Dracula, the Novel vs. Buffy, the TV Series

The Victorian Period had many styles of writing, including the gothic novel, Draculaby Bram Stoker. The novel included themes about Christian spirituality, modern science, and how women could become corrupted by a great power. In our day and time, the vampire themed movies, novels, and television series have all been inspired by Dracula in one way or another. The theme that will be explored in this essay is how Christianity and some of its symbols are treated in the novel as compared to how Christianity or its symbols are treated in the plot lines of the modern day television series, "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." What will be focused on is how both the novel and the television series might be the same or completely different in regards to the theme of Christianity. Does "Buffy" treat Christianity the same as Dracula, or does that television show treat Christianity completely different, or even ignore it altogether? The following paragraphs will attempt to answer that question by exploring how the novel and the television series deal with Christianity.

Victorian writers called their beliefs into question because so many developments occurred in that time period, that it seemed like there was no one controlling anything. Brom Stoker seems to say in his novel that no matter what happens around us, Christianity will always prevail as long as a person keeps having faith. The novel explores the forces of good and evil, and how if one were to utilize Christian symbols, like the crucifix, the evil ones like Dracula and his minions could be defeated. Early in the novel, before the character of Jonathan Harker even meets Dracula, he is given a crucifix by an older lady, who says to Harker, "It is the eve of St. George's Day. Do you not know that to-night, when the clock strikes midnight, all the evil things in the world will have full sway? Do you know where you are going, and what you are going to?" (Doherty, 4) Harker takes the crucifix, but doesn't know what to do with it, because to him, the crucifix is idolatrous. The whole situation leaves him not feeling very easy of mind. Van Helsing, who is the vampire hunter in this novel, also comes along a little later armed with crosses to ward off the evil that is Count Dracula and his followers. It seems implied that Van Helsing is the savior figure in the novel, saving Harker and the others from falling into darkness and eternal damnation.

On the flip side of Christianity being one of the major themes in Dracula, Christianity is barely mentioned, if it all, in the "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" television series. Christianity is treated like every other religion, except for witchcraft, as an afterthought. Sunnydale, the fictional town in California in the series sits on top of something called the "Hellmouth." The Hellmouth is how the demons in the series come and go in our world, run by a demon that utilizes vampires to do his evil bidding, mostly as cannon fodder. Buffy Summers, the vampire slayer, along with her friends, utilize most of the tools that Van Helsing used and ends up destroying this particular demon, while still having a major vampire problem throughout the series. The use of crosses is mostly limited to the other characters to ward off vampires, but there's no spiritual context to why they have to use crosses. Buffy herself is considered a savior figure; she dies and then rises again through a magic spell, and she eventually destroys all the evil in Sunnydale. The reason why Buffy has to fight vampires is because she is one of the Chosen Ones from each generation, becoming a vampire slayer once the previous one dies. The only motivation seems to be that the Slayers have always fought vampires and will always fight vampires until the end of time. Without the Christian background that the novel had, it seems like a very empty mission. Buffy even says this about religion in the season 2 episode, What's My Line Part 1, after her watcher, Rupert Giles, explains what a reliquary is: "Note to self: religion: freaky."

When it comes to how Dracula looks and acts in the novel, he represents pure evil and is linked to the devil. Dracula lives off of human blood to stay immortal, transforms into animals, and can control humans, animals, and the weather. Dracula is described this way in chapter two by Jonathan Harker:

"His face was a strong - a very strong - aquiline, with high bridge of the thin nose and peculiarly arched nostrils; with lofty domed forehead, and hair growing scantily round the temples but profusely elsewhere. His eyebrows were very massive, almost meeting over the nose, and with bushy hair that seemed to curl in its own profusion. The mouth, so far as I could see it under the heavy mustache, was fixed and rather cruel-looking, with peculiarly sharp white teeth; these protruded over the lips. . . . For the rest, his ears were pale, and at the tops extremely pointed, the chin was broad and strong, and the cheeks firm though thin. The general effect was one of extraordinary pallor." (17)

Harker goes on to describe the hands of Dracula and how the Count's bad breath made him shudder and feel sick. When angered, the eyes of Dracula flashed red. Dracula is genuinely feared by Harker and the other characters throughout the novel.

In Buffy, the characters in the television series only meet Dracula once, but when they do, they're star struck and not all that afraid. The vampires and the demons, who reside in Sunnydale, consider Dracula to be a sellout to Hollywood, cares more about his fame, and is someone who uses magic more than anything. Dracula comes to Sunnydale to meet Buffy for himself because he had heard so much about her. Dracula eventually brainwashes Xander, one of Buffy's friends, bites Buffy to try to sire her into becoming a vampire, but Buffy overcomes Dracula and stakes him. This doesn't kill Dracula, he de-materializes, but tries to re-materialize, only for Buffy to remark, "You don't think I watch your movies? You always come back. I'm standing right here!" ("Buffy vs. Dracula") His physical appearance isn't really like the novel, Dracula looks like every other modern day version of the Count; pasty looking, long black hair, black eyes, and somewhat effeminate in appearance. Dracula doesn't seem all that threatening or intimidating. Unlike the novel, Dracula isn't all that evil in this episode; he's just a famous vampire and criticized for it by vampires who should, in theory, be terrified of him.

In closing, the novel Dracula was an allegory for good and evil in the world and how people in the Victorian period tried to make sense of the ever changing pace of the Industrial Revolution. Brom Stoker tries to show how evil can be vanquished through the use of Christian symbolism, and if one leans on the power of the Christian God, then they too can be saved. In the modern day versions of Dracula and other vampires, the vampires are considered to be cool and there's no real connection to the eternal battle of good and evil, and no point in being saved from evil when evil itself is celebrated. Brom Stoker, if he were alive today, would probably say that the current culture is doomed if we play around and good off with evil like they do in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, because evil is not all fun and games, there must be consequences when one encounters the dark side of human nature.

Works Cited

Stoker, Brom. Dracula. Ed. R.L. Fisher. New York: Tom Doherty Associates, Inc., 1988. Print.

"What's My Line - Part One" Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season Two. Writ. Howard Gordon and Marti Noxon. Dir. David Solomon. 20th Century Fox, 1997-1998. DVD.

"Buffy Vs. Dracula" Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season Five. Writ. Marti Noxon. Dir. David Solomon. 20th Century Fox, 2000. DVD.