Masculinity In Victorian Gothic Novels

Masculinity In Victorian Gothic Novels In both Robert Louis Stephensons The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and Bram Stokers Dracula, social expectation reveals anxieties surrounding sexuality in the Victorian period. Stephensons novel depicts the masculine as a vehicle of self denial where the protagonist Jekyll will not allow himself to surrender to his immoral alter-ego. In a similar way, the novel Dracula depicts sexual power as a major threat to masculinity, whereby the male characters refuse to permit the females to act upon their sexual desires for fear that such liberation will destabilise patriarchal control. Whilst Victorian ideology is not outwardly challenged in the novels, as liberation sexual or otherwise is entirely condemned, investigating the function of the masculine reveals a somewhat radical gender ideology which contests Victorian expectation. In general, critics comment on oppression of the female within the Victorian period and overlook the same subjugation faced by men. Female disempowerment is commonly recognised whereas male suffering in the context of the same social rigidity is often omitted in criticism of the time. Critic George Landow comments that feminist analysis of the Gothic focuses on the concern of the stereotyping of the female characters according to male fantasy, however Stokers Dracula indulges the male imagination by subverting stereotypical female characters and allowing women power through sexual liberation. Stoker challenges Landows comments that it is only the feminine that suffers under marginalisation of the stereotype by presenting masculine subjugation as a consequence of social restraint. Critic Cyndy Hendershots work on male oppression in Victorian society further challenges ideology of the time. She argues that, generally, the notion of Victorian masculinity is ambiguous as stereotypical an d presumptuous representations of male characters are rarely questioned. Stefan Collini is a critic who acknowledges the ambiguity surrounding representations of Victorian masculinity. He comments that there appears to be a general consensus of gender ideals whereby the accepted single, rigid idea of Victorian masculinity remained unquestioned. Collini suggests that the concept of Victorian masculinity as heterosexual rises from an unquestioned assumption of this as the norm. As a result, it seems that the novels work to challenge accepted roles of gender and sexuality within the Victorian period. Within Victorian society, one of the fundamental concerns was the preservation of reputation. Alongside this concern lay an anxiety over sexuality and how to express and, in turn, suppress, sexual desires. In many ways, the oppressive nature of society, and consequently the inability for men, as well as women, to be sexually expressive, only heightened the fascination of a more sinister side of sexuality. In Jekyll and Hyde, there is a major emphasis on the value systems within Victorian society, especially with regards to their concern to preserve reputation. This is made evident through the characters of both Utterson and Enfield, both respectable members of the society who consider gossip as detrimental to a persons reputation. Dr Jekylls major concern is the way in which others perceive him and he is conscious to maintain an upstanding reputation throughout the novel. On the other hand, the character of Hyde is presented as wholly monstrous and as a means through which Jekyll can become uninhibited, unleashing the emotions society compels him to contain. The characters are anxious to remain within the boundaries of social expectation, yet this overbearing force of constraint is often detrimental as it is clear in both novels that what is constantly suppressed is ultimately released. It is interesting to consider the role of the male characters within the novels as it is evident that the masculine is not, as it would first appear, prioritised. Moreover, the omission of the female, which would generally suggest lack of authority on the part of the feminine, suggests here that the male characters are problematic to themselves, exposing the weakness of the male in a supposedly patriarchal society. In Jekyll and Hyde, the way in which the male characters are so evidently anxious about women and sexuality, despite the fact there are no predominant female characters, suggests that the masculine sphere is continually threatened by female influence. In many ways, the removal of the feminine exposes the flaws of the masculine, and shows that it is not the female who causes the male to suffer but the male alone. The threat of female sexual expression despite the lack of females within the novel demonstrates the psychological turmoil the men face under the constraints of th e Victorian society. Dracula uses female sexuality as a threat to men, again demonstrating the power that women hold over the men and consequently emphasising the weakness of the male. One of the key themes within Stokers novel is the fear surrounding sexual expression. Female sexual expression is seen as a threat which provokes a form of pleasure in the male imagination. The characters are liberated from the pressures of social constraint by means of the imagination, through which they can give a free rein to their sexual desires. Female sexuality is fundamental to the novels exploration of the role of the male within Victorian society as the novel shifts power from one gender to another, as the females exercise their voluptuousness and the men act to maintain social order. Critic Heath comments that feminism makes things unsafe for men, unsettles assumed positions and undoes given identities. Stokers Dracula confirms this theory in its exploration of sexually powerful women who threaten patriarchal authority. On the other hand, the way in which the female characters transform into vampire vixens is not categorically a feminist depiction as the females simply tran sform into embodiments of Dracula, meaning that they shift and take on a masculine form in order to gain power. The three females who become sexualised are clearly representations of gender subversion as they seek to dominate Harker and use him to fulfil their own sexual urges. Yet, in many respects, these females must adopt the role of the male in order to acquire any form of power. Their sharp teeth, which they are determined to bite Harker with, are undoubtedly phallic symbols which epitomise the penetration of the victim. Ultimately, the way females attain power in the novel is through masculinity, therefore gender ideals are not subverted in this sense. Although female characters in the novel are permitted a degree of power and sexual liberation, masculinity remains as the more powerful position. Stoker uses Freudian theory in his novel in order to examine sexuality in the Victorian period without appearing overtly critical of the society in which he lived. The vampire element of the novel distances the reader from the society being described and yet there are noticeable parallels which suggest Stokers deliberate attempt to challenge accepted ideology. Dracula begins with a description of Jonathan Harkers description of how he arrives at the castle. Harker uses the word uncanny in this description which immediately makes reference to Freuds theory, published in 1919, on the uncanny. This theory is referenced throughout the novel, as the vampire who brings about death with his mouth, is representative of the first stage of psychosexual development, according to Freud. It is at this stage where, Freud believes, the person develops the compulsion to destroy that which is living. The characters of Lucy and Mina are presented as being wholly devoted to the men in their lives. This innocence depicts these women as both docile and two-dimensional. Dracula threatens to change these women into devils of the Pit and give them power through sexualisation, and it is only through these transformations that the female characters may acquire a voice within the text. When Lucy Westerna is transformed into a sexual being by Count Dracula, she changes from a weak and passive female character into a vampire vixen who seeks to satisfy her own sexual desires. She is at first submissive at the hands of the male characters but, once she becomes sexualised, she hunts for to use men for her own advantage and fulfil her sexually. Stokers Dracula investigates the possibility of a kind of fluidity within gender roles. When Lucy transforms into a voluptuous vampire, any potential male suitor is warned off at the demand of any form of objection to established sexual identity. The men are perturbed at the prospect of a woman usurping power and subverting accepted roles. Lucys transformation is seen as so insubordinate of social expectation that Van Helsings men are determined to destroy her in an attempt to reinstate social order. The men are fearful that Mina will also be transformed and dedicate themselves to controlling female sexual behaviour in order that the women do not become disparaged socially and therefore incapable of any relationship with them. The mens fears over the womens transformations are entirely selfish as they feel unsafe with any attack on social order. Dracula mocks them saying your girls that you love are mine already; and through them you and others shall yet be mine. He suggests here tha t his transformation of women into sexualised vampire vixens, where their sexual desires are uncontained and liberated, leaves men exposed and will ultimately destroy patriarchy within society. Stoker depicts Victorian horror at the thought of a sexually liberated woman through his description of Harkers own fear at confronting the vampires. His confusion surrounding the kiss of the vampire, where he feels both desire, in his longing for the kiss, and deadly fear at the same time, is representative of the way that Victorian society constrained the mobility of sexual desire for men, as well as for women. His confusion as to whether he was dreaming in his visions of pleasure as the women approached him suggest that he will not allow himself to consider any sexual desire as real and he will not confront his feelings. He decides that if the vampires are more than just visions then they will drink his blood, making themselves stronger and, in turn, weakening him. However, he is still fearful of these vampires if they are simply visions as they still threaten to drain him of semen, as they are providing him with sexual pleasure, as he lies in languorous ecstasy. Harkers weakness as a male is revealed when he is described as being both sickened and excited by the thought of any sexual contact with the female vampires. This demonstrates the oppressive nature of Victorian society in that Harker was forced to subdue his desires as he did not have the power to act upon them. The way in which Stoker depicts Harkers fear in losing valuable fluid, whether blood or semen, in either situation, presents an image of the collapsing patriarchal structure of Victorian society. Stoker may be warning men of this social change, but it seems more likely that he is encouraging social ideology to be reconsidered. The function of the vampire in the novel can be considered as a representation of sexual oppression. The male characters in Dracula all fight to contain female sexuality as they panic for their own wellbeing. In Christopher Crafts essay on gender and inversion in the novel, he argues that Dracula uses gender stereotypes in order to encourage exploration into sexuality and in order that social expectation can be re-imagined. He comments that the novels depiction of transformation, whether from victim to vampire or from vampire to the victim, permits an investigation into sexuality and gender. Often, the way in which the novel challenges oppressive Victorian society is overlooked in favour of its apparent denunciation of gender inversion. Dracula seems to imply a failing on the part of women who seek to subvert conventional social roles and yet in many ways the females are not permitted any form of power as they adopt masculine qualities when they are transformed into vampires. It can be said that gender roles are not definitively reversed in the novel, as the females must become male as they become vampires. In becoming male, the female vampires lose any maternal sense as they prey on innocent children and they become penetrators in their desire to suck blood from their victims. The novel, therefore, has no real female representation, suggesting that Stoker was not setting men and women up against each other but commenting on society as a whole. Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is a novel which confronts anxieties of the Victorian period. The narrative presents the idea of one body which contains two opposing personas. Dr Jekyll, who is well-educated and an upright member of society is contained within the single body alongside the wholly immoral Mr Hyde. Dr Jekylls underlying desire to liberate himself from the oppressive society in which he lives is outplayed through his alter-ego Mr Hyde, who enjoys the freedom of acting upon his desires and human urges. This representation seems to emulate Victorian societys deep-rooted fascination with emancipation from social imprisonment. Many critics suggest that masculinity is often presented as an adaptable and indefinite sphere within the novel, a factor which has permitted a degree of reimagining the concept of the male in literature. Critic Cohen argues that from as early as the 1880s, fictional depictions of English masculinity often narrativise the difficulties of the male embodiment as a splitting within the male subject precisely in order to assert new modes of self-representation. He suggests here that the male figure was less frequently written as a stable representation and was more commonly represented as a character with more than one persona. The image of Victorian London presented by Stephenson is a society almost entirely lacking in females. The only woman who is present in the narrative is the maid who witnesses the murder of Sir Danvers Carew. Her status instantly suggests that the woman is lower class and she is presented as an almost insignificant member of society. She describes the body of Sir Danvers Carew as beautiful. This is the only instance novel in the novel where there is any form of interaction between the genders and, even this interaction is presented as non-sexual. The consequences of such a repressive society are clearly detrimental to the people who inhabit it, as Dr Jekyll proves through Hyde, and this oppression is demonstrated through the lack of open sexual desire within the novel. Furthermore, the absence of women within the novel suggests that the male identity crisis was a social creation rather than due to female influence. The men in the novel are at peril with their sexual identity and plac e in society because of the imposing nature of society itself. Whilst Stephenson presents the idea that Victorian society regarded displays of sexuality as indecent, Hydes actions within the novel are undoubted of a sexual nature. When Hyde is first introduced to the novel, there is a description of him trampling a young girl underfoot, and, afterwards, he pays for her family to keep quiet about the incident. This incident could insinuate that Hyde was involved in the common Victorian crime of child prostitution. Moreover, the lack of sexual desire towards females on the part of the male characters may imply that these men were concealing homosexual tendencies. The close relationship shared between Utterson and Enfield may also imply that these two men take part in some kind of sexual behaviour that would have been condemned at the time. Freudian theory labels the character of Hyde as an illustration of the unconscious mind, known as the id. Jekylls ability to conform to social expectation is controlled by his ego which suppresses his unconscious thoughts. Critic Michael Kane believes that Victorian society found the unconscious mind as detrimental. He comments that repressed desires were projected upon those it considered inferior, not only women but any lower order of society, who became the unconscious of respectable society. His ideas suggest that gender is not the significant factor which causes people to act upon their basic urges; it is the idea of levels of the class which impose social rigidity. By this he means that upper class citizens are more likely to suppress any improper desire because of their position within society. This argument is not supported by the novel, however, as Jekyll is a doctor so he is clearly educated and he is a respectable member of society who falls victim to the social oppression he faces. The novel uses the concept of the double in order to examine the way in which characters of either gender can be identified by more than one state, exploring Stephensons own claims that every human being contains some form of alter-ego. Dr Jekyll is an upstanding citizen who conceals an immoral monster in the form of alter-ego Hyde. Throughout the novel the two are presented as entirely distinct beings and it is only in the novels conclusion that the reader can fully understand the two personas as one character. The use of the double personality of Jekyll and Hyde is a useful concept when considering male gender identity, as the dual nature of the individual is said to destabilise male character itself. The novel challenges the idea that the male character represents unquestionably the embodied attributes of a male and a gender ideology that qualifies masculinity as proper male character. Despite the fact that the novel does appear to confront gender stereotypes referenced in the pre vious statement, the idea of masculinity is difficult to consider in the context of social influence, the idea that society constructs the way that gender identity is formed. Stephenson does not condemn men as individuals but comments on the way that the stringency of Victorian society and its expectations does not account for the duality of human nature. Both Stokers Dracula and Stephensons Jekyll and Hyde share a similar narrative structure, introducing a monstrosity and then exploring this idea before eradicating the monster with the intention that social order is reinstated. The monster in Dracula is the Count himself and the monstrosity of the novel is the liberation of female sexual expression through his transformation of women into vampire vixens. Stephensons novel shows the monster as repressed desires of Jekyll which are unveiled through the vehicle of Hyde. At the end of the novel, Jekyll reveals that he knows Hyde will be no more by the time Utterson reads his final letter. At the end of Stokers novel, Dracula is killed and Little Quinceys birth fulfils Van Helsings prophecy of the children that are to be and restores order among the community. Critic Christopher Craft comments that the monstrous threat in the novels is contained and finally nullified by the narrative requirement that the monster be repudiated and the worl d of normal relations restored. The restoration at the end of both novels suggests that gender ideals cannot be subverted entirely, despite challenging social expectation to a certain degree. Nevertheless, the conclusions of the novels are not positive which suggest that although ideals remain as established this is not necessarily the best outcome and there is an inference that change needs to be made. Gothic novels are commonly recognised as texts which exemplify the subjugation of women yet the oppression faced by the male characters is often disregarded. Both men and women suffered equally under the repressive Victorian society which directed sexual behaviour and regarded open sexual expression as depraved. The function of the male character within the novels is not merely to criticise the patriarchal society of the 19th century but to challenge the way that social ideology was a detrimental factor to both men and women.

Family & marriage Essay

1. The U.S. Census Bureau defines family as two or more people living together who are related by birth, marriage, or adoption. Heterosexual or Homosexual unmarried partners are excluded from this traditional definition. Many people object to the Census Bureau’s definition. The Journal of Marriage and Family, a scholarly journal about families published by the National council on Family Relations, opts for a broader, more exclusive definition saying that a family is a relationship by blood, marriage or affection, where members of the family cooperate economically, may care for children, and can consider their identity to be intimately connected by a larger group. It can include a family of orientation, which is the family that you were born into, and a family of procreation, which is the family that you make through marriage, partnering and/or parenthood. This text also includes fictive kin in its definition of family. Fictive kin are nonrelatives whose bonds are strong and intimate, such as the relationships shared among unmarried homosexual or heterosexual partners, or close friends. Chapter 1, pg 3-5. 2. Regulation of Sexual Behavior: All cultures regulate sexual behavior, including who can have sex with whom and under what circumstances they must do so. A virtually regulation is the incest taboo that forbids sexual activity among close family members. Reproducing and Socializing Children: Each society must produce new members and ensure socialization, teaching children the rules, expectations and culture of society. Property and Inheritance: For much of human history, when people were nomadic hunters and gatherers, families owned little or nothing of their own, and so had nothing to pass down. Agriculture made it possible for people to own property, or to obtain a surplus beyond what was needed to survive, therefore, it became imp ortant to identify heirs. Economic Cooperation: A family is the group responsible for providing its members with food, shelter, clothing and other basic necessities. Social Placement, Status, and Roles: Families give their members a social identity and position. Members find their place in the complex web of status and roles. Care, Warmth, Protection, and Intimacy: Humans need far more than food, shelter, and clothing to survive. Families are intended to provide the emotional care needed to survive and thrive. Chapter 1, pg 6-7. 10. Poverty comes in many different shapes, sizes and colors. Poor families face a higher degree of stress, disorganization, ad other issues in their life.  Poverty is hard on every one, but it weighs especially heavy on children’s physical, social, and emotional health. Poverty puts the health of children at risk in many ways, including a low birth weight, which increases chances of serious chronic and acute illness, along with emotional and behavioral problems. Poverty has a negative effect on the quality and stimulation of the home environment. Poor children on welfare who were between the ages of 13 and 36 months hear only half as many words per hour as the average working class child. Poor children have a higher probability of being abused, neglected, and more severely injured by abuse. On average, poor children have fewer resources for learning in the home, including books and educational toys. Because poor families cannot pay high rent they often live in housing that may lack proper cooking, heating, or sanitation. Poor children live in inner cities where violence, crime truancy, loitering, and a sense of despair predominate. Chapter 2, pgs 63-65. 11. We are all made up of many different characteristics. We aren’t simply male or female, Asian American or Hispanic, rich or poor. A person may be a White working-class female, a Japanese American upper-class male, a Cuban middle-class male, a white upper-class female, or any number of other racial, ethnic, gender, sex, and class combination. We have multiple statuses and they all interact to shape our lives. Our statuses intersect with one another. Sex and gender, race and ethnicity, and social class, individually and together, shape a constellation of privileges and constraints that can affect our goals, opportunity, choices, and experiences. They influence family structure we are born into, the way our parents raise us, our choices and opportunities in intimate relationships, how we parent, and how we age. Chapter 2, pg 67.

Essay Football vs Rugby

Ricardo Pardey ID 596397911 Second Essay February 15, 2013 Football Vs. Rugby When I was a senior in high school, I played on my school’s rugby team. It was really excite and funny while I played almost all weekend even though it is not popular in Colombia. But then when I came to the United States, it catch my attention that everybody likes and watches Football and it made me contrast these two aggressive sports Rugby and Football. These two sports are almost the same, for example the object of both games is score points by carrying the ball beyond the possessive touchline and the ball has a prolonged spheroid shape.Even though they are similar in some aspects, the first big difference is related with the source. Rugby proceeds from England and Football from the USA. Because of their foundation, many small differences have been created that show the importance of the characteristics of the society and their impact on sports. First started with Football, this sport was created in the United State, which impacted the characteristics of the game. The major league of this sport is called the National Football League (NFL), and the major tournament is the Super Bowl.The rules of the game are; the game is formed by four 15-minute quarters with a half-time intermission, which shows that in the American mindset, it is better a lot of short times than a few very long halves. The field must had 120 yards long by 53. 3 yards wide, based on the measuring system used there. The ball is a prolonged spheroid, which is about 11 inches long and 22 inches in circumference and it, weight around 0. 875 lbs, to make the balloon aerodynamic so that it can travel longs distances. Each competitor must use helmets and padding during the game.The name of the things change, for example when you made a goal in Rugby it is called Try and in Football, touch down. Showing that the team can make unlimited substitution in each game but always having 11 players on the field, showing tha t in America the people believe that when anything stop working a hundred percent, it must be replaced by new ones One of the huge differences between Rugby and Football is that the number of substitutions that can be done by the coach in each game thanks to English cultural influence is 7.The other high-contact sport is Rugby, which was created in England. The major Tournament is the World Cup (Rugby Union) and the most known League is the Super 15; but there are a lot of leagues all over the world, among them are Aviva Prem, top 14, and in an international level NSW suburb rugby; Showing that the people play this sport all over the world not like Football, which is played only in a part of North America. The rules of this sport state that the ball must have the international 5 size, that means 27 cm long and 60 cm in circumference with a weigh around 1lb.The fields have 120 meters long by 70 meters wide according to the metric system. On the field there must be situated only 15 pl ayers. They play two halves of 40 minutes with a ten-minute half time. The additional difference is the size of the player, as they don’t use helmets or any other equipment except a mouth guard. They have wider backs, being the thinnest player just 81kg and the heaviest 201. 7kg. The name of a goal is Trying and after made a point one player kicks the ball between the goal posts to win more points.After seeing the specific characteristic of both sport and the reason why they have these differences, to summarize, Rugby and American Football are two sports with intense physical aggression and the same goal: carrying the ball beyond the opponents touch line and kicking the ball between the goal post after they make the point. Even though they are parallel in some aspects; there are differences based on the source, such as the size of the ball, the field and the players, the length of the game and the number of substitutions permitted per team.In my personal experience, the place where the sport is created has a huge relation with the characteristics of the game. Because for example as football was created in the US the people over there like it because it is according to their characteristics; however, in the opposite side if a sport was created in a different country and the people want to play it, they will face some things can be consider whether not loved and strange, since recreation with Rugby in Colombia is not popular.

Stereotypes And Stereotypes Of Women - 1056 Words

Stereotypes of Women For a very long time, stereotypes have been part of the society and culture, and to this day, they are still present. Stereotypes can be defined as â€Å"[oversimplifying] the image or idea of a particular type of person or thing† (Google Dictionary). A current event would be a female who cannot work in a factory because of her gender, or a male who cannot join ballet because of his gender. But what still occurs in our nation or the whole society is that stereotypes are generally directed against women. The stereotypes our society gives to women lead them to have lower positions in the workplace than men such as women are supposed to make less money than men, supposed to have â€Å"clean jobs†, and supposed to not have any technical skills. When women are â€Å"supposed† to have these certain positions, it makes them have an underprivileged characterization. A problem that most women have in this country when it comes to working is that they are paid less than men do. Ever since women were given the rights to work, there was not enough equality given to them because of their gender. In an article from the Huffpost Politics, Women Still Earned 77 Cents On Men’s Dollars In 2012: Report, for women to make average earnings in the year 2012, it would be $37,791, and for men, their earnings would be $49,398. This wage gap of women earning 77 cents every dollar men makes has happened since the year 2007. What is discriminating is that women are equally educated and have theShow MoreRelatedStereotypes And Stereotypes Of Black Women858 Words   |  4 PagesStereotypes are images and ideas, fixed and oversimplified, of particular people or things. Black women tend to encounter the utmost sexual and racial stereotypes. The remarks that I commonly hear are black women emasculate their men and are also sexually inhibited. 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