Religious Symbolism In Dracula

The Depiction of Sinister Mankind
Religion has always brought man great prosperity, or great agony. An example to support such a statement are vampires; vampires balance out the metaphorical scale as they eliminate those who are unfaithful or fall into the temptation of sin but are weak to religious objects. In Bram Stoker’s Dracula, mankind’s sin is symbolized by one entity, the vampire. One good example is the amount of superstition that an old couple show as they hear about Jonathan’s travel destination. As Jonathan prepares to leave for …show more content…
As shown by the captain of the Demeter and its crew as they enter desperate situations. The mate and captain of the ship believe that only God can steer them through the intense fog if God wishes so. “If so we are now off in the North sea, and only god can guide us in the fog, which seems to move with us: and god seems to have deserted us” (Stoker 91). The crew members perished throughout their trip as they lost faith in each other and in god as they faced great evil; this is shown as they admit doubt through their words. It is well know that one will eventually perish but it may not be directly by the hand of evil as shown by the fate of the captain. The captain of the Demeter did not perish at the hand of Dracula as he showed an act of faith before his death. “ Between the inner hand and the wood was a crucifix, the set of beads on which is was fastened being around both wrists and wheel, and all kept fast by the binding cords” (Stoker 85-86). Since the captain kept his faith in god by tying a crucifix in between his hands, Dracula was not able to consume him: In the end, it allowed the discovery of the event leading to their tragic