| Keywords [eng] |
Dracula, Bram Stoker, gothic horror, psychology, Victorian era, suppressed desires, fears, sexuality, Drakula, Bramas Stokeris, gotikinis romanas, psichologija, Viktorijos epocha, užgniaužti troškimai, baimės, seksualumas |
| Abstract [eng] |
In this master's thesis, psychological research is pioneering the study of Dracula, as the themes of forbidden desire and sexuality discussed in this book have been analyzed by many scholars. Many scholars, such as Christopher Craft (1984), Stephanie Demetrakopoulos (1977), and Jennifer L. Fleissner (2000), have analyzed the theme of forbidden desire and sexuality in Dracula, but none of them have delved into the subject from a psychological perspective. Craft (1984) explains that vampires simultaneously express both desire and fear, and that characters such as Jonathan Harker are made to feel weak and feminine when attacked by vampires. Demetrakopoulos (1977) writes that Stoker depicts two types of women: Lucy is sexy and punished, and Mina is helpful and intelligent, but still very polite. Fleissner (2000) focuses on Mina's work as a printer. She claims that Mina's writings helped men defeat Dracula and showed how women at that time began to work more in public, and some people considered it dangerous, etc. I chose psychological analysis in this Gothic novel because it is very easy to analyze the main characters, since this novel is in the epistolary style. Especially because it contains not only letters from the characters to each other, but also their diaries, and a diary means that a person writes his thoughts and does not show them to anyone else. The purpose of my work was to conduct a detailed analysis of the main characters Mina, Lucy and Jonathan in Bram Stoker's novel Dracula. I discussed not only their repressed desires, but also psychological fears and manifestations of sexuality. I also examined how these aspects are related to other psychological problems and internal conflicts. This approach allowed me to better understand the inner world of the characters and the hidden anxieties of Victorian society reflected in the novel. The result showed that the main characters can be studied in depth. Lucy not only flirts with men and behaves frivolously, which is why she is eventually killed, but also because she has hidden desires to be free. She is not ready for children and marriage, she wants to walk and meet different men. She is not mentally mature, and the author often calls her a child in the book. Mina is not only an intelligent woman of that time, but she also understands that she is not so attractive to men, so she is closer to men only thanks to her intelligence and work. Despite the fact that she has a husband, she wants the attention of other men, this is shown in the chapter where she is with Dracula. Jonathan is a passive man, which was not typical at that time, he wants both vampire women and Dracula, but he cannot afford it, because his conscience will torment him against Mina. He, like other men, wants to try everything, but he cannot do it. Mina holds him back with her dominance. Dracula himself is analyzed as a manipulator, narcissist and abuser. This means that the book can be analyzed in a modern way and that many more academic works can be written on the subject of Dracula. My analysis has shown that the book is very psychological, despite the fact that not all scholars claim this, for example, Demetrakopoulos argues that "Dracula" is not a deep psychological novel, but a popular one, full of repressed fantasies about gender and sexuality. Stating that "There is no growth of self-knowledge, integration or recognition of inner powers. All sexuality is attributed to vampires" (Demetrakopoulos, 1977, p. 111). |
