iSearch project
One of our projects for iHub Reads 2015 is called iSearch. What we had to do was find a detail in our book that stood out to us and that we wanted to know more about, and find out all you can about that detail–what it is and why you think it was included in the book.
Who are the 3 female vampires and what is their significance in the story?
The 3 female vampires first appear in Dracula in chapter 3, and are automatically shown to be seductive and are known as the vampire sisters. Two of them are dark haired, and the other is fair; this may symbolize something but I’m not sure yet. Who they are exactly is uncertain, but they have been referred to as the brides of Dracula (not mentioned in the novel). It has also been noticed that the two dark haired vampires are described to have “high aquiline noses, like the Counts’ and it has been suggested that they are his daughters. The single blond vampire seems to take on the role of their leader, as she was described as “the first”.
The vampire sisters help to illustrate the spectrum of women in Dracula and also in this time. Mina is shown to be a typical Victorian woman, loyal to her husband and obeying the rules of society. I think that the vampire sisters might be there to show the opposite end of the spectrum, and are supposed to represent what women of this time weren’t allowed to be—they’re the opposite of Victorian womanhood. A women was either a virgin or a mother, and if she was neither of these she was seen as promiscuous. Bram Stoker makes these vampires both evil and enchanting at the same time. There was something about them that made me uneasy, some longing and at the same time some deadly fear (chapter 3). It was improper for women to act as the 3 sisters did in Dracula, and this idea would have probably been a disturbing and frightening concept to most people at this time.
Lots to think about here. “Sisters” now but not in a previous life? Perhaps united in death? Sisters of circumstance? There’s room to look at external references here. I’m sure there are answers out there.