Innocence Flashcards
Dracula
Innocence and purity are celebrated
Mina is rewarded for remaining pure, whilst Lucy is punished
Innocence also provides Mina with knowledge, whilst Lucy is punished for having more liberal ideas and has to be protected by men, whilst in a way, Mina protects the men
However, when Mina is left out of the discussions with the men, she is bitten by Dracula, suggesting that innocence of knowledge will destroy women, thus they must intellectually be brought into society
TBC
Dangers of innocence as it presents a woman’s weakness
The first narrator’s innocence results in her almost destruction, thus this inspires greater female agency throughout the novel
The Marquis attempts to corrupt innocent figures in order to punish them, therefore he also fetishizes innocence and forces her into the role of ‘Eve’
Nevertheless, Carter wants women to be aware of their own sexuality and embrace their knowledge, rather than be punished for it, like Lucy is.
This is explored in ‘The Tiger’s Bride’ as she ‘strips herself’ naked, suggesting the importance of choice in sexual liberation as she celebrates female sexuality and the breakdown of innocence if a woman chooses to do so
In ‘The Snow Child’, Carter suggests it is dangerous to fetishize innocence and corrupts the innocent father/daughter relationship
‘The Lady of the House of Love’ perhaps suggests that men are able to prosper no matter if they are innocent
In ‘Wolf-Alice’ there is very little sexual language and the innocence of the girl and her relationship with the duke depicts how women do not need to conform to any role that is imposed upon them as living individually allows them to prosper, and that innocence in agency is not a bad thing either
Carter therefore presents a complex view upon innocence as it is neither celebrated nor warned against
There is a combination of both suggesting that women must not be innocent and passive, but also that sexual innocence is not a bad thing if it is a woman’s choice
