Lair Of The White Worm And The Victorian Era

Although The Lair of the White Worm is not one of Bram Stoker’s most acclaimed novels, its characteristics help to maintain its importance in the literary world. Not only did he challenge the traditional gender roles for women, he also incorporated many of the same themes from the Victorian/Gothic literary period. In the Victorian England society, women were considered weak and inferior to men, which is why many believed they functioned best for society in the home taking care of the husbands and children. (Hughes, n.p.). Women were supposed to view marriage as a way to raise a family instead of using it to fill an emotional or sexual void. (Hughes, n.p.). The “ideal woman” in the Victorian era was one who was fully devoted to her family,
as well as God, and was morally respectable, meaning she knew her place in the social hierarchy and did not attempt to rebel against society’s rules. (Arbams, n.p.). One of the novel’s main characters, Lady Arabella, was not what the Victorian society considered to be the “perfect woman”. She was in debt, which was not common for a Victorian woman since the husbands made the financial decisions, and was only looking to marry Mr. Edgar Caswall in order to use his wealth to pay off her debts. “He [Adam Salton] thought much during that journey and came to several conclusions, though his lips were unmoved. One of these conclusions was that he would be very careful about paying any attention to Lady Arabella. He was himself a rich, how rich not even his uncle had the least idea,...” (Stoker 33-34). Although at the time Adam was not entirely sure of her motives, he knew she could possibly threaten the wealth and reputation of the Salton family. Lady Arabella also continued to show interest in Mr. Caswall, even after he made it clear that he himself was not interested in her in the same way. “Her debts, always pressing, were growing to an embarrassing amount. The only hope she had of comfort in life was a good marriage; but the good marriage on which she fixed her eye did not seem to move quickly enough-indeed, it did not seem to move at all-in the right direction.” (Stoker 121). A woman who continued to pursue a man who did not show the same interest in her was viewed as a gold digger and was highly looked down upon by the rest of society. Lady Arabella also challenged the idea that women were incompetent by developing, and ultimately succeeding with, a plan to kill Mr. Caswall. “The great difficulty she had was how to get near him. He was shut up within his Castle, and guarded by a defence of convention which she could not pass without danger of ill repute to herself. Over this question she thought and thought for days and nights. At last she thought she saw a way of getting at him.” (Stoker 122). In addition, Lady Arabella’s character was one that was used to intimidate both women and men. She was referred to as the “white worm”, “ … a monster of vast size and power-a veritable dragon or serpent … ” (Stoker 50). She chased three other characters into the woods after her failed attempt at capturing them. A woman in Victorian England would not have this type of influence over others, especially men, unless accompanied by another a man. Another female character, Mimi Watford, also helped in changing the perspective that men are stronger than women because she won all three of the psychic staring matches between her and Mr. Caswall. “She seemed to tower over Caswall, and he to give back before her oncoming. Once again her vigorous passes drove him to the door. He was just going out backward when Lady Arabella, who had been gazing at him with fixed eyes, caught his hand and tried to stop his retrograde movement. She was, however, unable to stop him, and so holding hands they passed out together.” (Stoker 135). If these two women were part of the English society in the late 1800s, they would not have the same impact on men as they do in the novel. Since they never lost respect or were not forced to step down in the social hierarchy based on the control they exerted over men suggests that Stoker did not want his female characters to live with the same constraints women in Victorian England did. The Lair of the White Worm included many characteristics of the Victorian era as well as characteristics from the Gothic era, since the Victorian movement maintained some writing styles of the Gothic period.
(Barrett, n.p.). The most prevalent theme in Stoker’s novel is the battle of good versus evil. Although the intentions of Lady Arabella and Caswall are never made clear, it is evident throughout the book they are the villains that Adam and Sir Nathaniel, an old Salton family friend, have to defeat. “As the sand is being poured into the well-hole at intervals, large quantities of dynamite can also be thrown in!” (Stoker 256). Here, Adam and Sir Nathaniel are coming up with possible ways to finally destroy the white worm. Stoker’s novel also explored the idea of supernatural powers with Lady Arabella’s character also being the white worm and the psychic staring matches between Mimi and Mr. Caswall. It was never explained whether or not Lady Arabella is able to shapeshift into the white worm or if a spirit takes the form of her body, however, it is clear that she is in some way related to the serpent. “‘Would it not be well, sir, if some one of us should see this monster in her real shape at close quarters?” (Stoker 219). Mr. Caswall made it a priority to try and find one of Mimi’s weaknesses after she defeated him in the first match. “He [Mr. Caswall] began his preliminary stare with a conscious sense of power, and, as it appeared to have immediate effect on the girl, he felt an ever-growing conviction of ultimate victory.” (Stoker 268). The Lair of the White Worm was also focused around the ideas of life, death, and the
un-dead.