Crucifix, Communion, and Convent: The Real Presence of Anglican Ritualism in Bram Stoker’s Dracula

This essay posits that Dracula’s sacred symbolism embodies greater complexity than what has thus far been read as an “either/or” position of Catholic/Protestant representation. An examination of the theological debates that surround Bram Stoker and the composition of Dracula reveals that the novel speaks more to conflicts within the Anglican community than it does to the opposition between Catholicism and Protestantism. When Jonathan Harker wonders if “there is something in the essence of the [crucifix] itself” (52) that comforts him, and he and his companions successfully battle the count with what are typically viewed as Catholic accoutrements, Stoker advocates the existence and efficacy of the Real Presence, a highly controversial doctrine of High Church ritualism.