After reading "The Bloody Countess", I am amazed at the similarities in the views towards women and sexuality it shares with Dracula.
Throughout the piece, there are numerous occasions of heavy sexual descriptions, as well as many of the violent behaviors of Countess Bathory being ways of her receiving pleasures that are similar to sex. After reading Dracula and seeing how women with rampant sexual appetites were viewed as demonic, I can't help but notice the same sort of feelings being insinuated in "The Bloody Countess".
I looked up some more information on this story. I even googled some images. I found one painting/drawing on the first page of my search that I thought related really well to what I was talking about above. Unfortunately, I can't post it on here because it depicts two woman with no clothes.
In the picture, the Countess is shown in her all white dress, and a veil covers her face. Behind her are two women and a skeleton each with three figures clad in all black. One has the face of a raven (I believe), and the other in the shape of some other grotesque monster. To me, the picture shows these women dancing in a very riskay manner with these dark beings. These dark beings are demons, and by showing the voluptuous women dancing with these demons the artist is depicting how being filled with such carnal desires is demonic.
If you wish to see the picture yourself, its pretty easy to find. Just go to google images and type in "the bloody countess". On the first page, there are two different times this picture appears so you can't miss it.
I agree with you on that the Countess tries to lower the peasant girl's self esteem down to that of animals. I think that she does this in order to gain a psychological advantage over them. By putting them in a room surrounded by animals, in this case black cats, she is trying to make them feel like animals. This gives her a lot more control over them mentally and physically.
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