Victorian women were greatly held back from their full potential. Their main role in the home was to “be happy: a ray of sunshine in the home, making others happy” (Hardy, EJ 1887). On top of this, women in the Victorian era were not allowed to display their sexuality or “grope” men in public; they had to be submissive and meek (Causey S., 2008). The Victorian era lasted from 1837 to 1901, with women punished every day for crimes that are part of a woman's life today. Bram Stoker was born in this era and wrote his most famous novel, Dracula (Miller, E. unknown). One of the main discourses of this novel is that of women and their morality of the time. Stoker uses 5 women in total to represent the discussion about women. The first is Mina Murray, a sensitive young woman engaged to the novel's main protagonist, Johnathon Harker. Mina is a very educated woman for her time and was very lucky to have a job as a teacher. Mrs. Murray, in addition to being in the women's discourse, is also one half of another very important Stoker discourse: East meets West, or in other words, Traditional versus. Mina represents the West and the good side of women, respecting the laws of society. The East and evil are represented by Dracula's three wives. The three brides are introduced to the reader on page 51 of the novel, when they seduce Jonathon. This is one of the main reasons why they are traditional and do not obey the modern laws of the Victorian era. For women to seduce and display their sexuality in those times was one of the enormous horrors of the novel for the intended audience of the Victorian age. It was also one of the most sought after and at the same time feared things that men had; they wanted women even if they were afraid of losing power to a... middle of paper... oker.Works CitedDr. Elizabeth Miller, unknown, About Bram Stoker, Bram Stoker, 04/01/11, http://bramstoker.org/info.htmlRev. EJ Hardy, 1887, Life of the Victorian Woman, Victorias Past, 1/04/11, http://www.victoriaspast.com/LifeofVictorianWoman/LifeofVictorianWoman.htmlReuben Brewer, 2005, The Ultimate Dracula Novel, Bram Stoker's Dracula, 11/ 04/11, http://bramstokersdracula.blogspot.com/Sandra Causey, November 2008, Lucy Westenra's Sexuality in Dracula, Suite 101, 10/04/11, http://www.suite101.com/content/lucy-westenras -sexuality-in-dracula-a77231Unknown, 22 October 2007, Portrayal of The Women in Dracula by Bram Stoker, Knowledge Network, 04/09/11, http://en.oboulo.com/portrayal-of-women-in- bram-stoker-s-dracula-39992.htmlWikipedia, 9 April 2011, Abraham van Helsing, Wikipedia, 10/04/11, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Van_Helsing