The New Woman in Fanu’s Carmilla, Stoker’s Dracula, and...

The New Woman in Fanu’s Carmilla, Stoker’s Dracula, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer The correlation between the vampire, a figure that is usually regarded as the subject of social ostracism, and the New Woman, the advent of which was feared by the majority of the British Victorian patriarchy, was a prominent aspect of much mid-to-late Victorian era literature. Supplementary evidence to support the compelling Victorian era literary connection between the vampire and the New Woman can be extrapolated from the unique gender role standards that defined that socially complex era. As Catherine Siemann suggests in her essay, â€Å"Darkness Falls on the Endless Summer: Buffy as Gidget for the Fin de Siecle,† the Victorian New Woman’s â€Å"personal†¦show more content†¦In order to reinforce as loudly and clearly as possible the patriarchal message that in Victorian society, New Women were to be regarded as social pariahs, the ultimate destruction of these literary characters had to be performed in the most savage manner feasible, the brutality of whi ch is almost beyond belief. In Carmilla, prior to her slaughter, the male characters, representative of the Victorian patriarchy, dehumanize the vampire Carmilla, by no longer referring to her by name; Carmilla is simply reduced to being referred to as â€Å"the vampire† and â€Å"the body.† Dehumanization eliminates Carmilla’s individuality, metaphorically suggesting that her fate is the destiny that awaits all New Women. Carmilla’s execution is described as follows: The body, therefore, in accordance with the ancient practice, was raised, and a sharp stake driven through the heart of the vampire, who uttered a piercing shriek at the moment, in all respects such as might escape from a living person in the last agony. Then the head was struck off, and a torrent of blood flowed from the severed neck. The body and head were next placed on a pile of wood, and reduced to ashes, which were thrown upon the river and borne away, and that territory has never since been plagued by the visits of a vampire. (Le Fanu 336) Carmilla’s execution-style slaying