Dracula: an antithesis of Christ

After reading Dracula in my 19th Century British Novel class, I found that there was an interesting appearance of Christian (or anti-Christian) symbolism and allusions throughout the

the novel. I thought it was very interesting and I'm not quite sure what Stoker's intention is.  

Two passages that particularly stand out are found in the last part of the novel.  The first is found in chapter 21 when Mina tells the men about Dracula's visit to her.  He mockingly tells her, "And you, their best beloved one, are now to me, flesh of my flesh; blood of my blood; kin of my kin; my bountiful wine-press for a while; and shall be later on my companion and my helper."  This passage sounds very similar to Jesus' instructions to the disciples at the Last Supper in the book of John (6:54), "Whoever eats of my flesh and drinks of my blood will have eternal life" (NIV).  Because this passage parallels Christ's words, Stoker seems to present a kind of parallel "last supper" for Dracula in which Mina provides one last nourishment.  It is suggested that this is his last "feast," before his own death.  While we cannot rightly claim that in the Last Supper there is any sense of victimization, the juxtaposition that Stoker appears to construct provides us with a fascinating image of Dracula's "anti-theology."  If Christ is normative then perhaps Dracula represents a distorted analogue, such that Stoker is not merely providing a picture of life transformed into the undead, but of the corrosive or oppressive nature of death itself. Finally, consider Stoker's allusion to wine, calling to mind images of not only the Last Supper, but the Christian practice of the Eucharist, in which disciples are believed to participate in the death of Christ and undergoing a transformation of being.

Another passage of interest occurs in chapter 23, when Dr. Seward writes of Dracula in his diary, saying, " He is [...] the father or furtherer of a new order of beings, whose road must lead through Death, not Life."  In this passage Stoker appears to compare Dracula directly to Christ.  However rather than leading people to Life through Death, he leads them through Death unto Undead (something perhaps worse than death).  It is as if Stoker is presenting an anti-Christ, not necessarily the biblical anti-Christ, but a direct opposite of Christ.