What WAS Bram Stoker's dysfunction?

During boring portions at work, I've been listening to the Librivox recording of Dracula, by Bram Stoker. I've already read it, so this time around I'm actually able to pay attention to the particulars rather than just the overall story.

And Bram Stoker is absolutely obsessed with the 'greatness' of the male gender. It's crazy. Listening to his female characters is bad enough, but now his male ones have gotten in on the act, and... Geez, you'd think British men were some oppressed underclass trying to prove their worth in 1897.

For example, Lucy in a letter to Mina: "My dear Mina, why are men so noble when we women are so little worthy of them?" I mean, that's... ludicrous! No woman has ever spoken to her closest female friend like that. (Well, obviously I can't say that literally, I'm sure one has sometime. But it's not very realistic.)

Mina has a nice little worthless aside deriding the "New Woman" of her time. (That would be those pesky women who wanted to do things like ride bicycles and vote. Gasp!) And what makes this ludicrous is that most characterization of Mina suggest that she would BE a New Woman. She types, which was often a man's skill. She knows shorthand, which was mainly a man's skill. She intends to help Jonathan in his office once they're married -- not exactly homekeeping, ne? She travels alone -- ABROAD, even. I can't say Mina would be marching as a suffragette, but there's nothing else in her character to make you think she would deride them, and much to make you think she would at least sympathize.

And it's not just the women who are all "Men rule, women drool." I got to this bit from Van Helsing, and had to keep from just laughing.
"A brave man's blood is the best thing on this earth when a woman is in trouble. You're a man and no mistake. Well, the devil may work against us for all he's worth, but God sends us men when we want them."

*snert* Come off of it already. What IS the deal?