Dracula Essay

Dracula Essay

1. In the novel, superstitions caused people to have fear while catholic objects helped to calm them.

   • Catholic objects helped give hope to the people that they were safe from evil things.
     • "Keep this near your heart' - as he spoke he lifted a little silver crucifix and held it out to me" (266).
     • "As he placed the wafer on Mina's forehead, it had seared - it had burned into the flesh as though it had been a piece of white hot metal" (327).
     • "When we started, the crowd round the inn door, which had by this time swelled to a considerable size, all made the sign of the cross and pointed two fingers toward me" (14)
   • Superstitions were important and taken very seriously in the Victorian Era.
     • "It is the eve of St. George's day. Do you now know that tonight, when the clock strikes midnight, all the evil things in the world will have full sway?" (9).
     • "I must say that they were not cheering to me, for amongst them were 'Ordog' -- Satan, 'pokol' -- hell, 'stregoica' -- witch, 'vrolok' and 'vlkoslak' -- both of which mean the same thing, one being Slovak and the other mean the same thing, werewolf and vampire" (10).
     • "He might kill me, but death now seemed the happier choice of evils" (33).