During the Victorian era, there was a rise in tension between the Protestant church and the Catholic church. The majority of people in England practiced Protestant religion, but Dracula is about a blood-thirsty vampire that meets his demise with the use of the Catholic religion. Mina, Jonathan Harker, Van Helsing, John Seward, Arthur Holmwood and Quincey Morris use a variety of symbols from Catholicism that kills Dracula and protects them from being harmed. Dracula is a Satanic being that in the end meets his defeat by the power of God. In the novel Dracula, Bram Stoker uses various Catholic symbols in the fight against Dracula, the antichrist, to illustrate the good of the Catholic religion and the promise of its salvation.
The crucifix is …show more content…
Dr. Abraham Van Helsing, a Dutch Scientist, and the only Catholic among the group, combines science and ancient beliefs to bring an end to Dracula. Van Helsing first introduces the Host in the tomb of Lucy, where he describes how the Host will keep her coffin sealed. “I am closing the tomb, so that the Un-Dead may not enter” (225). By doing this he is protecting her body and warding off any evils that may want to harm her. In her article “Crucifix, Communion, and Convent: The Real Presence of Anglican Ritualism in Bram Stoker’s Dracula”, Noelle Bowles argues that, “The other men's belief is irrelevant to the power of the Host and, as with Harker and his crucifix, they, too, come to embrace the Real Presence of the divine in what had seemed at first mere Symbolism.” (Bowles 18) At first, the team was hesitant when Van Helsing introduces the Host, but once they see how it works, their beliefs of Catholicism is revived. Once they trust its abilities, they use the Holy Host in a variety of other instances. Similarly to the crucifix, they utilize it to ward off Dracula and protect them from harm. In addition to that, they place the Holy Host in the coffins of Dracula so that he could no longer enter them. Another example of the functions of the Host is when Van Helsing touches the Sacred Wafer to Mina’s forehead and scars her to protect her from Dracula’s powers. All of these examples provide the …show more content…
This is why Catholic religious symbols are so heavily used. His Satanic features and principles are why the Catholic symbols are so effective in his demise. In Varnado’s article “The Daemonic in Dracula”, he describes how Stoker alludes Dracula to the Devil and how the vampire hunters must destroy him. He says, “Although Van Helsing is a notable scientist, he realizes that science is powerless against Dracula and for help he turns to his deeply held Catholic faith and to white magic. Dracula by contrast, employs black magic” (Varnado 35). In this article he describes the qualities of Dracula and how he relates to the Devil. As well as how the vampire hunters use their purity to overcome this demonic figure. Mina, Van Helsing, Jonathan, Dr. Seward, Quincey, and Arthur all realize who they are fighting. With this knowledge they compare themselves to old knights of the cross fighting to redeem the good and destroy the evil. “Thus are we ministers of God’s own wish. That the world, and men for whom His Son die, will not be given over to monsters, whose very existence would defame Him… and we go out as the old knights of the Cross to redeem more... And like them, if we fall, we fall in good cause” (Stoker 347). They are aware that their fight against Dracula may end with their death, but they are willing to risk their lives to save humanity from the Devil. Although Dracula is a challenging defeat, the team believes