Who is Mina Murray?

The character Mina Murray appears in several storylines, including Dracula and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, that take place during and after the Victorian Era. This era contained debates at the time regarding women’s suffrage. Mina’s character signifies the transition and change in women’s roles in society. She has qualities that can relate to multiple controversial ideas at that time regarding women. Those include women’s intellect, their qualities of thought, and the importance of their roles in their families and the community. Throughout her appearances in the stories, she always has character foils alongside her that emphasize her qualities as a leader and a traditional but also modernized woman. Mina’s character is a depiction of the idealized feminine figure, which is subordinate to all men and maintains the identity of a housewife. Simultaneously, she is a figure that foreshadows the women of the twentieth century, when women are independent and active members of the society. These are supported through the actions she takes and the decisions she makes throughout her journey across multiple stories. Mina Murray’s character contains significant attributes that allow her to be contrasted with other characters in her stories and to stand between the definitions of the idealized Victorian women and women of the modern era.

Mina’s character qualities in Dracula are highlighted by those around her. Mina and Lucy are placed under similar circumstances early in the novel and their actions are displayed and contrasted. Taking Mina’s letter to Lucy to comparison with that of Lucy to Mina, the basic insights to their personalities are revealed. While both in love with their respective fiancés, Mina and Lucy display their affections in manners that differ from each other. Lucy shows a traditional and contrived form of excitement in her letter to Mina bout Arthur. She writes, “I love him. I am blushing as I write … I love him. I love him! … I am afraid to stop, or I should tear up in the letter” (Stoker 52). She showcases her innocent nature and desire for love. She seems to live in a paradise now that she is proposed to. Lucy also comments, “Why are men so noble when we women are so little worthy of them?” (Stoker 54). She becomes overwhelmed with joy when she talks about her love and shows her sexual desire to wish that “they let a girl marry three men, or as many as want her” (Stoker 55). Lucy depicts an example of a woman whose actions are driven by her emotions. She represents the nature of traditional Victorian women, who thinks that men are superior beings and that women should devote their lives to them.
Mina on the other hand, shows a calm and self-controlled affection to Jonathan. The manner in which she writes to Lucy about Jonathan displays her composed nature. This does not indicate her love for Jonathan is any less than that of Lucy for Arthur; it rather displays her ability to stay rational and not become impulsive. Her actions are driven by logic and reason. She is able to consider where Jonathan may need help and tries to assist him where necessary. While she is anxious for Jonathan, whom she has not heard from for a month, she expresses her anxiety with control and composure. After she reads the supposed letter from Jonathan explaining that he is coming home, she claims, “That is not like Jonathan. [She] [Does] not understand it, and it makes [her] uneasy” (Stoker 66). Even while she feels troubled and anxious, she is able to maintain her logical mind and identify the ambiguity that lies in the letter she reads. If Lucy were put into the same scenario, she most likely would not question the letter and simply become delighted by its presence. Lucy could become overwhelmed by her emotions and act impulsively. In contrast, while Mina feels emotions, she manages to take more control over them than traditional women of her time. One of Lucy’s major purposes is to serve as a character foil for Mina. While they both share certain traditional beliefs regarding women, as they think men are above women and women should rightfully serve them, the manner that they carry out their actions are contrastive of each other.
Mina’s distinctive character traits are also displayed in her appearance in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, as her persona is contrasted by other members of the league. Her showcase of selflessness, when she dresses as a prostitute and puts her life at risk to lure out Hyde, contrasts with the selfishness of the invisible man, who tries to flee for his survival without his comrades at the end of the graphic novel. That aspect of Mina also opposes the egotism of Nemo, where he shows extreme displeasure while dressed as a manservant during a mission. Mina shows elaborate organization and coordination in her plans, which is opposite of Hyde, who loses control over himself and relies on brutality. Allan Quatermain seems to disagree with the Mina’s character nature as he “pray God that all English women are not now of [her] manly ilk” (Moore et al). He holds the traditional Victorian view on women and heavily differentiates them by gender. Throughout her journey in the graphic novel, Mina’s character is put against its characters to emphasize the absurd idea at the time to have a woman be the one who possess power over men.
Women of the Victoria era are idealized figures at that time. They devote their lives to their families as wives and mothers. Theirs thoughts and values are once believed to be inferior to those of men and thus do not have the right to vote or work. Mina has traits that allow her to fulfil certain aspects of this idealized feminine figure. She humbly undermines her own abilities and praises those of men around her. Although she signifies the change in women’s roles, there are parts of her that still believe that women are not capable to achieve the same quality of work and results as men. Similar to Lucy’s remark earlier in the novel, Mina says to the men "that all that brave earnest men can do for a poor weak woman…you will do” (Stoker 298). Van Helsing says that,“[they] shall act all the more free that [she] is not in the danger, such as [they] are” (Stoker 218). Val Helsing believes Mina would burden them if she goes with them and Mina accepts it. She sees herself, like all other women, as subordinate figures to men. Her beliefs in the traditional feminine values are emphasized as she pleads the men to destroy her at the moment she becomes a vampire. This relates to the idea that women in the Victorian era make the sacrifices for the benefit of the family.
The stories that Mina is in take place during a period in history when women’s values are viewed differently. They begin to participate and take parts in events and groups that once prohibited women. Mina is the only woman in Van Helsing’s group of men who kills Dracula at the end of the novel. Likewise, in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Mina is not only the only female member of the league, but also acts as the leader.
At the stories’ critical points in both Dracula and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Mina is able to contribute substantially to help resolve the crisis. In the graphic novel, Mina manages to destroy the Cavorite on the flying war-chariot. In Dracula, she uses her telekinetic connection with Dracula to inform the men of his whereabouts and his movements, which ultimately leads to the finding and the end of the Count.
Despite her traditional beliefs if women’s values, Mina’s character foreshadows the women who are part of society today. Her idea that she should study with Jonathan “able to be useful to Jonathan” (Stoker 50) suggests that she desires and is capable of roles beyond a housewife. Her thoughts are considered to be ambitious at that time, as she wants to work alongside her husband. She also works as a schoolteacher, further suggesting her independency by allowing herself to earn her own income. Moreover, it signifies the future where women obtain full access to education and working environments.
While her idea to have her destroyed before she turns evil holds certain traditional Victorian value, it is also an act of selfless sacrifice that requires substantial courage from Mina for her to be the one who suggests it. Before the group pursues Dracula towards the end of the novel, Mina insists to travel with the men to Varna. Realizing her life would be at its end if Dracula is not destroyed, she remarks “whilst the sun is coming up. [She] may not be able again” (Stoker 295). Rather than sit in her bed and accept her fate while she relies on the men to fight in an attempt to preserve her life, she decides to travel with them to try to do so herself. Although she is not the one who kills Dracula, her acts to attempt to defy her fate strongly indicate her independent nature.
Mina, unlike traditional women at the time of the story, takes on roles that involve substantial intellect and courage. These traits were believed by many during the Victorian era, including the women themselves, to be lacking or non-existent in females. Women at the time were thought to be suited for domestic duties and were subsidiary to men. Mina, however, demonstrates to those around her, who underestimate her for her gender, that her intellect and courage are not less than those of any man and that she is capable of significant contributions during a crisis. These qualities of Mina are similar to those that could be found in women in modern society. Her character is therefore a prototype of today’s women that foreshadows their roles and capabilities in the coming century.
Mina Murray’s has qualities that allow her character to have much more value and meaning than simply her role and actions in her stories. While Mina satisfies certain attributes to the idealized Victorian women, she counter-intuitively holds qualities that represent the women in modern society. At the same time, her character traits are highlighted and emphasized through contrast with those of the characters who are in the stories with her. Mina’s actions allow her to be depicted as an independent woman of the modern era. However, her mind still remains as that of a traditional Victorian woman. She is the only female among a group of men in both Dracula and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and has made significant contributions to the events in both stories. Her presence in those stories represents a transitional period for women in history of the fictional as well as the real world. Mina’s character, like women’s rights and values during the time when her stories take place, is under development with disputed ideas and believes. Mina Murray is a character that depicts the ideas and values of women in the past while she also symbolizes the potentials and ambitions of the women in the future.

Works Cited Stoker, Bram. Dracula. Archibald Constable and (UK), 1897. Print. Moore, Alan, and Kevin O’Neill. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. La Jolla: Wildstorm Productions, 1999. Print.