In Dracula, there are two distinct kinds of women portrayed, and they represent the sexual situation of the Victorian era.If Mina Harker is the image of the perfect Victorian woman, then Lucy Westenra is the expression of the aberrant woman. In Appendix G: Gender of the Penguin Classics edition of the novel, there are many articles that portray the common beliefs of the Victorians in regards to sexuality and the woman’s place in society.
Lucy's Personality
Lucy displays traits that Lombroso and Ferrero associate with female lunacy. For example, they say that an insane woman will try "to attract every man she sees" (Appendix 478). One of the first things we discover in the novel is that Lucy has led on three men to the point that all three of them propose to her in the same day (Stoker 64).
Compared to the "Good Woman"
A woman in line with the Angel of the House mold (such as Mina Harker—the submissive woman) would not have done so, but instead would have been exclusive to the one man of her favor (such as Mina was to Jonathan) instead of flirting with others as well as her object of interest.
After Lucy's transformation into a vampire, she again displays more characteristics that are said to belong to the female lunatic: "fetid breath, and a tendancy to bite" (Appendix 478). These traits, of course, are common to all vampires.
Masculinity and Femininity in Women
Lucy and Mina are juxtaposed by Stoker to express the two levels of womanly conduct, one acceptable and one unacceptable, one acting feminine and one acting masculine, with Lucy being on the unfavorable (masculine) side. Because of her natural promiscuity (a trait seen as reserved for men, not women), she is susceptible to Dracula's bite, and succumbs to vampirism rather quickly compared to Mina.
Angel of the House vs. the New Woman
Mina, on the other hand, with her natural inclination as an Angel, was able to use her vampiric episode to benefit the group of hunters through her connection with Dracula (Stoker 332). Lucy's passion must be brought under control, and eventually it is through her staking. She has become a "Thing" (Stoker 230).
Her vampiric self is representative of her passions and desires which she has been indulging in thus far. Her femininity and purity are restored only after the "Thing" is destroyed. Here we have the Angel spared, and the "New Woman" who challenges the norms disposed of. The positioning of these two women by Stoker shows his support for the general belief of woman's place in society.
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