The Dangers of Female Sexuality: Contagion, Infection, and Disease in Gothic Vampire Narratives

Abstract

This essay analyses themes of contagion, infection, and disease in Gothic vampire narratives, specifically Sheridan Le Fanu’s “Carmilla” and Bram Stoker’s Dracula. It argues that metaphors of disease and contagion propose that men must constrain female sexuality to preserve society’s morality.