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Vampirism and Queerness in Nineteenth-Century Literature
ZEMANOVÁ, Eva
The aim of this thesis is the analysis of the connection between vampirism and queerness in Bram Stoker's Dracula and Florence Marryat's The Blood of the Vampire. The Master's thesis is divided into three parts. The first part examines the relationship of Victorian England to sexuality and the connection between queerness and the 19th-century Gothic novel. We will pay attention to the different perceptions of male and female homosexuality and the portrayal of the so-called "Others" in contemporary literature. In the second part, we will focus on the interpretation of Dracula in terms of queerness, namely through Count Dracula and the role he plays in the novel, including his relations to the other male characters in the novel. The third part concentrates on the analysis of The Blood of the Vampire, describing the fate of female vampire Harriet Brandt. Finally, the thesis explores the aspects of Harriet's Otherness that Harriet threatens Victorian society with, as well as the ambiguous understanding of this work.
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Transformation of the Gothic in Nineteenth-Century British Literature and Culture
Mikulová, Martina ; Nováková, Soňa (advisor) ; Beran, Zdeněk (referee)
Thesis abstract: Despite the fact that some critics view the period of the true Gothic as ending in the year 1820, others consider it to be a genre, as well as an aesthetic, which can still be perceived across various different cultural aspects to this day. Possibly the best way to approach the Gothic within the realm of literature is to observe several key examples of the Gothic topos, which was grounded in the original Gothic pieces of the eighteenth century. During the course of the nineteenth century, a historical period which from the cultural point of view appears almost inherently Gothic, British Gothic writing has undergone considerable changes and development, maintaining several of the key Gothic features, namely those of setting, isolation, and character types, modifying them in the process. Through this, it can be observed to what extent the aspects remain, and just how far-reaching their transformation was within the six exemplary works - Frankenstein, The Vampyre, Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, Carmilla, and Dracula. Another important aspect overlaying the selected works is that of monstrosity - a rather physical interpretation of the inner monstrosities of humans, or indeed an entire culture. The literary works, no matter how different at first glance they may appear to be, all utilize typical...
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