Dracula's seductiveness as a representation of temptation and original sin

• Ano de defesa: 2015
• Autor(a) principal: Érica Sudário Gomes de Souza
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Tipo de acesso: Acesso aberto
• Idioma: eng
• Instituição de defesa: Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais
• Palavras-chave em Português: Sedução na literatura; Pecado na literatura; Sangue na literatura; Vampiros na literatura; Bíblia e literatura; Stoker, Bram , 1847-1912 Drácula Crítica e interpretação; Drácula, Conde (Personagem fictício); sangue; Drácula; tentação
• Link de acesso: https://hdl.handle.net/1843/ECAP-9UZKCT

In Bram Stoker's Dracula (1897), the vampire seduces his victims in a way they feel they are being willingly corrupted, and thus they believe to be transgressing a number of codes established by the society they are inserted in, such as moral and religious values. Dracula's prey, Lucy and Mina, not only allow their corruption, but wish to be corrupted by the vampire. However, they also feel guilty and even sinful. In this thesis, Dracula's seductiveness is discussed as being a representation of temptation and original sin. The novel is compared to some biblical passages, especially the first chapters of Genesis and the book of Leviticus, in which the notions of 'purity' and 'impurity' are delineated. The meanings of blood in both the Bible and Dracula are also relevant in this work. Finally, I consider the vampire's ability to embody nineteenth-century anxieties, and how this ability is related to the victims' own predisposition to error.