Religion And Superstition In Dracula

In Dracula written by Bram Stoker there is a constant battle between reason using superstition and rationality. Jonathan and Seward are both British men and subsequently express a more rational mindset. As the text continues and Dracula plays a larger role, the characters are forced to use a superstition to describe his role. By the end of the text, Jonathan and Seward use spiritual reasoning to defeat Dracula. Yet these characters use spiritual reasoning, scientific reason becomes the successor because throughout England, rationality is the more adopted method. Stoker uses these characters suggest that even though rationality is the greater successor, the spiritual ideas are still maintained. Rationality and superstition maintain

Religion was a major theme in the book. Religion had a major impact on how the

    In the novel Dracula, by Bram Stoker, there is much evidence of foreshadowing and parallels to other myths.  Dracula was not the first story featuring a vampire myth, nor was it the last.  Some would even argue that it was not the best.  However, it was the most original, using foreshadowing and mood to create horrific imagery, mythical parallels to draw upon a source of superstition, and original narrative elements that make this story unique.

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.

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

Throughout the Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula, one is presented with the presence of many Christian ideals and symbols throughout the text. Count Dracula’s appearance and actions seem to display the perversion of various Christian ideals and symbols and Dr. Van Helsing uses various Christian symbols to defeat Count Dracula. Given that Van Helsing and his posse are able to use the Christian imagery to drive Dracula back to Castle Dracula and eventually defeat him, Stoker might be suggesting that the power of the Christianity and the Christian God will always prevail in a match against evil and the devil.

If Christianity is abandoned, then people will become the monster that vampires are. This is seen in the vampires’ perversion of the Christian faith, the power that Christian icons hold over vampires, and the theme of sexuality.

“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.

In the narrative, science is not what causes the protagonists to doubt God, it gives a means for followers to deal with any uncertainty. Other characters' private affairs are intruded upon by Van Helsing who disrupts their ethical universe. The embracing of another person’s beliefs into the community is entailed in every instance of textualization (Pordzik). Dracula shows the Victorian fear and uneasiness of having a progressive society. Reinfield, through his cell window, sees him visiting Lucy Westernas lodging in the guise of a black bat.

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.

A creature of disturbing wickedness, Dracula is not fulfilled by merely controlling the body of humans, but he also yearns for the domination over the soul of mortal beings. This calls to mind the image of a distinctly anti-Christian vision. The first image of Dracula reinforces the idea that he is not a simple villain but a complex one. As Jonathon Harker ventures to meet Dracula, he witnesses Dracula’s control and mastery of beasts: “How he came there, I know not, but I heard his voice raised in a tone of imperious command, and looking towards the sound, saw him stand in the roadway. As he swept his long arms, as though brushing aside some impalpable obstacle, the wolves fell back and back further still” (pg.11). While we are to believe that Christ gained his power over the environment and its inhabitants through His divinity, we are left to ponder where Dracula may have accumulated his power. While Jesus chose to use his power for good, Dracula’s accumulated power acts as a dark mirror being used for evil.

Dracula is a novel composed of letters, diary entries, and journal entries. There are also occasionally newspaper clippings in this novel as well. The novel reads as a vampire story in Transylvania. Though Dracula can be read that way, the novel has a “strong religious thrust of this novel has correspondingly been ignored, not to say suppressed…” (Herbert 100). While Dracula often reads as a horror novel and has been interpreted by some readers as anti-religious, it nevertheless contains religious symbols, and Christian themes. This paper argues that Dracula can be read as a salvation narrative.

Those who seek power will stop at no cost, sacrificing anything to accomplish their conquest, losing sight of who they are in the process, eventually twisted by the power they possess until they become evil. Christianity is a necessity in society and Bram Stoker tells a cautionary tale about abandoning one’s faith in his novel Dracula. During Stoker’s time, the rampant introduction of new technologies following the first Industrial Revolution and during the second caused many to abandon their Christian beliefs in the pursuit of science and advancement. With the abundance of discoveries and improvement of life, “God was not only no longer necessary for progress, but he was not necessary for life itself” and “science would become the new faith of the masses” (Christy). However, without Christian faith, people lost sight of the values and morals associated with it, essentially becoming soulless without it. Stoker utilizes vampires to symbolize the religious condemnation of society upon turning away from Christian values. If Christianity is abandoned, then people will become the monsters that vampires are. Stoker’s warning is seen through the vampires’ perversion of the Christian faith, the power that Christian icons hold over vampires, and the theme of sexuality.

Orlomoski, Caitlyn, "From Monsters to Victims: Vampires and Their Cultural Evolution from the Nineteenth to the Twenty-First Century" (2011). Honors Scholar Theses. Paper 208.

Dracula being the main character in the novel, everything revolves around him. He has a lot of power and recruited followers. Since he is a vampire, he never dies, and he lives sucking the blood of the living. Jonathan Hankers sets