Pamela Swynford De Beaufort

Pam Ravenscroft (also known as Pamela Swynford De Beaufort) is a fictional character from the The Southern Vampire Mysteries/Sookie Stackhouse Series by author Charlaine Harris. She is a vampire, Eric's lover and second-in-command and co-owner of Fangtasia, a vampire bar. Her age is not mentioned; Sookie thinks that she is over 200 years old, but it is revealed later, in the short story "Two Blondes", that she's 160 years old, give or take a decade.

Human life

Little is known about Pam's human life in this book series until the seventh novel, All Together Dead. In this novel, Pam tells Sookie that she had lived in London with her parents during the Victorian era, and she had a crush on her best friend's cousin. As a human, Pam was wild for her times and was romantic, and bold. Her parents did not approve of the relationship because they did not consider him as equal in social class. One night she slipped out of her house to meet her friend's cousin. She met Eric on her way back home. He drained her, put her in her bed and after her funeral he dug her up. She was 19 when Eric changed her. She left London and moved with him to north of England and eventually left England for the continent. After she was turned, she and Eric often had sex. She saw her family only once from a distance about ten years after she became undead. Pam reveals to Sookie that she has always loved being who she is, though it took Pam some time to understand her true nature.

Her human history was changed quite a bit in the 5th season of the television series, making her a Madame in a Barbary Coast (San Francisco) brothel in 1905. However a Reference to her life and family in England were made in the online miniseries, Jessica's Blog in the season 5 finale episode.

Physical description

The author states that Pam looks like a young middle class suburban housewife, but mostly like "Alice in Wonderland with fangs".^[1] She is round faced with a chalky pale complexion, dark blue eyes and straight blond hair "white as a magnolia petal".^[2] Pam is a little shorter than Sookie, who is 5 feet 6 inches tall. Her work outfit is always black and gothic, but she prefers twinset-type styles, and pastels such as pale green, pink and blue. Sookie thought that she looked "ethereally lovely, with a kind of deadly edge".

Personality and traits

Much of Pam's character is revealed through her morbid sense of humor that has a sweet-but-lethal charm. Despite the fact that humor is a rare quality in a vampire, Pam believes that vampires are superior to humans. She frankly states that she was quite happy to be turned into a vampire, feeling that she would have quickly grown into a frustrated, bitter and ultimately cruel person, due to her limited life options as a human woman of her time. She takes joy in teasing and provoking others, such as Fellowship of the Sun members, Sookie, Felicia and especially Eric. When Sookie first enters Fangtasia, she reveals that she, 'Never forgets a face'. Later in the HBO series, Jessica calls Pam and is told, "Yes, I remember you perfectly." Since Sookie entered Fangtasia, though, Pam has found ammunition to tease Eric—ammunition that used to be difficult to find. Like Eric, Pam has a violent, vengeful nature although she often expresses her wit through dry humor. Pam speaks with an American accent, but slips into a slight old English accent when excited. Like her maker, she is lethal in combat and supremely confident in her ability to overcome most foes and survive most attacks, even from other supernaturals.

Relationships

In the book series, Pam is portrayed as bisexual who is more fond of women. In From Dead to Worse she dated Amelia Broadway, Sookie's roommate and a witch. Pam can often be seen right beside Eric. She is both bound and compelled to do his requests. She believes that Eric is a good boss. She is also in love with Eric and has been since she first met him. She is very concerned about Eric's happiness and well-being. She is friends with Sookie, whom she sometimes calls her "telepathic friend" and her "favorite breather" and who has rescued her twice, first during the battle with the witches in Dead to the World and then in All Together Dead from a collapsing hotel. Pam advised Sookie to be more selective in picking her friends in reference to Arlene. It was revealed in Dead to the World, that she shared a nest with Clancy and Chow.

Work and position within the vampire hierarchy

The author introduces Pam in this book series as the co-owner of Fangtasia and Eric's second in command. Later in the books, the audience learns that Eric had asked Pam to help him run Fangtasia. She leaves Minnesota and moves to Louisiana to help Eric run the vampire bar. Pam is based at the bar, but she has other duties in Eric's various business dealings. She is officially a bouncer at the bar. The author shows Pam's leadership skills in her fourth book, Dead to the World, when Eric has memory loss.

After Eric marries Freyda, the Queen of Oklahoma, in the final book in the series Dead Ever After, Pam becomes the new vampire sheriff of area 5 in Louisiana.

Television portrayal

In True Blood, the HBO television series based on the books, Pam (renamed Pamela Swynford De Beaufort) is portrayed by Kristin Bauer van Straten, who is in her early forties. In the True Blood series, Bill mentions that she was turned 100 years ago. Pam is also shown speaking Swedish occasionally. She's a strong and hard character, who feels little for virtually anyone but Eric. However, she puts aside her own feelings regarding Sookie in Season 4, when Eric loses his memory, when she asks Sookie to look after him. The fifth season episode "Authority Always Wins" has flashbacks showing Pam was madam of a brothel in 1905. Eric saved her from a man who had wished to kill her. In this storyline, Eric only turned Pam, who feared the life of an old ex-prostitute, after she threatened suicide. At the end of True Blood she and Eric are getting rich from New Blood, the cure for "Hep V", and are happily living with each other again.

References