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Obsession, repression, and the men behind Dracula

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TitleInfo
Title
Obsession, repression, and the men behind Dracula
Name (type = personal)
NamePart (type = family)
Kukainis
NamePart (type = given)
Benjamin A.
DisplayForm
Benjamin Kukainis
Role
RoleTerm (authority = RULIB)
author
Name (type = personal)
NamePart (type = family)
Ledoux
NamePart (type = given)
Ellen
DisplayForm
Ellen Ledoux
Affiliation
Advisory Committee
Role
RoleTerm (authority = RULIB)
chair
Name (type = personal)
NamePart (type = family)
Fitter
NamePart (type = given)
Christopher
DisplayForm
Christopher Fitter
Affiliation
Advisory Committee
Role
RoleTerm (authority = RULIB)
internal member
Name (type = corporate)
NamePart
Rutgers University
Role
RoleTerm (authority = RULIB)
degree grantor
Name (type = corporate)
NamePart
Camden Graduate School
Role
RoleTerm (authority = RULIB)
school
TypeOfResource
Text
Genre (authority = marcgt)
theses
OriginInfo
DateCreated (qualifier = exact)
2014
DateOther (qualifier = exact); (type = degree)
2014-01
Place
PlaceTerm (type = code)
xx
Language
LanguageTerm (authority = ISO639-2b); (type = code)
eng
Abstract (type = abstract)
The style, characters and action of Bram Stoker’s 1897 Gothic horror novel, Dracula—including the relationships among male characters—can be attributed to the author’s close relationship and bond with famed Victorian actor, Henry Irving. Irving’s demeanor, personality and acting talent highlighted Stoker’s affinity for Irving, and this essay’s primary objective is to determine how Bram Stoker’s social and professional relationship with Irving, influenced and shaped Dracula. The essay will review the lives of both Irving and Stoker individually and separately, but also delve into their personal relationship, symbolic and representative of male bonding and the role that gender plays in Stoker’s novel. Themes of homoeroticism, whether on the conscious or unconscious level, and gender boundaries will be examined for they both are apparent in Stoker’s life as well as the cast of characters in Dracula. This essay will examine any and all nuances or specific methods that Irving used both as an actor and as a producer. Noteworthy chapters, excerpts and moments from Dracula, such as Jonathan Harker’s stay in Castle Dracula and the excavation of Lucy’s tomb by the four men can be indicators of a continuous desire for male bonding on Stoker’s part. He often struggled with the concept of bachelorhood and marriage. The novel does not praise either, but provides an attractive alternative: a socially intimate and sexually ambiguous cast of males. Ranging from the personal to the public to the professional spheres of Stoker and Irving, this essay intends to provide a comprehensive evaluation of Dracula’s style and characters while simultaneously demonstrating the power of social, professional and personal relations in a literary and theatrical world. Even after Irving overlooked Stoker when he passed on his management rights, Stoker was continually drawn to him. Even after Irving left Stoker nothing after his death, Stoker continued to praise him. It is evident in almost all places that, to Stoker, Henry Irving was not just a man but also a source of pleasure, similar to the way that the males in Dracula perceive each other.
Subject (authority = RUETD)
Topic
English
RelatedItem (type = host)
TitleInfo
Title
Rutgers University Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Identifier (type = RULIB)
ETD
Identifier
ETD_5184
PhysicalDescription
Form (authority = gmd)
electronic resource
InternetMediaType
application/pdf
InternetMediaType
text/xml
Extent
iii, 47 p.
Note (type = degree)
M.A.
Note (type = bibliography)
Includes bibliographical references
Note (type = statement of responsibility)
by Benjamin A. Kukainis
Subject
Name (authority = LC-NAF)
NamePart (type = personal)
Stoker, Bram,--1847-1912.--Dracula
Subject
Name (authority = LC-NAF)
NamePart (type = personal)
Irving, Henry,--Sir,--1838-1905--Influence
Subject (authority = ETD-LCSH)
Topic
Eroticism in literature
Subject (authority = ETD-LCSH)
Topic
Homosexuality in literature
Subject (authority = ETD-LCSH)
Topic
Dracula, Count (Fictitious character)
Subject (authority = ETD-LCSH)
Topic
Horror tales, English--History and criticism
Subject (authority = ETD-LCSH)
Topic
Vampires in literature
RelatedItem (type = host)
TitleInfo
Title
Camden Graduate School Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Identifier (type = local)
rucore10005600001
Location
PhysicalLocation (authority = marcorg); (displayLabel = Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey)
NjNbRU
Identifier (type = doi)
doi:10.7282/T3862DK0
Genre (authority = ExL-Esploro)
ETD graduate
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Rights

RightsDeclaration (ID = rulibRdec0006)
The author owns the copyright to this work.
RightsHolder (type = personal)
Name
FamilyName
Kukainis
GivenName
Benjamin
Role
Copyright Holder
RightsEvent
Type
Permission or license
DateTime (encoding = w3cdtf); (qualifier = exact); (point = start)
2013-12-04 16:14:27
AssociatedEntity
Name
Benjamin Kukainis
Role
Copyright holder
Affiliation
Rutgers University. Camden Graduate School
AssociatedObject
Type
License
Name
Author Agreement License
Detail
I hereby grant to the Rutgers University Libraries and to my school the non-exclusive right to archive, reproduce and distribute my thesis or dissertation, in whole or in part, and/or my abstract, in whole or in part, in and from an electronic format, subject to the release date subsequently stipulated in this submittal form and approved by my school. I represent and stipulate that the thesis or dissertation and its abstract are my original work, that they do not infringe or violate any rights of others, and that I make these grants as the sole owner of the rights to my thesis or dissertation and its abstract. I represent that I have obtained written permissions, when necessary, from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis or dissertation and will supply copies of such upon request by my school. I acknowledge that RU ETD and my school will not distribute my thesis or dissertation or its abstract if, in their reasonable judgment, they believe all such rights have not been secured. I acknowledge that I retain ownership rights to the copyright of my work. I also retain the right to use all or part of this thesis or dissertation in future works, such as articles or books.
Copyright
Status
Copyright protected
Availability
Status
Open
Reason
Permission or license
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Technical

RULTechMD (ID = TECHNICAL1)
ContentModel
ETD
OperatingSystem (VERSION = 5.1)
windows xp
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