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In 2005, author Stephanie Meyer released her novel Twilight, a story that centers on the relationship between a seventeen-year-old girl named Bella Swan and a one-hundred-and-eight-year-old vampire with a seventeen-year-old body named Edward Cullen. The relationship between them is admired by many people around the world and the series spawned hundreds of thousands of fan fiction, the most notable one being Fifty Shades of Grey. Though the Twilight series received mixed opinions, it was an inarguable pop culture phenomenon at its peak. What can the relationship dynamics in the Twilight series teach readers about relationships?
Do Opposites Attract?
The most notable difference between Bella Swan and Edward Cullen is that she is human and he is not (at least he hasn’t been in a long time). In the first book of the series, Twilight, she follows him into a forest and finds out that he is a vampire. Edward expects her to run away screaming from him upon this revelation. Instead, it makes her even more attracted to him and more curious about his life as a vampire.
Bella is aware that vampires are dangerous, but in her eyes, Edward is different. He sees himself as an evil monster but she does not. After all, he can suck the blood out of her at any given time, but he refuses. He disproves the myth that all vampires are dangerous.
You Will Never Forget Your First Love
Bella falls head over heels in love with the eternally damned Edward, and her love for him never stops. When he breaks up with her in the second book, New Moon, she is completely devastated and her life changes significantly. She does not speak to anyone for months, not even her own father.
Her infatuation with him is so intense that she purposely places herself in dangerous situations. She rides motorcycles she doesn’t know how to ride and enters forests where there are murderous vampires. She also approaches menacing-looking men she does not know so she can hear Edward’s scolding voice in her head. As insane as all of this sounds, love can make people do strange things.
Friendships Are Just As Important As Relationships
Bella’s relationship with Edward is very important to her, but her friendships are important as well. When she first moved to Washington and attended Forks High School in Twilight, she became friends with students Jessica Stanley, Angela Weber, and Mike Newton. She also makes friends with Edward’s siblings Alice, Jasper, Emmett, and Rosalie, but her best friend in the series is none other than Jacob Black, a young Native American boy revealed to be a werewolf in New Moon.
He’s the one who helps fill the void in her life when Edward is gone for a while. Jacob develops feelings for her, and those feelings are requited but she does not love him any more than Edward. Nonetheless, they remain best friends throughout the series, and she always makes sure to look out for him.
Falling In Love With More Than One Person Is Possible
In New Moon when Edward leaves Bella because the citizens in Forks began to notice that his father did not look like he was aging, she distances herself from most of her friends, except Jacob. At first, she only views Jacob as a friend, but in the third book, Eclipse, she realizes that she’s in love with him.
Even though feelings between Bella and Jacob were mutual, Bella’s number one love interest is and always will be Edward. Some say people can fall in love with more than one person. Others say it’s not possible, but it is definitely possible for some people. Edward himself had a relationship prior to meeting Bella.
Relationships Can Overcome Struggle
In all four of the Twilight books, Bella and Edward face a multitude of tumultuous situations. Bella almost gets bitten by a vampire in Twilight. She tries to stop Edward from being killed in New Moon. She almost gets herself killed in Eclipse, and lastly, Bella gives birth to a half-vampire, half-human in Breaking Dawn. Her pregnancy is arguably her most difficult challenge.
Although Edward was a vampire for a very long time, he has no clue if it is possible to get a human pregnant, and learning the news about Bella’s pregnancy terrifies him. Throughout the pregnancy, parts of Bella’s body become broken and she is unable to eat food, but she is able to drink blood. Once she finally delivers her baby girl Renesmee, she transforms into a vampire.
Compromises Will Happen
Bella and Edward each have their own perspective when it comes to marriage and children. She was sure that she wants to spend the rest of her life with Edward, but she does not want to get married and have children with him. Edward, on the other hand, does. He’s so old school that he wants to wait until marriage before they become intimate with each other.
Bella eventually ends up marrying and has a child with Edward despite her initial feelings. Compromises are inevitable if couples want their relationship to last a long time. No one is obligated to agree with everything their partner says and does, but sometimes it’s good to go outside of your comfort zone.
Is Twilight A Great Love Story?
Twilight is undeniably an entertaining, adventurous love story that involves vampires, werewolves, murders, and love triangles. The turbulent nature of it is what captivates both fans and non-fans. It’s almost impossible to be bored reading the books. In a world where people break up every day, a story that showcases the love between two young people who never give up on each other despite the many obstacles they face is refreshing.
If you haven’t read the series and you’re looking to engross yourself in an unforgettable story, go read the series right now.