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The Victorians and Dracula

The Victorians and Dracula. Their Awkward Connection. The Victorian Era 1832-1901. Time period characterized by expansion and domestic reform. Often associated with stuffy complacency and prudishness, but this does not sum up the era. Queen Victoria. Came to power at 18

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The Victorians and Dracula

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  1. The Victoriansand Dracula Their Awkward Connection

  2. The Victorian Era1832-1901 • Time period characterized by expansion and domestic reform. Often associated with stuffy complacency and prudishness, but this does not sum up the era.

  3. Queen Victoria • Came to power at 18 • Moral and scrupulous – reaction to scandalous uncles George IV and William IV • Accepted constitutional monarchy- advises but can’t make laws • Reigned longer than any other monarch in Britain’s history - 69 years

  4. Reform • Middle class swelled / lives of the working class improved • Charities • Salvation Army, YMCA • Extended right to vote to all men • Free trade • Abolition of slavery • Housing and sanitation

  5. Prosperity and Advances • Transportation • Steamship and railways • Communications • Telegraph, more newspapers and magazines • Trade unions • Textiles, Factories • Medicine • Antiseptic • Imperialism • India, Africa

  6. Darwin • Origin of Species (1859) • Created a rift between liberal Christians and fundamentalist Christians • Social Darwinism-“survival of the fittest” • Direct contradiction to Socialist Labor Movements • Spurs one part of naturalistic literary movement – “social determinism”

  7. English Language • Solidification of language • Creation of the OED in 1884 • Euphemisms-Chicken breast = White meat, Legs = Drumsticks

  8. Bram Stoker 1847-1912

  9. Bram Stoker • 1847 Born 8 November in Clontarf (Dublin), Ireland • Lived early childhood bed-ridden • 1871 Graduated with Honors in science / mathematics • Civil servant • Theatre reviewer • 1878 Moved to London with wife, Florence (Balcombe) • 1890 Began working on vampire novel (as yet untitled) • Summered in Whitby, came across "Dracula" • 1897 Publication (26 May) of Dracula • 1912 Died on 20 April in London • 1922 First movie based on Dracula (Nosferatu) released in Germany

  10. Evil Ghoul or Misunderstood Ladies Man?

  11. Dracula’s Powers and Supernatural Traits • Potentially immortal • Survives on the blood of others • Strength of twenty men • Shape-shifts into the form of a wolf • Can not see reflection in a mirror • Casts no shadow • Hypnotic power over his victims • Turn victims into vampires

  12. Dracula’s Limitations • May not enter a household unless he is invited in • Loses his supernatural powers during daylight hours • Must sleep on the soil of his native land • Repelled by garlic and holy symbols (crucifix, holy wafer) • Destroyed by driving a stake through his heart and decapitation

  13. Literary Style / Genre • Epistolary novel • Series of Letters, diary entries, telegrams, and newspaper articles • Maximizes suspense • Realism vs. Romanticism • Topics and themes - realistic • Conventions - romantic

  14. Thematic Topics • Gender roles in Victorian culture • Conventional and repressed sexuality (homosexuality) • Immigration - Fear of foreigners (xenophobia) • Religion vs. Secularism • Old (folklore) vs. new (technology)

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