Dracula vs Bloody Chamber

• Both Stoker and Carter present their stories from the perspective of naive narrators who initially appear ignorant to their fate, but later learn of it.
• Dracula - our first narrator, Harker, is oblivious to the danger of the count, even when he is warned. In The Bloody Chamber, the narrator is a 17-year-old girl who has just been married and who is sexually naive
• Dracula- The use of multiple narrators is effective as it complicates the narrative further and makes it harder for the reader to understand what is happening – we are as naive as the characters

  TBC- The narrator is oblivious to the danger that the marquis possesses – she does not think she is in any danger or that her engagement is a risk, even when her mother asks her if she is sure about her marriage
• Dracula - Every narrator, especially at the start of the novel, is naive and they do not really understand the danger they are in. This is ironic as they are all highly educated, especially Harker and Dr Seward

  TBC - She has feelings for the marquis but is unfamiliar with what she is feeling, which reinforces her innocence
• Dracula - The naivety of the narrator and their reluctance to accept the supernatural occurrences is a reflection of the impact of the Enlightenment and the limitations of their education and science

  TBC - When she enters the room, she is forbidden from entering by the marquis; her innocence is shattered as she is confronted by the marquis’ dark secret
• Dracula - The reader is on a “journey” with these narrators

  TBC - The story is written in past tense (hindsight) and by the end of the novel we see that the narrator has now matured and this is a contrast to her innocence at the start of the story
• Both Stoker and Carter use traditional Gothic settings to create an eerie atmosphere and a sense of suspense
• Dracula - The setting in the first few chapters of the wilderness and Dracula’s castle creates suspense and terror. Stoker has removed the narrator from their familiar place to somewhere unfamiliar, which leaves them vulnerable

  TBC - The story takes place in a Gothic castle that is surrounded by the sea, making the castle isolated from the rest of society at certain points during the day 
• Dracula - The labyrinth of the castle could reflect Harker’s internal labyrinth and struggle as he realises he is a prisoner in the castle

  TBC - The narrator’s bedroom being “surrounded by so many mirrors” adds to the sense of confinement and suppression. The overwhelming sense of isolation that the narrator feels is an essential element of the Gothic genre
• Dracula - The ruined abbey at Whitby and the graveyard/tombs also add an eerie Gothic atmosphere

  TBC - When the narrator locates the “chamber”, she comments on the “absolute darkness”. Darkness is a classic Gothic convention as it symbolises the unknown and the narrator is completely in the dark, literally and figuratively
• Dracula - However, Stoker also moves the narrative to London which is a contrast to Transylvania. By doing so, he creates even more terror in the Victorian reader as it implies that Dracula has now infected their homeland, making him all the more threatening and sinister

  TBC - The chamber is described so gruesomely and vividly that it has all the elements of the Gothic genre – darkness, blood and metaphors such as “the door of hell”
• Whilst both Carter and Stoker use characters who are the heroes of the story, Stoker stays true to the stereotypical image of a hero while Carter subverts it
• Dracula - Stoker mainly presents the classic, stereotypical male hero whose purpose is to save the female in danger (damsel in distress)

  The Bloody Chamber is a reimagining of a fairy tale but it does not follow the standard template of one. It does not have a male hero to save the female (the handsome prince)
• Dracula - Stoker also highlights how the typical educated man is no match for supernatural forces and how a reliance on science will limit understanding

  TBC - The narrator’s mother is the hero of the story, which changes the typical passive role of the mother or the wicked stepmother into a strong female figure – she carries a gun, kills wild animals and rides on horseback to save her daughter
• Dracula - Van Helsing, who is not a typical Gothic hero, embraces religion, superstition and folklore to defeat Dracula, which makes him the real hero. The middle-class Englishmen in the novel do not consider and cannot comprehend anything that science cannot explain

  TBC - The mother also defies patriarchy and status for love, which means she lives a life of poverty as her family are not accepting
• Dracula - Mina is also a hero in her own right as she takes a proactive approach in organising the documents and diary entries for the men to be able to track down Dracula

  TBC - At the end of the story, when the narrator is in trouble, her mother arrives and kills the marquis to save her daughter
• Dracula - Mina takes a maternal role with the men, which reinforces the Victorian belief that women can be knowledgeable and helpful but only to fulfil their roles as wives and mothers

  TBC - The narrator’s description of her mother’s actions at the end of the story with “one hand on the reins” of the horse and the other hand “clasped by father’s service revolver” portrays the mother in a very dominant and typically masculine way. She has taken the role of hero
• While both Stoker and Carter use language that is suggestive and sexual, Carter uses it to liberate women whereas Stoker uses it to suppress women
• Dracula - The sexual language used in Dracula is much more subtle and is only used to reinforce the idea that those desires are unholy, repulsive and transgressive (for example, Harker with the female vampires)

  TBC - Carter reclaims the male gaze by using a female narrator who does not use subtle language when referring to female sexual parts and desires
• Dracula - Any suggestive moment is seen through a male narrator, which reinforces the male gaze

  TBC - The reader also gets an insight into the narrator’s thoughts and feelings about intercourse and her fears around it
• Dracula - The use of male perspective removes the power from the woman and reestablishes patriarchy

  TBC - The narrator also uses vivid language. For example, when she finds the marquis’ erotic book
• Dracula - Lucy states that she wishes to marry as many men as she wants and, as a result, she is punished and infected by a male and no other man can save her

  TBC - The language that Carter uses helps reclaim female sexuality from men and liberate women. For example when the narrator tries to be “seductive” as a weapon against her husband
• Dracula - Blood could also symbolise intercourse and Lucy has four blood transfusions from four different men before she dies. This reinforces the idea that women who stray and are unchaste will ultimately be punished

  TBC - The female narrator is not punished for her use of sexual/suggestive language, unlike Lucy in Dracula, but is actually saved and liberated at the end