Victorian Sexuality in Stoker’s Dracula, LeFanu’s...

Victorian Sexuality in Stoker’s Dracula, LeFanu’s Carmilla, and Polidori’s Vampyre Literature is representative of the time in which it is produced. Literature can reflect societal views, attitudes, and fears.Vampire literature, in particular, often represents the fears of a society.In the Victorian Era, a time of intense sexual repression, it was common for vampire stories to reflect the fear of sexuality that was rampant in society. Bram Stoker’s Dracula illustrated fears about sexual women in contrast to the woman who respected and abided by society’s sexual norms. Joseph Sheridan LeFanu’s â€Å"Carmilla† represented not only the fear of feminine sexuality, but also the fear of sexuality between women. John William Polidori’s â€Å"The†¦show more content†¦Urged by women and the â€Å"code of chivalry,† which was like the â€Å"cult of true womanhood,† men lost sexual access to their wives. Because of this, prostitution flourished. Though men were urged to control themselves, it was understood that desire was â€Å"in a man’s nature,† and therefore very hard for him to control. Sex, therefore, became solely for reproduction in the Victorian Era. Upper class families showed their refinement by not having children, and not having sex. But while the upper classes were showing their good breeding, the lower classes continued to have children. Children were needed in the lower classes because they were assets. Children helped in the house and contributed to farm work, so parents needed to reproduce, unlike parents of the upper class, who had no use for children and saw them only as a liability. As women and men of the upper class became more and more â€Å"refined,† abstinence became the model for good breeding. However, the abstinence trend yielded serious consequences. The upper class began to look as though it would die out, and leave the lower classes to take over society. This was another fear, which set in later in the Victorian Era, which was illustrated in literature. Literature of the Victorian Era was written for the upper class, with their values in mind, because it was the upper class who had the money to buy books and the time to read them.