Nitty Gritty: Edward

Continuing in our discussion of the characters and controversy of the Twilight series, let us consider:

In my opinion, Edward is certainly the hero of the series. Some would disagree. If he isn't, then who is? Jacob? Hmm...

Edward is certainly where a lot of the controversy regarding the series lies. The most common claim, of course, is that Edward is abusive. Some of the actions cited:

1. He grabs her by her jacket collar to prevent her from driving herself home after she fainted in Biology (Twilight)

2. He sabatoges her car, follows her, has Alice take her, etc. to keep her from Jacob (Eclipse)

3. He withholds sex from her as a punishment (Eclipse)

4. When they finally do become physically intimate, he is so rough with her it leaves her severely bruised (Breaking Dawn)

I find most of these criticisms ridiculous, because I believe those who espouse them are holding Edward to a double standard. They expect him to behave like he's a wise, mature, experienced being (like a 110-year-old vampire) while also expecting him to have comparable behavior to a typical teenager. In other words, when he behaves like a vampire, the criticism is based on him not being exactly like human 17-year-old boys, but when he behaves like a human 17-year-old boy, he's criticized for behaving like a vampire.

One of the things I love about Edward's character is this very dichotomy. He has been frozen, emotionally, at a stage in which he had not experienced a serious relationship. Emotionally, he is just as inexperienced as Bella. He makes mistakes, the same mistakes a guy in high school would make in his first relationship.

Take the first example: he grabs her by the jacket collar to prevent her from leaving. I don't want to go into too much detail, but I had several male friends in high school that would have (and did, frankly) treat me just like that. It was playful. It was flirtation. Sometimes it was annoying, but we were all learning how to behave like men and women. Why can't Edward experience this?

The "stalking" in Eclipse is very realistic, to me. The intensity of a first love often prompts people to behave irrationally. The fact that Edward recognizes his mistake, admits it, and changes his behavior despite his continuing jealousy says volumes.

I have to say, I believe that Edward is being victimized by the extreme hypersensitivity of today's society. Think about characters in some of the "classics" of romantic literature: Mr. Darcy, Mr. Rochester, Heathcliff, Romeo...by today's standards, are any of them truly admirable men? I don't think so. Some of the very criticisms leveled at Edward apply to these classic characters, but because we are able to view them through the lens of their time, we excuse their flaws. I think Edward needs the same consideration: one cannot judge Edward's actions and motivations unless one accepts Edward's reality.

I love Edward. I think he's a good person. And a fine hero.

Character Breakdown: Jasper

I've been thinking a lot about Jasper. I find him fascinating. Except for him telling his backstory to Bella in Eclipse, Jasper is almost never the focus of attention. He is the center of Alice's world, but no one else's.

In Twilight, Jasper seemed to exist so Alice had a mate. We understood that they were "adopted" into the Cullen family, and that Jasper was less comfortable in the "vegetarian" lifestyle than everyone else, but that was all. Even Bella's stay with him in Phoenix did little to illuminate his character; Bella herself states that he becomes distant and remote once the sojourn is over.

In New Moon, Jasper is absent for the majority of the book. However, Jasper is the catalyst for the entire story. His lack of control at Bella's party is the single act that precipitates everything that follows. If Jasper hadn't attacked her, would Edward have left? If Edward hadn't left, would he and Bella have stayed together? Jasper's loss of control was responsible, in my opinion, for the rest of the story.

In Eclipse, Jasper reveals himself to be hiding a great deal of strength and intelligence behind that quiet reserve. He manages to train vampires and werewolves together. He reveals that he is the member of the Cullen family with the most blood on his hands. He has slaughtered human and vampire alike for years with little remorse. Only the weight of hundreds of lives taken, and the example of his underling, makes him realize that the life he is leading doesn't make him happy.

In Breaking Dawn, Jasper becomes a figure of tragedy. In witnessing Bella's transformation, Jasper must realize that so much of his own behavior is a result of his own choices, not the implacable will of nature. He is absent again, for much of the novel, when Alice leaves the family, and when they return it is Alice's triumph, not his. No one misses Jasper. No one is shocked that Jasper left. It is Alice they love and miss, not him. But he does return, and when he does, we have the satisfaction of seeing how happy he is with his family.

His relationship with Alice, along with Carlisle and Esme's, is one dealt with in almost purely emotional terms. We don't get references to them being physically intimate, though I'm sure they are. What we do get from them is the idea that they love each other to the exclusion of everything else.

What do you think about Jasper?

Regarding Edward

Certainly one of the most polarizing figures in the series is Edward.  People seem to either really love him or view him as an abusive monster.

I love Edward.  For me, he evokes many of the dark, troubled heroes in some of fiction's greatest works.  I think he's got a little of Mr. Rochester, Mr. Darcy, Romeo, and Rhett Butler, as well as others.  What I like about Edward is that, although he is perfect for Bella, he is far from perfect, and he knows it.

Rob Pattinson's take on Edward was this: Edward has been in emotional cold storage since his transformation.  When he falls in love with Bella, it causes him to start feeling again, which makes all of his emotions intense, even painful.  I think a lot of Edward's actions, particularly in Twilight, make perfect sense when viewed through this lens.  His hot-and-cold treatment of Bella, his possessiveness, even his sneaking into Bella's house become, if not acceptable, understandable.

So what does everyone else think of Edward?

-Deb