Eric Northman
About Eric Northman
Eric Northman is introduced in the first book of the Southern Vampire Mysteries, Dead Until Dark. In that book, he is a minor character, and Sookie regards him with fear and dislike. We learn that he is the powerful Sheriff of Louisiana Area 5, as well as the owner of a profitable Shreveport tourist bar called Fangtasia. He is very old - about a thousand years old by Sookie's assumption. We learn in book 9 that as a human he was married to a woman named Aude, and they had six children. Eric's maker was a (probably Roman) vampire named Appius, who turned Eric and then forced him to have sex with him, though Eric tells Sookie that eventually he learned to enjoy it.
In the first seven books, Eric is a subject of the Queen of Louisiana, Sophie-Anne Leclerq. In the eighth book, he becomes a subject of Nevada's King, Felipe de Castro. Eric's "child" is Pam, his business partner at Fangtasia. They were also lovers at one time.
Eric is very sensual; he likes to maintain eye contact, he likes to take in smells and tastes (he frequently smells Sookie's hair), and he likes close physical contact. In book 3, Sookie wakes up to find Eric "snuggling" with her. When he loses his memory, he sleeps next to her for comfort, and he holds onto her when he is around unfamiliar people. At one point Sookie says that Eric is "like a cat in his enjoyment of contact" (Club Dead).
Eric is also unexpectedly thoughtful. The morning Sookie wakes up to find him in her bed, she finds when she returns from the bathroom that he made the bed. He always sees to her needs, from the new gravel drive to the cranberry coat.
Eric is only seen from Sookie's point of view, and with her the reader's opinion of him evolves from ruthless and scary to likeable, trustworthy, full of humor, and even lovable. We learn that he is a good and fair employer, and that he can have an unexpected depth of feeling, especially where Sookie is concerned.
On True Blood
The following information is Eric's back story as shown on the Enhanced Viewing feature on the Blu-Ray disc of episode 4, "Escape from Dragon House."
ERIC NORTHMAN (born 1046, made vampire 1077). As a teenager in ninth [sic] century Scandinavia, Eric joined up with a rogue band of warriors who refused to swear allegiance to any kingdom, because, in his own words, "my destiny is to answer to no man." Eric quickly became the leader of the group, which was briefly infamous for marauding the coast of what is now Germany and Poland, until they mysteriously vanished after a battle in 1077. Eric will not speak about how he was made vampire, or who made him.