The conflict of science versus superstition is drawn out throughout the whole novel. We know that some of our main characters, Jon, Van Helsing and Dracula all depict one of the two, or both. Stoker does not make a point that religion is more important than science, and vice versa. I personally believe that he tries to portray that both science and religion are important to the novel.
Through the series of events that partake within the duration of the novel there are many things that one can explain but not the other. But, both science and religion cannot explain everything just themselves. Three of the main characters all portray science, superstition or a little bit of both, science and superstition, representing that both cannot exist without the other.
Jon Harker, our main character represents one hundred percent science, we are really shown this in the first four chapters in the novel. Jon who knows nothing but science tries to take what he knows about science and tries to apply it to Dracula who represents the opposite of Jon, one hundred percent superstition or religion. There are so many things that Harker tries while he stays at Dracula’s castle. Initially he is uneasy about staying with in the castle, but Draculas warm welcome calms Harker momentarily.
As he settles in he observes Dracula’s physical traits, pointed ears, extremely pale skin and exceptionally sharp teeth, Harker becomes uneasy again. He starts to pick up on small things such as why there are no mirrors in the castle, and why he doesn’t show up during the day. He attempts to explain this with science and he struggles to do so. As Jonathan is trying to find a way to escape the castle he has a strange meeting with three vampire girls, which is unusual for him.
The Term Paper on Are Science and Religion in Conflict?
Indeed,a conflict does exist between science and religion however the conflict is based on the lack of acceptance and vast misconceptions which members of either side are unwilling to let go of. The conflict between science and religion exists because there is a lack of congruence between the results achieved through scientific discovery and the beliefs required by a religion to follow. This has ...
“I was afraid to raise my eyelids, but looked out and saw perfectly under the lashes. The fair girl went on her knees, and bent over me, fairly gloating. There was a deliberate voluptuousness which was both thrilling and repulsive, and as she arched her neck she actually licked her lips like an animal, till I could see in the moonlight the moisture shining on the scarlet lips and on the red tongue as it lapped the white sharp teeth.
Lower and lower went her head as the lips went below the range of my mouth and chin and seemed to fasten on my throat. I could feel the soft, shivering touch of the lips on the supersensitive skin of my throat, and the hard dents of two sharp teeth, just touching and pausing there. I closed my eyes in a languorous ecstacy and waited – waited with beating heart.” (Stoker, 57) Jon Harker is not sure what is happening and who these girls are and he doesn’t learn to understand this until Dracula shows up and tells them to back of because Jon is his. I think this is when it really settles in for Jon that science cannot explain why Dracula crawls up the sides of the walls of the castle or has razor sharp teeth.
You are clever man, friend John; you reason well, and your wit is bold; but you are too prejudiced. You do not let your eyes see nor your ears hear, and that which is outside your daily life is not of account to you. Ah, it is the fault of our science that it wants to explain all; and if it explain not, then it says there is nothing to explain.” Van Helsing laments the narrow and prejudiced vision of Seward, the rational man of science who understands nothing about the ultimate cause of Lucy’s death and the Un-dead Lucy’s preying upon children.
If Seward has no “data,” he is unable to draw any conclusion and therefore unable to act. He does not believe in vampires because there is no proof, so he is vulnerable to the Count’s evil. Van Helsing, in contrast, knows this territory because he has kept an open mind and has drawn upon a broad base of knowledge, from modern science to ancient lore.
The Essay on Dracula Summary Van Helsing
Chapters 13-15 Summary John Seward's diary continues the story, describing how Lucy Westenra and her mother are buried together. Before the funeral, Van Helsing covers the coffin and body with garlic and places a crucifix in Lucy's mouth. He tells a confused Seward that, after the funeral, they must cut off the corpse's head and stuff her mouth with garlic. The next day, however, Van Helsing ...
‘A brave man’s blood is the best thing on this earth when a woman is in trouble.'” (Chapter 12) Van Helsing asks Quincey Morris to donate his blood to save Lucy’s life. Throughout the novel, there is a morally upstanding quality to the blood that the men donate to Lucy. In Chapter 10, Van Helsing comments that Holmwood is “so young and strong and of blood so pure that we need not defibrinate it.” The pure and wholesome blood of these fine young men stands in contrast to the tainted, death-dealing blood of the Count, who “infects” his victims with the curse of vampirism.
