Victorian Literature: The Corruption of Christianity in Dracula

In the 19th century, Christianity suffered a decline of faith. Scientific discoveries and the publication of rational studies of the Bible as a historical book and not as God’s word, like The life of Jesus (1808-74) from David Strauss, contributed to the decrease of the Christian belief. Moreover, the publication of theories like On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural selection (1859) from Charles Darwin enforced the idea that God was not the Creator. On the other side, the literature of that period reflected a strong fear of foreign invasion by the Victorian society.

In this way, Dracula is a novel, which background’s, reflects the fear of the 19th century reader of losing the style of life they knew and the way to establish it as it was before. In the novel, this fear is presented as a foreign monster that perverts the most susceptible being, the women.

Many scholars understood the novel as an allegory of non-supernatural issues that occurred at the end of the 19th century.

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In order to fight Dracula, Christian symbols are used, like crucifixes and communion wafers. The use of this symbols can be seen as hypocrite -due to Victorian society’s decision to trust in science-. However if we realize that count Dracula is seen as the personification of the Devil, the use of religious symbols and religious rituals must not be strange, symbols of the good forces are used to combat a very dangerous one. According to Steven Herbert, the crucifix “symbolizes the surrender of ego to Spirit so necessary to achieve Wholeness.

This powerful archetype embodies the message that the lower nature of man must die first before the Higher nature can be resurrected” that means, in Landix words, “that the Flesh and the Spirit are conflicting and the crucifix represents the Spirit triumphing over the flesh to achieve eternal salvation”. So that the crucifix represents the restoration of their customs and principles.

On the other side, an other important point is what the character of Count Dracula really represents. As it is said before, Dracula, in the background, represents a foreign threat that tries to pervert the English society principles. Through the appearance of a demonic creature, with red eyes and fangs, which represents the devil personification. In other words, it represents the fear of the change, either by an external physical threat or the threat of the arrival of new modern ideas that represented the disrupt of their society values and norms. The most susceptible being were women, that were not strong enough to avoid Dracula’s enchantment to avoid being infected, as they are more probable to get pervert with the new modern foreign ideas.

Mina’s character represents the perfect Victorian women that follows the patriarchal and religious model, whereas Lucy that do not as soon as she became infected like the three vampire women. They represent independence, erotism and non-maternal feelings and behaviour that are not well seen in the Victorian times. Mina represents the patriarchal middle class model, she is sweet and domesticated. She does not let the vampire pervert her and fight against it. Unfortunately, when Lucy becomes infected the only way to be saved was through death. As she became a night creature, only the use of Christian symbols and rituals employed by the perfect Anglican men could save her soul from the eternity.

In the novel, despite the use of Christian symbols, the constant use of pagan symbols are justified and necessary in order to get rid of the threat that vampirism implies. However, despite the combination of these factors it is important to follow the Christian and patriarchal perfect model, mostly the women. An example of this situation can be seen in chapter XXVII, when Mina is tempted to choose vampirism by the three women that tries to seduce her with her provocative and hypnotize voice, but she prefers to follow the patriarchal role model:

“They smiled ever at poor dear Madam Mina, and as their laugh came through the silence of the night, they twined their arms and pointed her, and said in those so sweet tingling tones that Jonathan said were of the intolerable sweetness of the water. Glasses: “Come sister. Come to us. Come! Come!” In fear I turner to my poor ooh Madam Mina and my heart with gladness leapt like flame, for oh! the terror in her sweet eyes, the repulsion, the horror, told a story to my heart that was all of hope. God be thanked she was not, yet, one of them.”

In the last part of the novel, in Jonathan’s notes, Christianity is more present than ever: “We want no proofs, we ask none to believe us! This boy will some day know what a brave and gallant woman his mother is. Already he knows her sweetness and loving care, later on he will understand how some men so loved her, that they did dare much for her sake.”In this passage, Van Helsing is elevating Mina as the category of a Saint that could maintain herself pure to take into account the most important labour in a woman’s life give birth to a child that will continue with the Patriarchal an Cristian principles.

In conclusion, Christianity in the novel is used, jointly with occultism factors, to fight the dangerous foreign threat that Count Dracula represent. Along the novel, Christian values are always present and the way to be saved and do not become pervert is to follow them and do not move away. However, we should not forget that the threat that Count Dracula supposes is hidden by a fear of being invaded with new ideas that represent the perfect patriarchal Anglican model.