Discrimination In Dracula Essay
Dracula’s Semitic Corruption of the Victorian Woman
Throughout human history certain groups have suffered from hatred, and prejudice for their beliefs, and or customs. The Jewish people have for a long time languished under such hatred, and still do. Throughout history the severity of the hatred has waxed and waned reaching severe points to where they are actively hunted and persecuted. Times like the Spanish inquisition, the Crusades, and the most severe and devastating of them all, the Holocaust. Even though during the Victorian age, the Jews were not actively persecuted, antisemitism can still be seen in the works of literature, like Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Dracula stereotypical Jewish appearance is meant to symbolize the Victorian distrust …show more content…
During the Middle Ages prosecution was sanction buy the Catholic church which at the time was one of the most powerful entities. During the Black Death, the Jews were targeted in an attempted to provide a face, to the faceless killer. “During the Black Death…rioters burned Jews alive under the auspices of public health. Hundreds of Jewish communities were destroyed” (Biss 21). The prejudice died down but it never truly went away, mistrust led to Bram stoker creating Dracula. “Bram Stoker’s rendering of Count Dracula with a prominent nose and piles of gold and vague origins of Eastern Europe, suggests he is intended to be read as a Jew”(Biss 21). With Dracula intended to be read as Jew with his stereotypical appearance, Stoker proceeds to paint him as a villain with his unholy actions that lead to the corruption of Lucy and the deaths of …show more content…
For them being different than the ideal Victorian man, and believing a different religion than the British people. Mistrust and hatred like this is never leads to anything good, only serving to please those who spread it for various reasons. It leaves only is pain and suffering to those it is directed towards. If humanity is ever to truly advance, the Human race must learn to leave prejudice behind and bring acceptance to the
Throughout human history certain groups have suffered from hatred, and prejudice for their beliefs, and or customs. The Jewish people have for a long time languished under such hatred, and still do. Throughout history the severity of the hatred has waxed and waned reaching severe points to where they are actively hunted and persecuted. Times like the Spanish inquisition, the Crusades, and the most severe and devastating of them all, the Holocaust. Even though during the Victorian age, the Jews were not actively persecuted, antisemitism can still be seen in the works of literature, like Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Dracula stereotypical Jewish appearance is meant to symbolize the Victorian distrust …show more content…
During the Middle Ages prosecution was sanction buy the Catholic church which at the time was one of the most powerful entities. During the Black Death, the Jews were targeted in an attempted to provide a face, to the faceless killer. “During the Black Death…rioters burned Jews alive under the auspices of public health. Hundreds of Jewish communities were destroyed” (Biss 21). The prejudice died down but it never truly went away, mistrust led to Bram stoker creating Dracula. “Bram Stoker’s rendering of Count Dracula with a prominent nose and piles of gold and vague origins of Eastern Europe, suggests he is intended to be read as a Jew”(Biss 21). With Dracula intended to be read as Jew with his stereotypical appearance, Stoker proceeds to paint him as a villain with his unholy actions that lead to the corruption of Lucy and the deaths of …show more content…
For them being different than the ideal Victorian man, and believing a different religion than the British people. Mistrust and hatred like this is never leads to anything good, only serving to please those who spread it for various reasons. It leaves only is pain and suffering to those it is directed towards. If humanity is ever to truly advance, the Human race must learn to leave prejudice behind and bring acceptance to the