'The Other'

Question 1

Dracula

Answer 1

 Van Helsing is repulsed by Dracula but is hypnotised and desires him
 Harker is repulsed by the three vampiric women but also desires them
 The men are repulsed by Lucy but are also desired by her highly sexual nature
 There is a fear that Dracula will infect the women of England
 There is a greater fear that he will infect men, suggesting the fear of homosexuality and male sexual desire in Victorian England
 Although what is supposed to be repulsive, by societies standards, is actually attractive to many of the characters, perhaps reflecting that what is repressed and shunned out by society will ‘bubble up’
 It is society that makes monsters and perhaps forces Dracula to have to survive in the way he does, reflecting the dangers of Victorian standards

Question 2

TBC

Answer 2

 Marquis is repulsive but also sexually desirable, as is the Tiger in ‘The Tiger’s Bride
 Carter is not about destroying monsters, but rather embracing the qualities about them that can be celebrated when equal with a man and a woman
 When one confronts the abject it can actually save women from their passivity and enable them to see themselves as not just for childbirth
 Carter tries to overcome the society that is presented in Dracula by not pushing away the monster, but rather embracing it and learning from it in order for women to get out of their passive roles