Dracula

Wolves appear throughout the novel, beginning with Jonathan’s journey to Castle Dracula. Wolves symbolize the predatory nature of the vampires. They are feared in the wild, and are willing to attack people in villages if hunger—and a lack of prey—forces them from the woods. Dracula is able to command the wolves, and can also become a wolf. Every appearance of a wolf is threatening, because wolves are always a danger. They are driven by appetite and are fearless fighters.

Van Helsing brings communion wafers—known as The Host—from Amsterdam. The wafers act as barriers to evil, particularly the heathen evil of the vampires. The communion wafers represent the body of Jesus Christ. The presence of Christ—with the wafers serving as his proxy—allows Van Helsing to seal off Lucy’s tomb, prevent Dracula from entering his castle, and creating a ring around Mina that the wolves cannot pass. The crucifix also symbolizes the triumph of Christianity as the ultimate sign of Christian authority. Each time the cross appears, it repels a vampire.

The three women in the castle symbolize aggressive female sexuality. They are overt in their desires and eager to openly display their appetites. During their initial meeting with Jonathan, he is both titillated and appalled. His interactions with Mina have no sexual tension, and his attraction to her is described only in terms of her goodness and innocence. Stoker wrote Dracula during the Victorian era. The three vampire women are the opposite of the faith, modesty, and primness of idealized Victorian women. Their destruction represents the triumph of chasteness and innocence over lascivious appetites.

The stake is the weapon that Arthur kills Lucy with. It is an unambiguous phallic symbol, particularly when wielded by Arthur, who was to marry Lucy. A stake has only one purpose: to penetrate. The stake is also a reminder of the consequences of giving in to temptation. Throughout the novel, Stoker reiterates that vampires can only prey on willing victims. Lucy allows Dracula to seduce her. Her death at the point of the stake is her punishment for inviting Dracula—consciously or not—Into her flesh. Stoker describes the act of Lucy’s death in sexual terms. Lucy writhes, moans, and quivers during the penetration. When she is dead, she is restored to her former purity, and Van Helsing allows Arthur to kiss her.