Religious Symbolism In Dracula

Vampires have been around for centuries, they represent the fear of many things such as sexuality, race, gender, etc. and above all, they stand for the fear of diseases. Vampires have once been the symbol of horror due to their terrific depictions and were described as a threat to the humanity. Throughout time, the image of vampire has changed dramatically from a monstrous, inhumanely creature that doesn’t belong to human society to such an attractive and adaptive figure that expresses more of the human side than the evil. They developed human feelings, senses, and live within our society. Modern vampire movies are often more romantic and “sympathetic” comparing to the past. Vampires have abandoned their horror and evolved to a more

Bram Stoker's Dracula is highly acclaimed and has received many different interpretations which deal with complex symbolisms and metaphors. These interpretations often require a great deal of knowledge in psychology, political science, anthropology, and other non-literary disciplines. These interpretations may be valid, as they are related to the disciplines on which their arguments are based, but the true power of the novel is due to a very simple theme that lies beneath the other, more convoluted interpretations. This theme is the universal concept of identity: us versus them. This criticism sets aside outside disciplines and focuses on the literary motif of identity. John

Unremarkable though it may seem, to affirm the obvious truism that Bram Stoker’s Dracula originates from a century that historians often describe as the most significant in terms of revolutionary ideology, whilst wishing to avoid the clichéd view held, it is undeniable that the more one delves into the depths of this novel the greater wealth of meaning demonstrates significant correlation with Marxist ideology. The 19th Century saw the emergence of revolutionary socialist Karl Marx, who himself used the vampire metaphor to describe the capitalist system as ‘dead labour which, vampire like, lives only by sucking living labour’. Through Stoker’s opulent use of narrative structure, use of setting and imagery, this novel presents a multiple

Bram Stoker’s Dracula does not follow the norm of the nineteenth century novels, that is, it is not written in a straightforward narrative but instead comprises of a collection of letters, journal entries and diary scrawls. Apart from that, it also includes a ship's log, numberless clippings from newspaper and also, a "phonograph diary.” This form of writing invariably helps in developing the “mystery” aspect of this horror novel since it either gives us no information about a particular thing or gives us information from various points of view so that it is impossible for the readers to come to one conclusion and they keep playing with different possibilities in their minds.

“Despite the claimed reverence for puritan ideals, the Victorian era brought numerous challenges to Christianity, including the growing trends of materialism, rationalism, communism, and "higher criticism" of the Bible.” (WEB). There was a lot of controversy going on at that time so people were beginning to doubt their religion and the church, these people who were against God were seen as immoral just as Dracula seen as. Just like Mina and Lucy were infected by sinful blood, the people in that time were also brainwashed by scientists to believe that religion was not true. However Bram Stoker reinforced his universal truth to show that in this context, religion was the good and that scientists were the bad of that time. “A great number of people were habitual church-goers, at least once and probably twice, every Sunday. The Bible was frequently and widely read by people of every class; so too were religious stories and allegories.” (WEB). Although some people went astray of their religion, a large part of the population was still true to their roots and followed religious practices. The church’s main goal was to increase its followers, usually the ones off track were brought back only when the doubt was destroyed; Mina’s process of conversion was stopped the same when Dracula was destroyed. Being religious meant the god would keep you in health and if you were evil then you would have a terrible life. Stoker described

Because the Victorian Era was an age so heavily influenced by religion, it is hardly surprising, that Bram Stoker’s Dracula contains many religious references. The Victorian Era was a time period from 1837 to 1901, during which Queen Victoria reigned in the United Kingdom. During this time, women were expected to be quiet, proper, and pure. All people were expected to attend church, and sexuality was incredibly censored. Religion played an influencing role in Victorian art including visual and literary. Likewise, the fear of being sinful, or not following the Bible was still a fear from the under educated members of society. The prominent branches of Christianity in this era, Protestants and Catholics, dominated the popular culture of western societies. Given the religious context of the Victorian Era, Vampires in Bram Stoker’s Dracula represent sin and have inherently sinful behavior, whereas the humans represents goodness and religion, no matter which kind of religion.

This paper will discuss the novel, Dracula by Bram Stoker published in 1897 and its reoccurring theme of religion. The following paper will explore Stoker’s representation of varying characters on a religious quest to destroy Dracula. In addition, the paper will look at stoker’s process intended to reinforce and spread religion as well as east versus west intertwined with his process.

A key element of the fantasy / horror / gothic genres is to fascinate and intrigue readers through stories that pose the “what if” questions, thereby teaching us something new about the society we live in. Sometimes these stories are helpful in explaining difficult concepts of good and evil, science and religion. In Bram Stoker’s Dracula and Richard Matheson’s I Am Legend, the mythical horror creatures, the vampires, have many differences in their mythical abilities, functionality and origin; however, they both serve to underline themes that remind the reader of what makes us human and what defines us as ultimately good or evil. Stoker’s Count Dracula is the product of a religious strike against the antagonist whereas the vampires in I Am

Symbols such as the Crucifix suffice as a foreshadowing as the Anti-Christianity in Dracula and the concept of vampires. Count Dracula promotes Anti-Christianity by his actions as well as his weakness. Count Dracula promotes Anti-Christianity as his actions are against Catholic belief. Catholic belief

“Vampire Religion” is an article written about Bram Stoker’s “Dracula.” The article is one that was found very useful in reading and understanding the story. Christopher Herbert, the author, argues of the importance that religion and events of the world played on the writing of “Dracula.” There are two parts to the article, one is “Religion/Superstition” and the second part is “The Vampire in the Church.” Both parts are vital to the article.

As we all know Dracula not only has to do with the horror, blood and vampires, but religion, christianity and the Victorian society that play a huge role in the story. These topics all have a reasonable amount of influence on how Dracula was written, and how the various themes in Dracula were developed. The input of religion is seen from the start all the way to the ending no doubt about it. In addition, there are also various examples of how the Victorian society also mixed in with religion, like the ideas of people back then and what they thought was wrong and right due to society’s beliefs . The exploration of thoughts and ideas by all the characters regarding what is wrong and right due to society and religion is also easily seen throughout the story. In the novel Dracula, written by Bram Stoker, the Victorian society influenced overall in the way it was written, and how their beliefs at this time of Christianity are being explored to these new ideas.

Dracula’s actions are also significant in explaining how he might represent the evil of the devil in that Dracula’s actions are perversions of Christian ideals or beliefs, just as the devil. The most notable of these perversions is the way in which Dracula is able to survive, taking blood from humans. This could be taken to be a perversion of Communion. In the book of John in the Bible, Jesus tells his

When Jonathan Harker is on his way to Castle Dracula, unsuspecting of what will come, the villagers give him a Crucifix, for which he doesn't know what to do with, because he is an “English Churchman” which refers to the Anglican Church, and he thinks that such things are idolatrous. It also describes later in the novel how he would slay Dracula as a service to God. Another character in the story of which we hear about religiously, is Dr. Van Helsing, who is a devout catholic. The book does not go into the major details of Helsing’s religious background, but through his actions you get to see that he is highly committed. When Lucy becomes a Vampire, he takes it as his duty to put her to rest completely, even if it puts himself in danger, he is willing to die for others around him.

Similar to how people abandoned religion in pursuit of science and advancement, Count Dracula perverts the Christian faith to obtain more power. The very basis of vampirism includes the same elements of Christianity,

Dracula, a novel capturing the true emotional and physical turmoil of its characters, is set to music by the song “Help Our Souls” by the NIHILS. Firstly, in the song, it clearly states, “Help our souls tonight.” This phrase captures, truly and simply, the longings of Dracula’s major characters. As said by Harker, “We are in the hands of God,” (332) and “We must hope…God will aid us in the end,” (269). These statements show the desire the characters have that the Lord will help their souls in the end. Secondly, this song covers the unity and reliance the major characters had upon each other. The characters had to work together to succeed for if they did not, they would fail in their fight against the Count, and, as said by Van Helsing, “if