Katherine von Swartzschild and Klaus

This article is about the relationship between novel characters Katherine von Swartzschild and Klaus. You may be looking for the article about the television series characters Klaus and Katherine.

Katherine and Klaus
General Information
Intimacy Levels	There appears to be some emotional connection between the two and Klaus sired Katherine without hesitation. The extent of the attachment, however is debated and it could be a result of emotional manipulation on Klaus' behalf
First Met	Unknown (Before The Awakening)
Status	Estranged; Klaus has some loyalties to Katherine and avenges her after her death.

The relationship between the vampire, Katherine von Swartzschild and the Old One, Klaus.

Characters

• Katherine von Swartzschild: Born in Germany during the 1400s to the Baron von Swartzschild, Katherine was frail during her childhood and her last illness was terminal. She later recalled that she was unable to breathe and too weak to move, which devastated her father. Gudren, her maid, sought out a vampire named Klaus who was in the local village at the time, and he made her into a vampire, saving her from death and making her much stronger than she had ever been in life. Physically, Katherine was extremely beautiful and elegant, with very white skin and a flawless, pale, translucent complexion. Katherine has deep, blue jewel eyes, which have been said to strongly resemble a kitten's eyes. Katherine has golden blonde, ultra long hair, which is described to be fair, flaxen and like silk in appearance. While Katherine has blond hair, it is thick in abundance and it is curly/wavy. In the beginning, Katherine was sweet, docile, naive, childlike, fragile and an emotionally vulnerable girl but a little bit on the selfish, spoiled and immature side. However, in the centuries between the Italian Renaissance and the time of when she makes her first appearance in The Fury, Katherine had grown to be quite devious and insane, which is at least partly attributable to the influence of Klaus, her vampire maker. Katherine had become the complete and total opposite of her old self — evil, crazy, barbaric, inhumane, vicious, cold-blooded, cold-hearted, wicked, murderous, vengeful, jealous, manipulative, and malicious. She boasts about killing tons and tons of both humans and vampires over the past few centuries, displaying her psychopathic and murderous ways, and she has become fiercely hungry for power and revenge. However, despite her complete negative alteration in her characterization, Katherine still displays grief and heartbreak over what happened in the past with her and the both of the Salvatore brothers. She is revealed to be the "Other Power" that is damaging the town of Fells Church. In The Fury, Katherine becomes very antagonistic against Stefan, Damon and Elena.

• Klaus: Born at some point in the Bronze Age (4500-3200 BCE). Klaus is a pure-blood vampire, (an Original) who is one of the Old Ones. Klaus has never been human, and he existed long ago before the pyramids were built. According to his words, he fought in the Trojan war and even helped for the downfall of the Roman empire. In the late 15th century, he lived in a village in Germany. The people thought that he was the Devil himself. One day, a maid showed up and begged for his help, because her young mistress was dying. That girl was Katherine von Swartzschild. Physical appearance wise, Klaus is tall and very Nordic in appearance, with electric blue eyes and short, close-cropped platinum blond hair. He is described as being handsome, muscular but lean. Klaus' personality is described as wise, extremely sinister, evil, vengeful, dangerous, highly powerful and is highly intimidating and threatening. Klaus is extremely deranged, and the line between his evil and his madness is very blurry. When pressed, he is deadly serious and reminds everyone about his unfathomable old age, but most of the time he seems unnaturally chipper, and his evil deeds during Dark Reunion are always tinged with irony.

Throughout the novels

Early History

Little is known about their interactions before the beginning of the novels. During his early years as an Old One, however, Klaus was a nomadic traveller, and only turned humans into vampires for fun; he and the other Old Ones never believed humans to be worthy of their appreciation or loyalty.

Eventually, Klaus settled in Germany and after centuries of living there, he met a young woman, Katherine von Swartzschild and her handmaiden, Gudren.

The Awakening

In The Awakening, Katherine details her meeting with Klaus at a time in which she was very ill and her handmaiden, Gudren, believed she would die. In turn, Gudren sought help from a man named Klaus. Katherine says that when she first met Klaus she felt a great fear and terror, however Klaus was willing to exchange blood with Katherine without hesitation. Secretly, Klaus kept an eye on Katherine from that day. Katherine's health improved and her father took her to journey to find a cure in the event that she would fall ill again.

The Fury

After a battle with Elena, Stefan, and Damon, Katherine becomes unstable with elements of insanity. She explains that after the death of Stefan and Damon (which turned them into vampires), she was once again approached by Klaus who taught her the extent of her true power. Katherine furthe remarks that Klaus manipulated her and as a result she had no choice but to kill him. At the end of the book, Elena's spirit communicates with Bonnie, who tells which a menacing power has come to Fell's Church, Klaus.

Dark Reunion

Just months after the death of Katherine at the hands of Stefan and Damon, Klaus returns to Fell's church. Klaus talks with Elena and Stefan and tells the two that Katherine was lost, but it appears that he has an element of loyalty to Katherine given he returned to Fell's Church to avenge her murder.

Consequences and Victims

Katherine's Victims

Hundreds of vampires (Before the books) Hundreds of humans (Before the books) Elena Gilbert (Directly) Stefan Salvatore (Directly) Damon Salvatore (Directly) Bonnie McCullough (Directly) Meredith Sulez (Directly)

Matthew Honeycutt (Indirectly) Alaric K. Saltzman (Indirectly) Caroline Forbes (Indirectly) Tyler Smallwood (Indirectly) Victoria Bennett (Directly) People of Fell's Church (Indirectly) The Original Pack (Directly)

Klaus' Victims

Hundreds of vampires (Before the books) Hundreds of humans (Before the books) Elena Gilbert (Directly) Stefan Salvatore (Directly) Damon Salvatore (Directly) Zander (Directly) Bonnie McCullough (Directly) Meredith Sulez (Directly) Matthew Honeycutt (Directly) Alaric K. Saltzman (Directly)

Caroline Forbes (Directly) Tyler Smallwood (Directly) Vickie Bennett (Directly) Sue Carson (Directly) Cristian Sulez (Directly) People of Fell's Church (Indirectly) The Original Pack (Directly) Ethan Crane (Directly) Vampire Army (Directly)

Names

The meaning of the names of both characters are related to their personalities and lives. Names -

• Katherine is of Greek origin, and the meaning is "Pure".
• Klaus is a German name meaning "Victory of the People"

Surnames -

• von is in German a preposition which approximately means "Of" or "From".
• Swartzschild is a German surname meaning "Black sign" or "Black shield".

Characters' Inspiration

In the books, the Klaus' character was partially based on Rutger Hauer's character (John Ryder) in the 1986 movie The Hitcher.

• John Ryder "The Hitcher": It is not clear where he came from, who he is or what his motivation is, but the one thing that is known is that his name is John Ryder. He has a sadistic drive for killing everyone and anyone he comes across. From what it seems, he is suicidal and he's on the look out for someone to do the task for him.

• Katherine von Swartzschild and L.J. Smith share certain characteristics: both are blondes with beautiful eyes, beautiful appearance, as well as having a sweet and loving personality.

Quotes

Katherine von Swartzschild: "I woke in the middle of the night to see Gudren, my maid, standing over my bed. And then she stepped aside, and I saw the man she had brought. I was frightened. His name was Klaus, and I'd heard the people in the village say he was evil. I cried out to Gudren to save me, but she just stood there, watching. When he put his mouth to my neck, I thought he was going to kill me. It was not so terrible after all. There was a little pain at first, but that quickly went away. And then the feeling was actually pleasant. When he gave me of his own blood to drink, I felt stronger than I had for months. And then we waited out the hours together until dawn." Katherine von Swartzschild:"You should have thought of that a long time ago. I might have listened to you then. I was sorry you'd killed each other at first. I ran away, without even Gudren, back to my home. But then I didn't have anything, not even a new dress, and I was hungry and cold. I might have starved if Klaus hadn't found me." Katherine von Swartzschild:"Klaus taught me the truth. He showed me how the world really is. You have to be strong, and take the things you want. You have to think only of yourself. And I'm the strongest of all now. I am. You know how I got that way?. Lives. So many lives. Humans and vampires, and they're all inside me now. I killed Klaus after a century or two. He was surprised. He didn't know how much I'd learned."- Klaus: "I was tearing pretty white throats when your ancestors were building the Colosseum. I killed with Alexander's army. I fought in the Trojan War. I'm old, Salvatore. I'm one of the Originals. In my earliest memories I carried a bronze ax." Klaus: "I helped bring the Roman Empire down. They called us barbarians—they just didn't understand! War, Salvatore! There's nothing like it. Europe was exciting then. I decided to stick around the countryside and enjoy myself. Strange, you know, people never really seemed comfortable around me. They used to run or hold up crosses. But one woman came and asked my help. She was a maid in a baron's household, and her little mistress was sick. Dying, she said. She wanted me to do something about it. And so… I did. She was a pretty little thing. Katherine." Klaus: "I'm one of the Old Ones! An Original! Do you know what that means?. I've never died. Every one of you has died, you gallery of spooks! But not me. Death can't touch me. I am invincible!"

Trivia

• Katherine was the only person that Klaus wanted as his student and possibly something more.
• Both were defeated by the same person, Elena Marie Gilbert (as human and spirit respectively).
• In spite of the madness, cruelty and evil, both showed loyalty to each other. As opposite from the The Vampire Diaries where, Niklaus wants to kill Katerina for her disobedience, in the books he protects her and wants revenge on her death.
• A curious fact is that both characters start with the letter "K", both are blond with blue eyes, attractive and beautiful, they are the only vampires that have fed on other vampires, humans and possibly werewolves and witches, as well as being the most powerful and old vampires in the original saga (The Awakening, The Struggle, The Fury and Dark Reunion).
  • Interestingly, the creator of the original series: Lisa Jane Smith is blonde and her initials are L and J, where K is the letter that stands in the middle of both.