Victorian England's concerns about the status of faith and manhood left a deep mark on the literature of this period. The Picture of Dorian Gray and Dracula are good examples of this concern. In both books the emphasis is on the corruption of body and soul as diseases that haunt the greatness of England. The aristocracy is designated as the social layer from which this decadence will spread. These books show a population of young people lacking parental guidance and seemingly deprived of fertility due to the disorientation among them. This corruption manifests itself in conjunction with a lack of religious faith and an excess of sin which will result in the transfer of England to the forces of evil. In order to discuss the decline of masculinity (or virility) and moral values, synonymous with religious values ​​in both books, it becomes necessary to define what late Victorian society considered these values ​​to be. In Dracula, masculinity is defined almost exclusively in opposition to femininity. The men in the book are praised when they display the opposite qualities of those the women are depicted as possessing. While women are presented as obedient and complacent, men are stern and in control of themselves and situations. Men are expected to protect women while women expect and cherish protection from men. While men are expected to face the unpleasant realities of life, darkness and evil, with integrity and courage, women must be sheltered from danger to prevent the collapse of their fragile character. When the group led by Van Helsing begins their mission to remove the Count and all the dangers he poses to England, the men unanimously decide to hide all the unpleasant facts...... in the middle paper ......ed to kill Basil Hallard) and dies, his corpse acquiring the form of his soul and the painting, his soul, regaining the purity of his youth. To regain the purity of his soul, he must expose himself as he really is to the eyes of the world. It is, in short, an act of confession which will grant him salvation through the mercy of God. In Dracula, Arthur's liberation of Lucy's soul by forcefully driving the stake, a three-foot-long phallic symbol, through her heart is the reclamation of the masculinity of English youth. The elimination of the Count and the resulting withdrawal of the forces of evil (the gypsies and wolves) represent the reaffirmation of this masculinity in the face of the Count's foreign threat. This ordeal helped them rediscover their true virtues and will allow them to guide the country towards a better and more prosperous future...