Throughout the novel, female characters are transformed into vampires through Dracula’s unending thirst for blood which is representative of both Europe’s syphilis outbreak as well as the masculine fears of the “new woman” as someone who as discovered their sexuality after centuries of oppression.
Lucy is the epitome of the novels message regarding the impurity of women as she remarks that it’s quite unfortunate women cannot have 3 husbands, contrasting the social acceptability of men having multiple love interests. She goes on to become tainted by Dracula’s vampirism and ironically has the blood of 3 men running through her veins.
These prevailing fears at the time could be cured by only one thing, that being religion. This theme is repeated since the beginning of the novel when Mina gives Harker a Catholic cross that he uses to ward off vampires. Following the introduction of Dr. Van Helsing, additional religious symbols and tools are used such as communion wafers to prevent the vampires from returning to their dirt boxes or tombs. Thus religion, and a fallback to traditional values is considered by Bram Stoker to be the only cure to these issues plaguing 19th century Europe.