Truth in Nosferatu

Count Dracula, Van Helsing, a haunted house, and silence; after reading the synopsis of Nosferatu, I was a bit apprehensive to search for a deeper meaning to the movie. The meaning of Nosferatu, though unclear, can easily be imagined or inferred. Silence is a major contributor in this because it allows your imagination to open its eyes to a plethora of possibilities. Although there are many different opinions on what the true meaning of the movie is, my personal opinion is that through metaphors, Nosferatu is about love, sex, and sin. A specific scene that portrayed these ideas the most was when Nina lured Dracula to her home so she could sacrifice her life to save many towns people from the wrath of Dracula’s presence.
This series of events begins with Nina being awakened by Dracula’s midnight possession. She walks to the window as he tries to lure her to him. However, she overcomes the possession and stays home. One can tell that she is fighting mind control because during her possession, her eyes are transfixedly large and glossy, she has elevated posture, and walks with her arms straight out in front of her, zombie-like. During the moments she is fighting the possession, she clutches her head and hunches over with worryfull eyes. After she refuses the possession, she wakes her husband so he can fetch the doctor surely in an effort to get him out of the room so she can complete her intended duty. Count Dracula enters her room, and Nina darts around for several moments to ensure that when he sinks his teeth into her neck it will have reached dawn. The setting then cuts to Nina’s husband frantically trying to awaken the Doctor. When the setting cuts back to Nina’s room, Dracula has successfully killed Nina by biting her neck. Likewise, Nina has successfully eluded him long enough for the sun to rise; a rooster crowing symbolizes this event. As we watch Dracula stumble around the room, we realize that he is nearing his end, thanks to Nina’s brave endeavors.
In the described scene, there are metaphors for love, sex, and sin. Those three points are the central meaning of Nosferatu. Dracula’s magnetism to Nina was a very strong sexual attraction. It is not clear if he loves her or if it is merely a physical attraction, but nontheless, it is strong enough to make him vulnerable. Dracula is also very much sinful as he not only kills innocent people, but also tries to infringe upon Nina’s marriage with Mr. Harker. Nina sacrificed her life because of the love she had for not only her husband, but also the people of her town.
There are many metaphors for these three central meanings not only in this scene, but also throughout the entire movie. Love, sex, and sin are prominent in Nosferatu and appear many times. Nosferatu encompasses the very lustful desires of vampires, while simultaneously radiating a sense of love and sacrifice; good ultimately prevails.