Descriptions and In Depth Analysis of Lucy

Lucy has been described and portrayed in many ways looking through Dracula first published in 1897 and all the other adaptions of the novel. In the original novel that was written by Bram Stoker and published in the year 1897 she is described as,"There lay Lucy, seemingly just as we had seen her the night before her funeral. She was, If possible, more radiantly beautiful than ever; and I could not believe that she was dead. The lips were red, nay redder than before; and on the cheeks was a delicate bloom"( Stoker, 1897, Chapter XV).

"She Charms me"(Stoker 1897, Chapter IX), is said by Dr Helsing to Lucy's fiancee. This description of Lucy refers to before she started getting ill and having a pale dull complexion. She had a charming personality, sexual and beautiful. Yet again Dr Helsing saying that seems a little weird as he is only their to cure her. This raises a question to why he would say something like that.

As I want to create my version of Lucy after she dies and the state that she is un-dead, I would like to concentrate on how she was described after she turned into a vampire. Looking at the quote above she is described as more radiant than ever. To me it just seems a little not true as when someone dies due to the lack of oxygen and blood their skin appears to be really pale. Pale in the sense of having a yellow sallow look or a pale white look.

Looking at herself Lucy describes herself as, "My face is ghastly pale and my throat pains me"(Stoker 1897, Chapter IX). This was after she had been attacked by Dracula. Her pale complexion would be because of the lost blood as, her fiancee assumed that she is terribly anaemic but this was not the case. As she has a pale complexion for my final assessment I would like to keep this. However, I would like it to be as pale as possible keeping in mind that my final design has to be based in the Victorian period.

Her fiancee described her as, "Lucy is ill and she looks awful"(Stoker 1897, Chapter IX). To add to this she described herself as being so ill and worn out. In my opinion this would be due to the sleepless nights, the fear and she had frightening nightmares and also the loss of tremendous blood. As she was ill, for my final assessment I would like to have shadows under the eyes to make her appear un-dead as well as it being due to her weakness and illness. I would like to use yellows. browns and burgundy purples to create a sallow yet ill complexion making sure not to be too dramatic and theatrical. This could also have a very hypnotic look to it as we always have the tendency to look at the unusual.

Looking at Lucy's character, some critics say she demonstrates that Dracula represents the un-known. This means that she makes us believe what is our sub-conscious mind and not in our conscious mind. This might be because of desire of pleasure and the hypnotic state. Lucy is also presented as sexually aggressive, where some critics argue that why was she presented that way was it because she is a woman or as she was Dracula's first victim are women seen to be more weaker than men.

As she was described as having lips that were more red after she died, it got me thinking whether this was over exaggerated in the book. This is because during the Victorian era women would just have a wash of colour on the lips and not a dark strong bold colour. Also, Lucy having red lips would this be perfect lips that are outlined in the perfect shape, would it be just a dab of colour around the lips or would it be in fact be blood as she is now an un-dead creature. The significance of the red colour could also have several meanings. It could represent, danger, love, lust or romance.

Her pale complexion also raises a few questions. How pale could she be after she dies? As in the Victorian times the higher class had a pale complexion and the working class always had a sun tan as they were always out in the sun. Now after Lucy dies how much more pale does she get. Does she go from being pale already to white or a sallow pale.


Ref:
Stoker, B. 1897, Dracula. The Country Life Press: New York
Punter D, 1996. The Literature Of Terror: The Modern Gothic. Wesley Longman, New York