3.
THE ANALYSIS
3.1 Edward’s Love
Edward Anthony Masen was born on June 20, 1901 in Chicago, Illionis, and was frozen in his 17-year-old body. Edward was also the main character in
this story. While dying of the Spanish influenza, he was changed into a vampire by Dr. Carlisle Cullen after Edward’s mother, Elizabeth, begged him to save
Edward as her dying wish. Edward only drank animal blood and had a special ability to read minds, with the exception of Bella Swan’s. He fell in love with
Bella soon after she arrived in Forks. A vampire is a mythical being who subsists by feeding on the life essence
generally in the form of blood of living creatures. Infolkloric tales, undead vampires often visited loved ones and caused mischief or deaths in the
neighbourhoods they inhabited when they were alive. They wore shrouds and were often described as bloated and of ruddy or dark countenance, markedly
different from todays gaunt, pale vampire which dates from the early 1800s. Although vampiric entities have been recorded in most cultures, the term vampire
was not popularised until the early 18th century, after an influx of vampire superstition into Western Europe from areas where vampire legends were
frequent, such as the Balkans and Eastern Europe,[1] although local variants were also known by different names, such as vrykolakas in Greece and strigoi in
Romania. This increased level of vampire superstition in Europe led to what can
only be called mass hysteria and in some cases resulted in corpses actually being staked and people being accused of vampirism.
In modern times, however, the vampire is generally held to be a fictitious entity, although belief in similar vampiric creatures such as the chupacabra still
persists in some cultures. Early folkloric belief in vampires has been ascribed to the ignorance of the bodys process of decomposition after death and how people
in pre-industrial societies tried to rationalise this, creating the figure of the vampire to explain the mysteries of death. Porphyria was also linked with legends
of vampirism in 1985 and received much media exposure, but has since been largely discredited.
The charismatic and sophisticated vampire of modern fiction was born in 1819 with the publication of The Vampyre by John Polidori; the story was highly
successful and arguably the most influential vampire work of the early 19th century.However, it is Bram Stokers 1897 novel Dracula which is remembered as
the quintessential vampire novel and provided the basis of the modern vampire legend. The success of this book spawned a distinctive vampire genre, still
popular in the 21st century, with books, films, and television shows. The vampire has since become a dominant figure in the horror genre.
Edward Cullen is a protagonist vampire and deep love interest of Bella. Though Bella repeatedly describes Edward as angelic, Edward is the first to
acknowledge that he has a dark side. When he and Bella are first getting to know each other, he warns her, look at this quotation below:
What if Im not a superhero? What if Im the bad guy?he smiled playfully, but his eyes were impenetrable.“oh,” I said, as several things he’d hinted fell suddenly into place. “I see.”
“Do you?” His face was abruptly severe, as if he were afraid that he’d accidentally said too much. “You’re dangerous?” I guessed, my pulse quickening as I intuitively realized the truth of my own
words. He was dangerous. He’d been trying to tell me that all along.He just looked at me, eyes full of some emotion I couldn’t comprehend.“But not too bad,” I whispered, shaking my head. “ No, I
don’t believe that you’re bad.” 1
Much of the tension in the novel results from Edwards very nature as a predator, a vampire. Hes a conflicted character because he sees himself as a
monster – he hates that he craves human blood, especially Bellas. Hes horrified by his natural instincts.
When telling Bella about his past, he admits that he did, at one point in his life, give in and prey on humans. Edward returned to Carlisle and committed
to the vegetarian diet after he began to see the monster in [his] eyes 16.82. Yet when Edward encountered Bella for the first time in Biology class, he almost
lost control for the first time in decades:
To me, it was like you were some kind of demon, summoned straight from myown personal hell to ruin me. The fragrance coming off your skin…I thought it would make
me deranged that first day. In that one hour, I thought of a hundred different ways to lure you from the room, to get you alone. And I fought them each back, thinking of my
family, what I could do to them. I had to run out, to get away before I could speak the words that would make you follow… 2
Despite his primal urges, Edward tells Bella,
I couldnt live with myself if I ever hurt you. You dont know how its tortured me 3.
Though he loves Bella, Edward struggles against his nature, and continues to worry that he wont be able to control himself and will accidentally hurt her.
All the same, Bella cant resist him. Edward repeatedly tells her that hes dangerous, but Bella insists, I would rather die than stay away from you.
Like many of the characters, Edward can be intimidating, gruff, aggressive, and jealous. He admits that he has a hard time controlling his anger,
hes moody, he sometimes speaks harshly to Bella, he carries and drags her around against her will on occasion because he thinks he knows whats best for her, and
has to work hard to keep himself from killing anyone who threatens her. Like many of these other bad boys, Edward could easily slip into being purely
vicious, and has to work hard to exercise self-control. Despite their aggressive natures, most of these characters can be softened by the woman they love.
Edward has some other unusual qualities that Bella finds attractive. When Edward saves Bella from the alley thugs, we learn that hes been following her around and
just want to make sure that she is keep safe. Look at the quotation below:
“ Headlights suddenly flew around the corner, the car almost hitting the stocky one, forcing him to jump back toward the sidewalk. I drove into the road – this car was going
to stop, or have to hit me. But the silver car unexpectedly fishtailed around, skidding to a stop with the passenger door open just a few feet from me.
“Get in,” a furious voice commanded.It was amazing how instantaneously the choking fear vanished, amazing how suddenly the feeling of security washed over me- even
before I was off the street- as soon as I heard his voice. I jumped into the seat, slamming the door shut behind me.”4
Bellas response? I wondered if it should bother me that he was following me; instead I felt a strange sense of pleasure. Interestingly, Bella also
doesnt seem at all creeped out when she learns that hes been sneaking into her bedroom at night and watching her sleep.
Look at the quotation below:
“How often?” I asked casually.“Hmmm?” He sounded as if I had pulled him from some other train of thought.I still didn’t turn around. “How often did you come here?”
“I come here almost every night.”I whirled, stunned. “Why?” “You’re interesting when you sleep.” He spoke matter-of-factly. “You talk.”
“No” I gasped, heat flooding my face all the way to my hairline. I gripped the kitchen counter for support. I knew I talked in my sleep, of course; my mother teased me about it.
I hadn’t thought it was something I needed to worry about here though.5
3.2 Bella’s Loves
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