Theories about Count Saint Germaine
I strongly believe that the version of Count Saint Germaine in Netflix’s Castlevania is based heavily on the German legend of Faust, particularly from Goethe’s version of the Faust story.
In that version of the Faust Story, Faust is a doctor and sorcerer who sells his soul for the ultimate knwoledge / life experience. He will live until he has the greatest experience, which he feels would be the ultimate enlightenment (knowledge). In Goethe’s Faust: Part 2 he learns that this ultimate experience is love, caring about others. And so he finds redemption and is able to ascend to Heaven where his true love, Gretchen waited for him.
The Goethe version of Faust was told in the 1926 silent film from F. W. Murnau (director of Nosferatu), the “Fleabitten Bargain” episode of Wishbone, and is retold in the Kamelot power metal albums Epica and The Black Halo (when played back to back) but the Kamelot version changes Gretchen’s name to Helena and change Faust’s first name to Ariel.
Faust is supposed to have been a doctor and sorcerer and during the time of his bargain, he and Mephistopheles (a demon, not The Devil, himself) travelled to different places and times together. Faust was obsessed with gaining new knowledge.
The legend of Faust is loosely based on a real self-proclaimed sorcerer who lived in the fifteenth century. He was the author of a few Grimoires and many legends sprang up around him being immortal and having a demon companion who could turn into a dog.
Now comes Saint German. Count Saint German was an infamous yet well-educated conman of the eighteenth century who claimed to be a five-hundred-year-old immortal from Transylvania. No one knows his true origin, there is only speculation.
Here’s what Count Saint Germaine looked like in the Castlevania video games.
Here’s what the historic Count Saint Germaine looked like.
Here’s what Count Saint Germaine looked like in the Netflix Castlevania series.
And here is how Faust was supposed to have looked according to Goethe’s Faust Part 1, illustrated by Harry Clarke.
Though I doubt he sold himself to Mephisto I do think Count Saint Germaine learned the importance of love and found his redemption through love. I also feel the Netflix version of Count Saint Germaine’s personality, his sorcery, his appearance, and his time travelling are very likely based much more on the legend of Faust than on the historic Saint Germaine.
And now for my more insane fan theory… I think that person that Count Saint Germaine wanted to be reunited with was Alucard. Here are the clues.
1. Whoever that “someone very dear to (him)” was, the show went out of their way to not reveal the companion’s gender, name, or appearance. This suggests an effort to subvert expectations.
Tell me that doesn’t resemble Alucard’s build?
2. The silhouette of the lover was thin, androgynous, and long haired.
2 part b. Assuming this version of Count Saint Germaine is based on Faust, come to think of it, Faust’s lover, Gretchen, does look a bit like Alucard now that I think about it…
3. There is the “reversed castle” in the corridor. That reversed castle is from Symphony of The Night, the game where Alucard confronts and defeats his father. Symphony of the Night is set over a century after the current Netflix series events so though Count Saint Germaine might look much older than Alucard, there is a chance he is the younger of the two immortals at the time of their meeting.
4. During season 3 there are distinct parallels between Count Saint Germaine and Alucard. A lonely immortal desperate to be able to trust someone. We are told how lonely Saint Germaine must be and then it cuts back to Alucard making similar decisions for the same reasons.
5. Both Alucard And Saint Germaine value knowledge in all its forms. They consider it the mots precious gift.
6. Assuming Count Saint Germaine is at least partly based on the sorcerer Faust, part of the legend was that Faust traveled with a male companion… who could turn into a dog (believed to be a demon).
Not only is this ship possible, but I have fully embraced the Alucard and Count Saint Germaine (Faust) ship.
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