Bram Stoker's Dracula contains several messages and symbols; the fear of the unknown and the many destabilizing changes happening in Britain, including the New Women. However, the religious language and symbology are entirely relevant and impossible to omit. The antagonist is seen as a threat coming from an atavistic and mysterious region, but he could be more so. According to Stanko Jambrek:Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Antichrist is the name of a person, or group of people, who oppose God and his purposes. The expression can mean both “against Christ” and “in place of Christ.” The idea of ​​the Antichrist as the greatest enemy of God and the Messiah is present in the Bible in the Old Testament and New Testament eras, between them, and has often been emphasized in ancient history. Church. With this in mind, this essay will explain how Dracula could be the representation of an Antichrist, ready to overthrow, oppose and corrupt Christianity. First, it is important to analyze the roots of our “Antichrist”. The name Dracula is no coincidence. The first and most relevant source links the character to Vlad Tepes (or Vlad Dracula). Dracula derives from his father's nickname, Vlad Dracul (Vlad the Dragon), after he joined the Order of the Dragon, a chivalrous order intended to protect Christianity from the Ottoman Turks and other enemies of the faith. Thus, Dracula would mean in Romanian “Vlad, son of the dragon”. However, the word changed its meaning in modern Romanian and Dracul eventually became "devil", which tarnished the reputation of the already cruel prince of Wallachia. Additionally, the reference to the dragon could be more than just a translation. In chapter 18, Doctor Van Helsing highlights how Dracula was an assistant to the Scholomance: "The Draculas were, says Arminius, a great and noble race, although from time to time they were descendants who were considered by their contemporaries to have had relations with the Le Malin. They learned his secrets at the Scholomance, among the mountains above Lake Hermanstadt, where the devil claims the tenth scholar as his due. In the archives are words such as “stregoica” – witch, “ordog” and “pokol” – Satan and hell; and in one manuscript this same Dracula is called "wampyr", which we all understand too well. » Bram Stoker is known to have researched The Land Before the Forest by Emily Gerard, a book which deals with Transylvanian superstitions. About the Scholomance, Gérard writes: Since I am talking about storms, we might as well evoke here the classmate, or the school, supposed to exist somewhere in the heart of the mountains, and where the secrets of nature, the language of animals , and all magic spells are taught by the devil himself. Only ten scholars are admitted at a time, and when the course of study has expired and nine of them are released to return home, the tenth scholar is held by the devil as payment and, mounted on an ismeju , or dragon. , now becomes the devil's aide-de-camp and helps him "make time", that is to say, prepare the thunderbolts. Somehow the word Dracula is overshadowed by ungodly connotations, much like the character himself. Another connection to the Count and the Antichrist can be found in the Bible: And I heard a loud voice from the sanctuary say to the seven angels, “Go and pour out the seven vials of the wrath of God on the earth. » The first went and poured out his cup on the ground. And a painful and malignant ulcer struck the people who bore the mark of the wild beast and who worshipedhis image. In the book of Revelation, two beasts are mentioned: one coming from the abyss, which is said to be the Antichrist, and one coming from the sea. As it is said, the beast left a mark on his disciples (the number of the beast: 666). Dracula may not leave a number, but he leaves a mark on those touched by his venom: two bites on the neck, which only disappear once they become undead. Once they become vampires, they gain a certain independence and power to respond – as seen when the female vampires act despondently towards the Count – unlike when they suffer injections or are mortals under the will of Dracula ( control over Lucy or Renfield, for example). The Eucharist is one of the central pillars of Christianity: it is communion with Jesus Christ by eating the host (and in some cases also drinking wine), symbolizing his body and blood. When Dracula enters Mina's room and bites her, he also makes her drink his blood, infecting her with the vampire's curse; this scene could be seen as a reverse communion. Just as after receiving communion a Catholic is freed from sin, after Mina drinks Dracula's blood she becomes "impure", as evidenced by the mark left by the host on her forehead. The blood bond unintentionally created between them dishonors Mina in the eyes of God like those spoiled by the mark of the beast. Christianity becomes the most effective barrier against darkness; a darkness that could be interpreted as the changes that threatened the empire and the values ​​held up to that point. Indeed, all dangerous deviations from the faith are associated with Dracula, as Elizabeth Sanders points out: For example, Mina's occasional references to the "new woman" demonstrate her awareness of the changing moral landscape of religion and literature for his genre, while Dr. Seward faces a violent patient (Renfield) who uses biblical phrases to justify his actions, causing Seward to reflect on the dangerous possibilities of religion when distorted by " human vanity. The vampires' distaste for sacred symbols becomes evident in the way they are weapons against them; from the crucifix to the host, all Catholic emblems alienate them and can even hurt them. The vampire's facade of sensuality and coldness completely disappears when near one of these objects. Ironically, it is ultimately the stake – a pagan superstition – that completely destroys this modern Antichrist. Despite the prayers and religious language, most of the characters are not Catholic, but they are willing to adopt Catholic symbols, once aware of their effectiveness, as Sanders mentions: "Stoker's text presents these objects as instruments or tools for human efforts rather than as vehicles for human efforts. a deeper connection with God.” In fact, even this transmission of superstition, religion, and science could be associated with the Antichrist, since these elements reveal Dracula as an enemy with weak points, just as the Bible states that the Antichrist corrupts faith through trickery (he is therefore not omnipotent). Ultimately, the biblical Antichrist will be defeated by Jesus Christ at his second coming. The ending of the novel has a biblical echo in Van Helsing's words: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." » It is interesting to see that in Dracula the paraphrase of this passage refers to Mina: she sacrifices herself to save the patriarchy and society from the threat of the New Woman, but she cannot be the one who kills the Antichrist. THE. 3, 7 (2015): 77-98.