Over the course of The Vampire Diaries series by L.J. Smith, Elena Gilbert is frequently torn between the Salvatore brothers. And if you're a fan, you're either Team Damon or Team Stefan. Stefan Salvatore is one point of the iconic triangle at the center of the books that made vampires swoony-worthy long before Twilight, and he's the ultimate dreamy vampire boyfriend. From Renaissance Europe to modern day Virginia, he's seen a lot. Here's all you ever wanted to know about Stefan Salvatore.
Warning: The following article contains spoilers for The Vampire Diaries.
How is Stefan Salvatore described?
In the books, Stefan is very handsome. He's slim, tall (but not towering), and muscled, with classic high cheekbones, curly black hair, and deep green eyes. As a vampire, he's naturally quite pale. Oh, and he's eternally 18, despite being born in Italy in the year 1490. Stefan lived the first 18 years of his life as an Italian aristocrat before being turned. Although he can be very powerful (and, therefore, dangerous) because of his vampire status, Stefan has an air of kindness and innocence about him. His voice is described as melodic and calming. He's known to be a good friend, and he anguishes over doing the right thing and being noble. Stefan almost always wears black and dresses in designer clothing, a throwback to his aristocratic roots. He never goes out without his lapis lazuli ring, which he wears on the middle finger of his right hand to protect him against the sunlight.
Stefan Salvatore's Important Relationships
Stefan is the brother of Damon, also a vampire, and their relationship is rather contentious. When they were human, they both fell in love with and fought over Katherine von Swartzschild, the vampire who turned them both. Katherine tragically took her own life when she was distraught over the rift she caused between Stefan and Damon. As a result, the brothers have hated each other even more deeply since, spending the better part of 500 years avoiding each other. In present day, Stefan falls for Elena, a human in Fells Church, Virginia, but he is alarmed and intrigued in equal measure to find that Elena bears a striking resemblance to Katherine. Stefan also befriends Matt and Tyler, who are his teammates on the football team at school. Stefan likes Matt, while his relationship with Tyler is sometimes tense. He also befriends Bonnie, Elena's best friend and a witch, who becomes his ally in later books.
What happens to Stefan Salvatore in The Vampire Diaries series?
Stefan first appears in The Awakening, when he arrives in Fells Church having been compelled to relocate by a force he doesn't quite understand. Wanting a fresh start and determined to not drink human blood, he enrolls in high school in order to blend in as he looks so young. There, he meets Elena. He is instantly drawn to her but fears getting too close because of Elena's striking resemblance to Katherine. However, he finds himself unable to stay away. He comes to Elena's rescue when she is attacked by Tyler after the Homecoming dance. As they begin to date, Fells Church is plagued by a series of attacks. Stefan starts to worry that he is unconsciously losing control of himself and attacking humans, especially when their history teacher is murdered and people suspect him. But then the truth is revealed. His brother Damon has shown up in Fells Church, also drawn to the town by an inexplicable force—and he's determined to make life hell for Stefan. Elena finds out that Stefan is a vampire and, to his surprise, chooses to stand by him.
In The Struggle, Stefan's life is complicated as Damon is back in town, and he and Elena begin to suspect that there is something—or someone—else behind the attacks. As much as they'd love to blame everything on Damon, it just doesn't add up. Stefan in particular struggles with the entire town blaming him still, and things get even more complicated when he drinks blood for the first time in a long, long time. But that's nothing compared to finding Elena dead after someone runs her off a bridge and she drowns.
In The Fury, Stefan is grief-stricken—but not for long. Elena wakes from her death sleep, and he discovers that his love has been turned into a vampire. Now, whether he likes it or not, he must work with Damon to uncover who is responsible for the attack on Elena. In a shocking twist, they find that their old lover Katherine is back and in town. In fact, she's the one responsible for all the attacks and for turning Elena. Stefan must team up with Damon for an epic showdown against Katherine. He is devastated when both Katherine and Elena are killed.
In Dark Reunion, Stefan leaves Fells Church; after losing Elena, he plans to get as far away as possible from his pain. But when Bonnie has a strange dream, suggesting Elena is in trouble and a new evil has appeared in Fells Church, she summons him back to town. Stefan arrives to find that there is, indeed, a strange force at work: werewolves. Stefan makes an attempt to reach out to Elena from beyond the veil, but he must confront the evil in front of him. Klaus, the Original who turned Katherine, is wreaking havoc on the town, using Tyler Smallwood, who has werewolf DNA, to do his dirty work. The characters face Klaus in an epic standoff. Elena saves the day by appearing as an avenging angel and defeating Klaus, but not quite destroying him.
The end of the original four Vampire Diaries series books sees Stefan and Elena together and happy, if only for a short while. Stefan also appears, usually as a main character, in the three successive spin-off trilogies, The Hunters, The Return, and The Salvation, which were published more than 10 years after Dark Reunion. There is only one book, in The Return trilogy, where he is largely absent from the action. In Shadow Souls, Stefan gets trapped in the Dark Dimension, and Elena and Damon join forces to rescue him. Throughout The Vampire Diaries, Stefan and Elena face many trials together and apart. Ultimately, they choose to spend the rest of eternity together as soul mates.
Best Stefan Salvatore Quotes
"Do you know what the name Salvatore means in Italian, Elena? It means salvation, savior. I'm named that, and for St. Stephen, he was the first Christian martyr. And I damned my brother to hell." — The Vampire Diaries Book 1: The Awakening
“It doesn't matter if you can't say it right now. I'll say it for both of us. And someday you'll learn.” — The Vampire Diaries Book 1: The Awakening
How does Stefan Salvatore differ in the television adaptation?
In The Vampire Diaries TV series, Stefan is played by Paul Wesley. Although the actor doesn't look exactly like Stefan is described in the book, Wesley captures most of the character's signature qualities. In the TV show, Stefan is tanned, not pale-skinned, and has brown hair rather than black curls. However, he still has the same lean, muscled physique and high cheekbones, and he's still the softer-spoken and kind-hearted Salvatore brother. Stefan also struggles to get along with his brother Damon and, perhaps most important of all, considers Elena his soulmate.
If you're Team Stefan, get caught up on The Vampire Diaries series and relive all of the best Stefan and Elena moments that inspired the TV show. Then, listen to the thrilling spin-off series Stefan's Diaries, narrated by Kevin T. Collins.
