Dr. Abraham Van Helsing is commonly know as an M.D. , a Ph.D., and a D.Litt. (and in some versions) and attorney. He is a lonely, unmarried yet kind, fatherly, and knowledgeable. Although he is known as a wise man of medicine and folklore, his role and ways of practice in Bram Stoker’s “Dracula”, F.w. Murnau’s “Nosferatu”, and Tod Browning’s “Dracula” differ.

He is depicted as a man of science, a stern believer in the supernatural, distinguished, and educated in other worldly knowledge. Van Helsing’s approach to destroying Dracula and healing all those affected by him through these three versions in the aspect of science verse religion.

Bram Stoker’s “Dracula”, a Novel written in 1897, heightens the importance of the character Van Helsing. He is described by Mina (in chapter 14) as “A man strongly built, with shoulders set back, an indication of power.” Jack Seward describes him as “A seemingly arbitrary man with an absolutely open mind and a truest heart that beats”. “Dracula ardently professes to champion the cause of morality and Christian “reverence,” but all the while indoctrinating its readership in a system of nihilistic superstition rife with a sinister ideological overtones.” (.http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublication?journalCode=representations)

Stoker’s novel has the Victorian religious feeling by portrayal of vampirism as an infestation from a remote, superstitious foreign land. The beginning of the novel establishes Van Helsings religiousness when he keeps Arthur from kissing Lucy. He is not so much concerned with keeping his friends alive as much as he is with keeping them in God’s favor. Van Helsing take the role as the religious and well as the intellectual leader from here on. As he gathers together a group to monitor Lucy as well as Dracula, Van Helsing explains that they must do their “duty”, and that it was not a personal war at hand but merely a Christian obligation. His radical side is shown here, balancing out with the religious side. Another example of this radical behavior is what Van Helsing acknowledges the sacredness and power of the holy bread, yet uses it in a completely rational way. He uses the Host to seal Lucy’s tomb by mixing it together with clay. Althought out of the norm, the men never believe hat Van Helsing is being sacrilegious. It actually convinces the men that there must be some validity in his actions. This allows all of the characters to return to a more religious state. Van Helsing also uses religious icons such as holy water and the cross in defense against Dracula.

There is a strong sense of religious importance through the characters as well. On page 336, Mina cries out to God “the Almighty shuns my polluted flesh!” believing that God is punishing her. Van Helsing also uses scientific practices as well in the Novel by performing numerous blood transfusions.

“Christianity in Dracula is imagined above all as an agency for the pitiless eradication of deviancy.” (.http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublication?journalCode=representations)

Van Helsing through out the novel is very involved with all of the characters. His ability to use rational procedures along with religious practices gives him this understanding as this greater being.

F. W. Murnau’s 1922 film Nosferatu changed the importance of the character Van Helsing. Count Orlok (aka Count Dracula) was the stronger and main character in this version of Dracula. “Galeen (one of the writes of Dracula the novel) set thie story in a fictional north German harbour town named Wisborg and changed the character names. He added the idea of the vampire bringing the plague to Wisborg via rats on the ship.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nosferatu#Deviations_from_the_novel) “The story of Nosferatu is similar to that of Dracula and retains the core characters—Jonathan and Mina Harker, the Count, etc.—but omits many of the secondary players, such as Arthur and Quincey, and changes all of the character's names. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nosferatu#Deviations_from_the_novel)

What is interesting is that he left out the Van Helsing vampire hunter character. Without this character and all good that he would have done, the story was changed to a more religious and less scientific focus.

“In contrast to Dracula, Orlok does not create other vampires, but kills his victims, causing the townfolk to blame the plague, which ravages the city. Also, Orlok must sleep by day, as sunlight would kill him. The ending is also substantially different from that of Dracula. The count is ultimately destroyed at sunrise when the "Mina" character sacrifices herself to him.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nosferatu#Deviations_from_the_novel)

If Van Helsing were to exist in this film then Mina’s character would know less information about Dracula and there would be an educated set of helping hands to intervene with Nosferatu’s work. It also completely changed the way in which Dracula and Mina were eliminated.

Tod Browning’s film “Dracula” (1931) included the character of Van Helsing, unlike F. W. Murnau’s Nosferatu. Comparable to Bram Stoker’s “Dracula”, Van Helsing’s characteristics are that of religious and scientific practices; a strong willed with a stern head on his shoulders and passion in his heart. Although religious instances occur in Murnau’s film, Van Helsing is shown more as a scientific man (as we were introduced to him in the operation room as he underwent a procedure). Professor Van Helsing analyzes Renfield's blood, discovering Renfield’s obsession. (This is the scene where a microscope was used to show cells. A very scientific shot in the film.) The scene where Van Helsing and Harker notice that Dracula does not have a reflection in the mirrored top of the cigarette case aided as an example of how scientific practices were used to prove even superstitious ideas. This led to Van Helsing deducing that Dracula is the vampire.

Van Helsing also differs due to heightened want for revenge on Dracula. This was very clear when Dracula tells him that Mina is now his after fusing his blood with hers, and Van Helsing swears revenge by sterilizing Carfax Abbey and finding the box where he sleeps; he will then thrust a stake through his heart.

At the end of the film Dracula is forced to sleep in his coffin, as sunrise has come, and is trapped. “Van Helsing prepares a wooden stake while Harker searches for Mina. He finds her in a strange stasis, and when Dracula moans in pain when Van Helsing impales him, she returns to her old self. Harker leaves with Mina while Van Helsing stays. The sound of church bells is heard.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dracula_%281931_film%29#Reception)

The notation of church bells implies religious views as well as an idea that the Christian faith and all that is good overcame the devil and his work.

Bram Stoker’s “Dracula”, F.w. Murnau’s “Nosferatu”, and Tod Browning’s “Dracula” all have interesting ideas of the importance of the role of Dr. Van Helsing.

SOURCES:

http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublication?journalCode=representations

· ISSN: 07346018

· OCLC: 45953560

· LCCN: 2001-214647

· JSTOR Coverage: 1983-2005 (Nos. 1-92)