, which represents the inherent duality of
humans; the two sides which exist within an individual. The narrators dopplegnger is the woman trapped
behind the wallpaper, desperate for freedom outside the confines of her prison. The protagonists husband
faints upon seeing her creeping and she asks, Now why should that man have fainted?, which reflects the male
fear of female autonomy which is also evident in Dracula. Gilmans use of the Gothic dopplegnger
character and the confined setting represents the internal, sometimes unconscious desire which women held
for independence from the strictures of the male-driven Victorian society.
Crimson Peak, the 2015 film directed by Guillermo del Toro, is a Gothic romance which demonstrates
how the genre has evolved alongside the changing values of society, evident through the contemporary
Gothic heroines in the film. The modern context of the composer allows for an exploration of feminine
liberation which was not able to be completely expressed in Dracula and The Yellow Wallpaper within their
limitations of the Victorian context. The damsel in distress archetype which common to many early Gothic
works such as The Castle of Otranto is subverted by Ediths character; this is shown in the shot of her facing
the deformed ghost with her candle held out before her, the defiant stance highlighting Ediths bravery.
Villainous characters in Gothic literature have traditionally been male, as women have been represented as
angelic and weak; Lucille as the antagonist is another challenge to the conventions of Gothic literature,
equating the role of women and men as Gothic villains. The sexual dominance which was seen as evil in
Dracula is used to show female empowerment in Crimson Peak; when Edith and Thomas make love, she
demonstrates her autonomy by exercising control and positioning herself on top of him, where she holds
power. This reflects the sexual dominance women are allowed to freely express in contemporary society. The
film demonstrates the emergence of the modern Gothic female, who isnt bound by patriarchal expectations
and values, and is a reflection of the independence of women in the present day.
The varying representations of female characters in Gothic literature, from the weak and submissive
characters of the Victorian Era, to the autonomous and strong heroines of modern texts, shows how the
genre is influenced by context and values. The decreasing influence of men over women in society is
accountable for the change in representation; sexual dominance is no longer associated with monstrosity and
evil, but with power and independence, and female characters cease to be bound by limits placed upon them.
The fluidity of the Gothic genre and its purpose to transgress and reflect popular values means that a new
variation is never far away.

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The Feminine in Gothic Literature

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