The Image of Religion and its Function in M. G. Lewis’ 'The Monk' and B. Stoker’s 'Dracula‪'‬

Undoubtedly, religion plays an important role in early Gothic
literature. In most cases this does not seem a positive one as
can be seen at first glance in Matthew G. Lewis’ The Monk
(1796). Most likely this also reflects a tendency of the postenlightenment
period in which it was written. However, it is
interesting to ask how the view on religion and its role in
Gothic texts developed in the 18th century. Therefore, I will
compare The Monk to Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1897) written
roughly a hundred years later, which gives a more
sophisticated view on religion.
In order to structure the wide topic of religion I will
present three different perspectives of religion: the
societal, the institutional, and the theological. These three
strands will first be traced in The Monk and as a second step
in comparison to it in Dracula. The theological perspective on
religion in Stoker’s novel will be allowed more room as this
is at the heart of the question whether religion receives a
positive or a negative reputation in Dracula.
I will argue that religion in The Monk but also in Dracula
is indispensable. Furthermore, I will give evidence for the
thesis that religion in Dracula is not merely reduced to an
apotropaic device against vampires but has a high significance
for the whole of the characters’ lives. This is further
emphasised in the last part of the paper, in which I will
compare the endings of both novels. As the different Christian
denominations have already been researched in depth, I will
only briefly touch on this subject and mainly focus on
Christian religion as such.