{"product_id":"the-image-of-religion-and-its-function-in-m-g-lewis-the-monk-and-b-stokers-dracula-von-eric-weidner","title":"The Image of Religion and its Function in M. G. Lewis' 'The Monk' and B. Stoker's 'Dracula'","description":"\u003cp\u003eSeminar paper from the year 2006 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 1,7, University of Heidelberg (Institut für Anglistik), course: Hauptseminar \"The Gothic\", language: English, abstract: Undoubtedly, religion plays an important role in early Gothic\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eliterature. In most cases this does not seem a positive one as\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ecan be seen at first glance in Matthew G. Lewis¿ The Monk\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e(1796). Most likely this also reflects a tendency of the postenlightenment\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eperiod in which it was written. However, it is\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003einteresting to ask how the view on religion and its role in\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGothic texts developed in the 18th century. Therefore, I will\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ecompare The Monk to Bram Stoker¿s Dracula (1897) written\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eroughly a hundred years later, which gives a more\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003esophisticated view on religion.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn order to structure the wide topic of religion I will\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003epresent three different perspectives of religion: the\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003esocietal, the institutional, and the theological. These three\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003estrands will first be traced in The Monk and as a second step\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ein comparison to it in Dracula. The theological perspective on\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ereligion in Stoker¿s novel will be allowed more room as this\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eis at the heart of the question whether religion receives a\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003epositive or a negative reputation in Dracula.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI will argue that religion in The Monk but also in Dracula\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eis indispensable. Furthermore, I will give evidence for the\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ethesis that religion in Dracula is not merely reduced to an\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eapotropaic device against vampires but has a high significance\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003efor the whole of the characters¿ lives. This is further\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eemphasised in the last part of the paper, in which I will\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ecompare the endings of both novels. As the different Christian\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003edenominations have already been researched in depth, I will\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eonly briefly touch on this subject and mainly focus on\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChristian religion as such.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"aw-variant-hidden-subtitle-div\" id=\"aw-variant-subtitle-9783640335084\"\u003e\u003ch3\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Libri","offers":[{"title":"Softcover - 9783640335084","offer_id":39424925433949,"sku":"9783640335084","price":17.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0940\/0622\/files\/ce5371cc-fe9f-42d1-b9e6-cb26a8d11ae7.jpg?v=1777611853","url":"https:\/\/shop.autorenwelt.de\/products\/the-image-of-religion-and-its-function-in-m-g-lewis-the-monk-and-b-stokers-dracula-von-eric-weidner","provider":"Autorenwelt Shop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}