A Dowry of Blood

Dracula is Constanta’s husband and maker. It is unclear exactly how old he is, but at one point he complains “that humans had lost their flare [sic] for the dramatic arts after the fall of Athens” (66). Assuming that this refers to the fall of the Athenian empire following the Peloponnesian War in 404 BCE, Dracula is at least 1,000 years old when the story starts. In A Dowry of Blood, Dracula is markedly different from how he is characterized in Bram Stoker’s novel. Gibson does not draw narrative parallels between her own version of Dracula and Stoker’s original character, instead modeling her Dracula on the dark, brooding romantic leads of other Gothic novels. As is often the case with Gothic romantic interests, Dracula is extremely possessive and controlling of his lovers. He flies into a jealous rage when Constanta strikes up a close friendship with a human woman and accuses her of wanting to “run off and live a rustic life with her in her hovel” (68). The thematic connection between Abuse and Vampirism is evident in the way that Gibson chooses to portray Dracula, with Dracula representing the stereotypical controlling abuser in a romantic relationship. He isolates his vampire lovers from the outside human world and denies them control over their own lives. 

Dracula is dismissive of anything to do with humans and mortality and does not understand why Constanta, Magdalena, and Alexi are so enchanted by humanity. He indulges in his own obsession with the human body only to the extent that his research might allow him to gain insight into his vampire nature. Humans are a means to an end: a food source, entertainment, and a path to knowledge, but not equals or peers. Dracula is clear with Constanta, Magdalena, and Alexi that there is no place for them in the world of humans and they should only keep company with their own kind. This is perhaps why Dracula craves multiple companions: When faced with eternity, he craves choice, not just one lover. Dracula does not, however, want his lovers to be his equals, instead exclusively pursuing relationships that allow him to maintain all the power. 

When Constanta, Magdalena, and Alexi finally kill Dracula, they deliver his body to the mob outside their castle. The mob decapitates Dracula’s body, echoing Dracula’s defeat in Bram Stoker’s novel, where Jonathan Harker and Quincey Morris pierce Dracula’s heart with a stake and decapitate him. Despite Dracula’s apparent death, Constanta often feels haunted by his presence and feels as if he is watching her from afar. The character of Dracula has appeared in dozens of pieces of media since Bram Stoker’s Dracula, from Nosferatu (1922) and Kim Newman’s Anno Dracula (1992) to Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997-2003) and the Castlevania game and media series. Gibson participates in the literary tradition of keeping this mythic figure alive, implying that he is still out there somewhere.

Magdalena is introduced in Part 2 of A Dowry of Blood. She begins the story as a Spanish noblewoman whom Dracula describes as “a modern Machiavelli” because of her cunning and her interest in politics (80). She is beautiful and fiercely intelligent, which is what initially attracts Dracula to her. Constanta dislikes Magdalena at first, perceiving her as a romantic rival, but she quickly realizes that she is also attracted to her. When Dracula turns Magdalena into a vampire, Constanta and Magdalena become “sisters” as well as lovers. Magdalena frequently plays the role of peacekeeper when Dracula and Constanta fight; she is sometimes better at soothing Dracula’s temper than Constanta because she can come up with lies that satisfy him. She and Constanta spend most of their time together when they reach Venice, and Constanta falls deeply in love with her. She lives vicariously through Magdalena, who, being a newly turned vampire, is still connected to her humanity. 

Magdalena’s light begins to fade when she realizes that her mortal political correspondents will all age and die as she continues to live forever. Dracula disapproves of the fact that she retains ties to the human world through her letters to politicians and philosophers and eventually begins “hiding her letters and discouraging her from answering” them (111). Magdalena falls into a deep depression and begins to waste away. When they move to Berlin, Dracula describes Magdalena as “hysterical” and in need of psychiatric help. Constanta begins to fear that Dracula will destroy Magdalena as he did his past lovers if she continues to displease him with her melancholy. Constanta’s love for Magdalena and her fear of what Dracula might do to her keep her “shackled to [Dracula] by iron bonds” for so long (147); she cannot find the courage to leave for fear of Dracula’s retribution. When Constanta reveals to Magdalena that Dracula has had lovers in the past, Magdalena realizes that she, Constanta, and Alexi are all disposable to Dracula and voices her support for Constanta’s plan to kill him. When they are finally free of Dracula’s control, Magdalena travels to Rome to enroll in a university and study politics. Her journey toward Rebirth and Self-Discovery leaves her in a place where she is finally able to reclaim her intelligence and independence and pursue the education she always wanted.