Dracula v Nosferatu Paper

7/23/2019 Dracula v Nosferatu Paper

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Sklaver 1

Katie Sklaver

Mrs. Juergens

AP English Lit and Comp

25 !to"er 2#15

$ra!ula and %os&eratu' (emale Protagonists and )ender *oles

$i&&eren!es in the !hara!ter o& the &emale protagonists o& Nosferatuand o& Dracularesult

in a !hange in the theme o& gender roles. +n Nosferatu, unlike in Dracula, dominant -omen are

not a danger to so!iet, "ut are instead its savior. /his !hange in theme is "est o"served through a

!omparison o& Mina and Lu! in Dracula, and their %os&eraturian !ounterpart Ellen, although

some other !omparisons are help&ul in providing &urther eviden!e.

+n Dracula, dominant -omen are !onsidered a danger to 0ritish so!iet. /his is

demonstrated, in part, through the moti& o& sleep. +n Dracula, the &emale protagonists al-as

seem to "e at their most ideal -hen the are asleep or si!k or prone in some -a. hile Mina is

sleeping, the men de!ide to keep her ignorant o&3 their intent3 4Stoker 67, !laiming it is too

great a strain &or a -oman to "ear3 4Stoker 8687. hile the are sleeping, Mina and Lu! are

una"le to have an in&luen!e on the de!isions that a&&e!t their lives. +n Dracula, sleep is the most

e9treme &orm o& su"mission, and death is the most e9treme &orm o& sleep. hen Lu! a-akens

&rom this e9treme sleep, or "e!omes one o& the undead, she is dening her passive role in li&e.

/his re"ellion is seen as dangerous " the men, -ho are su"!ons!iousl threatened " it, and in

an e&&ort to repossess Lu! &rom this -i!ked sleep, the drive deeper and deeper the mer!:

"earing stake, -hilst the "lood &rom the pier!ed heart -elled and spurted up around it3 4Stoker


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8#;7, e&&e!tivel killing her, or putting her to sleep3, &or good, and &or!ing her "a!k into her

proper pla!e in the order o& things, -hi!h is the duti&ul and de&erential -oman.

+n Dracula, the danger o& dominant -omen is also demonstrated through the

!hara!teri -ith those red lips3 4Stoker

557. /he danger o& !ourse, is not in the kissing, "ut in the desire. Jonathan &eels it is -rong to

-ant the &air girl to advan!e and lean over3 him 4Stoker 557, he is a&ter all, a man. ?e &eels

should do the advan!ing, as is his right, and to -ant something di&&erent is "oth thrilling and

repulsive3 4Stoker 567, !onne!ted -ith some dream &ear3 4Stoker 557 o& losing the po-er

so!iet has a&&orded him. /hus, he is -illing, at an !ost, to keep his -i&e Mina &rom "e!oming

like these vampire -omen, &rom em"oding the threat the represent, a threat that, like Lu!, is

destroed " a man. +ndeed, the vampire ladies are killed " @an ?elsing, in a "out o& "ut!her

-ork3 4Stoker 5817. ?e endured the horrid s!ree!hing as the stake drove home, the plunging o&

the -rithing &orm, and lips o& "lood &oam3 4Stoker 5817. /he stake is a phalli! sm"ol, and as

@an ?elsing metaphori!all rapes the vampire "rides, he takes "a!k their se9ualit, their

dominan!e, and like -ith Lu!, returns them to their right&ul pla!e.

+n Nosferatu, there are no stakes. /here is also no Lu!. r, at least Lu!s !ounterpart

has a mu!h smaller role in the stor. She is mostl super&luous. +nstead, Ellen, Minas

!ounterpart, seems to take on the !hara!teristi!s o& Lu!. She is, at &irst glan!e, -eak, !ompletel

and utterl su"missive, and su"s!ri"ing to the traditional gender roles originall set &orth in

Dracula, o&& o& -hi!h Nosferatu-as "ased. She seems overl emotional, !ring over !ut

&lo-ers, asking her hus"and h did ou kill them =B>3 4Murnau Nosferatu7. hen one


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looks deeper ho-ever, Ellen is in !ontrol, Ellen has all the po-er. ne o& the pla!es this reversal

o& gender roles is most evident is -hen one !ompares Ellen to her hus"and ?utter.

?utter is a de!idedl &eminine man. hen !ompared to Ellen, he seems even more so.

Ellens &eatures are dark and harsh, similar to her !lothes.

+n !omparison, ?utters !lothes are ela"orate, vi"rantl patterned, and -ith an e9!ess o& &loun!e.

Phsi!all, Ellen !ould almost "e !onsidered manlier than ?utter. More than this, ?utter is, in

more than one s!ene, "ent over, sometimes to Ellen. /his de&erent position is !hara!teristi! o& a

su"missive, not o& the !on&ident and !ontrolling man he is supposed to "e.


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?utter "ending over

?utter is, also, !ompared to Ellen, !ompletel idioti!. ?e !onstantl has a -ide and vapid

grin on his &a!e and in the &irst shot o& him, he is staring at himsel& in the mirror, !ompletel

a"sor"ed in his o-n re&le!tion, and ignoring the o"viousl "us and thriving industrial -orld

outside his -indo-.

hen Ellen is introdu!ed, she is seen looking out o& a -indo-, alread demonstrating sharper

o"servational &a!ulties than her other hal&. She is also seen as surrounded " li&e, "oth a kitten

and &lo-ers, and her -indo- is open. /he &a!t that she en!ompassed " li&e, and that her -indo-


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is open to the -orld, letting in its sights and sounds, suggests that Ellen is more present in the

-orld than her hus"and, more involved and !on!erned -ith other people, unlike ?utter -ho is

-ho literall and &igurativel shut up inside his o-n head. /hese !hara!teristi!s are more

stereotpi!al o& -omen, shut up inside in their homes and taking !are o& !hildren, and Ellens

sharp o"servation and openness to the -orld is more !hara!teristi! o& men o& the time.

Ellen in her -indo-

Ellens role as po-er&ul -oman "e!omes more and more prevalent throughout the movie,

and !omes to a head, -hen she de&ies her promise to her hus"and not to tou!h the "ook3

4MurnauNosferatu7 that tells her o& her !apa"ilit to de&eat Nosferatu. /he re"ellion against her

hus"and onl !ontinues on &rom there, -ith Ellen taking !harge o& her o-n destin, and making

the !hoi!e to sa!ri&i!e hersel& to Nosferatu. nl Ellen !an make the de!ision to save her to-n,

?utter !annot make it &or her. Ellen dies at the end o& the movie, "ut she dies having taken

!ontrol o& her li&e, and -ith her ne-l dominant position not destroing so!iet, "ut saving it,

something unimagina"le " the standards o& the male protagonists in the original novel Dracula.

ord Count' 1,#8#


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orks Cited

Nosferatu. $ir. (riedri!h ilhelm Murnau. Per&. Ma9 S!hre!k, )ustav @on angenheim, )reta

S!hroeder. Prana (ilm, 1;22. Doutu"e @ideo.

Stoker, 0ram. Dracula. %e- Dork Cit' 0arnes and %o"le, 2##8. Print.

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Dracula v Nosferatu Paper