Gender

The first thing I can see in all of these monsters is that they are all men. Even the heroes are men. This says a lot about the Victorians. They look at the male role more than the women. In Great Expectations the monster is considered Ms. Havisham but who made her that way, a man by the name of Compyson. This is where the male role takes over. She’s the bad one not him which is not really the truth. Two of the stories do not even have a lead female in it at all. Now Dracula has male heroes but the thing that was more interesting than anything else was that Mina had a very strong character role. Mina is considered a saint in the eyes of the men in the story. We do still see stuff like this today but it is different in a way. A good example is Superman. He is the hero but Louis is just a damsel in distress. But then Wonder Woman is the hero in her story. This is how we differ from the Victorians. We’re not afraid of a little feminism.

Leaving Something Out?

I honestly cannot find anything I didn’t enjoy enough to get rid of. Everything we went over connects together. I enjoyed learning about everything but my favorite was definitely the vampirism. I really loved Shalken the Painter because it was the perfect scary story. You are never really told what he is but you get the idea that he is a vampire. Everything about his appearance actually suggests he has cholera. The other literature that was my absolute favorite was Dracula. I do not think that this literature should ever be taken out of humanities. It is such a big part of the Victorian Era. It deals with tainted women, man hood, and religion. This story ties everything from the Victorian Era together. I think the class would not be able the same without learning about Dracula.

The League

First thing I want to say is that I am so glad the League isn’t all men and that the woman that is in the League isn’t helpless. She is representing the strength of a woman. Her name is Mina Harker and she is a vampire. She is taking the place of Dracula. The big difference here is that she was a human in the novel Dracula. So was her husband Jonathan Harker but they became vampires in this film. They are nothing like Dracula or his brides were. Something else that is mentioned is that Mina ends up having a thing with Mr. Gray. Now Dorian Gray is just as cynical as he is in his story if not more. The person that did surprise me was Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Hyde isn’t near as bad as he is described in his story. Pretty much, the only person he is mean to most of the time is Dr. Jekyll. Skinner is pretty funny to me. He is the Invisible Man. It seems like to me he enjoys being invisible. Almost like he found a way to make it work out for himself. I do love the fact that when he puts his make-up on he looks albino which is what the original Invisible Man was.

Technology Then and Now

I think the Victorians were very intelligent. They have a lot of thinkers in this time like, Alexander Graham Bell and Thomas Edison. Both have given to get us were we are now. The Victorians were always looking for the next best thing just like we do. We buy a brand new phone and six more come out the next week. I think some people would have been afraid of the technology we have today because of how fast stuff comes out. The majority of the people from the Victorian Age would have welcomed it. I can see Queen Victoria now with our fashion line. She would buy all the finest fashion and walk down the street to show it off. Bell would most likely be making the next best cell phone. I think they would love it because these people were innovators and they were always looking for the next best thing.

Can you saw Creep-tastic!

Well, like I’ve said in a few posts I kind of knew Dracula already. I do have to admit that he seems a little harsher than I first thought he was. The book gives a scarier view of Dracula than the 1992 movie does. Jonathan Harker, however, is nothing like I thought. He is such a wimp in the movie but that could have also been because Keanu Reeves was playing him. I love how the book describes him. He is such a bad you know what. I mean he tries to take Dracula’s head off with a shovel while he is asleep. But then again he’s an idiot because he doesn’t catch the warning signs that are all around him. I mean this guy is clearly creepy with a capitol C. I do like him more know that I know the true Jonathan Harker.

Dracula Blah Blah Blah

Here’s the thing about vampires when it comes down to me. The very first vampire movie I ever saw was The Little Vampire with Jonathan Lipnicki in it. He’s the cute little kid from Stuart Little. I think I was like 9 years old when it came out. Anyway, I feel in love with vampires after that. Something about the fact that they were immortal, until a stake was driven through their heart or the sun got them, fascinated me. And this movie wrapped around family too. But when I saw Bram Stoker’s Dracula, I knew becoming a vampire would be turning off my humanity. Dracula showed that being a vampire was nothing short of becoming a true monster. I still loved everything about it. I think that is why we are fascinated with vampires because even though we know they are nothing but evil demons from the depths, we can’t help but to be attracted to them. They represent immortality and temptation in many ways but most of the times it’s all sexual. There is something about the sharing of the blood between the human and vampire that makes it erotic. Then you add the fact that you will never get old and you have a Yahtzee. But not everything that glitters is gold. This also means no children and no love. Having found both I think twice about vampirism.

Mr. Gray and You

So Dorian Gray is who I think a lot of woman wish they could be like. Not so much his cruel side but the part that never gets old. I might be one in a million or billion but I can’t wait to get old and have grand kids and great-grand kids. I even want my age to show. Even when I was little I couldn’t wait to get older and it wasn’t for reasons everyone would want. Like kids say “I can’t wait till I’m 16 so I can drive,” or “I can’t wait till I’m 18 so I can move in to my own place,” or my favorite “I can’t wait till I’m 21 so I can drink.” No, I couldn’t wait to grow up because I was ready to have my own family. I’m sure everyone wishes they could be like Dorian Gray when it comes to the rest of it too, especially the sin and waste part. Who wouldn’t love to try something like drugs or sexual activities with no wear and tear? The feeling of being young and crazy would be a great feeling for some. Like I said earlier I’m that one in a million because I’m not that type of person. I might have a drink every once in a while but not all the time. The people that partake in these activities are also going to suffer like Dorian because it WILL catch up with them in the end.

Me+Invisible=Awesome

Well if I could be invisible I would try to be a modern day Robin Hood. I’d rob banks for the poor and beat up people who were harming others. These are good deeds but I can’t help but feel a little mischievous. I would probably pick on people to. Nothing that would hurt them or kill them. I would just mess with their heads a bit. I would walk around and tap people on the shoulder and when they turn around there’s nothing there or slap someone’s behind and watch them freak out. I would get a good laugh out of it but if I wanted a great, rolling on the floor laugh I would mess with my husband. You could saw I would “haunt” him in a way. He’s very OCD so I would purposely put stuff in the wrong spot and track mud through the house. Or I would put one spot on the counter he just cleaned and every time he tried to clean it he would get mad because I would keep doing it. I would laugh and be like “That’s for being so difficult all the time.” But I know I would have to stop at some point because it would really mess him up and I don’t want to be evil.

Jekyll and Hyde

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a really good story. I think it is so good because it looks at the two separate parts that everyone has. The good, proper part of us that never wants to stray from the path and the careless, bad person who doesn’t care what they do or who they hurt. We all have this part in us. That girl or guy you just want to punch in the face because they are in a good mood and you just don’t feel like smiling back. But you don’t hit them because you know you will have to suffer the consequences. I think this is the reason the story relates to us and the Victorians so well. I think the reason it’s such an everlasting story because people find different ways to present Mr. Hyde. I mean he’s supposed to get bigger the more he does but people have made him gigantic. Maybe this is because the technology has gotten so great and no one wants to see a movie without special effects anymore. Show me the old films and I will be just as happy as the new ones.

My “Monster”

This is probably the hardest blog posts I’ve ever had to write. It is partly because I am a horror fanatic. I love monsters! All kinds of monsters have fled my mind when I read this post. But to stay dedicated to the Victorian Era I would have to say that I have two favorites. The first is a monster movie called “From Hell,” which is based around Jack the Ripper. This one is more of a true monster and not a fantasy. Now for the second and probably my all time favorite, would have to be Bram Stocker’s Dracula. I absolutely love it!!!! It’s the one from 1992 and has a bunch of stars. One of the stars I could have lived without is the guy who played Jonathan. They probably could have found a better actor. But this is my favorite because of the pure creepness of Dracula. He is a demon no if, ands, or buts about it. I love the whole nocturnal being thing. I, myself, am a night owl.  Not to mention that Vampires are my favorite mythical creature creepy or not.