A Dowry of Blood

Content Warning: This section of the guide contains discussions of abusive relationships.

Constanta is the protagonist and narrator of A Dowry of Blood. She survives a raid on her small Romanian village. She describes herself as a simple village girl before Dracula turns her into a vampire, though she gives no indication as to her specific age. When Dracula finds her, she is on the brink of death; he gives her the opportunity for rebirth into a new life as an immortal vampire. He even gives her a new name, Constanta. Whatever her human name was, she makes no reference to it in her story. Constanta, as she exists in A Dowry of Blood, is a creature almost entirely of Dracula’s creation. As a result, she constantly struggles with her autonomy and freedom. She adores and is devoted to Dracula, but she soon becomes frustrated by his control over her and the knowledge that he denies her. Though he is her lover, he is also her maker, and so their relationship is never truly equal. Their relationship connects Abuse and Vampirism in a dynamic where the relationship between creator and fledgling echoes the relationship between an abuser and their partner.