Bella Swan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Isabella Marie Swan | |
|---|---|
| Twilight series character | |
 Bella Swan as portrayed by Kristen Stewart. |
|
| First appearance | Twilight |
| Created by | Stephenie Meyer |
| Portrayed by | Kristen Stewart |
| Information | |
| Nickname(s) | Bella Bells Bell |
| Species | Human |
| Gender | Female |
| Age | 17 (Twilight) 18 (New Moon and Eclipse) |
| Date of birth | September 13, 1987 |
| Occupation | Student, works at Newton's Sporting Goods. |
| Family | Charlie Swan (father) Renée Dwyer (mother) Phil Dwyer (stepfather) |
| Spouse(s) | Edward Cullen (fiancé) |
| Address | Forks, WA, USA |
Isabella Marie Swan, known as Bella Swan, is a fictional character from the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer. The series is told from Bella's point of view, with the exception of the epilogue of Eclipse and the series' upcoming companion novel, Midnight Sun.
Contents |
[edit] Personal history
[edit] Early life
Isabella Marie Swan was born on September 13, 1987 to Renée and Charlie Swan, a young couple living in the small town of Forks, Washington. Bella's parents divorced when Bella was six months old, and Renée took Bella with her when she moved to Phoenix, Arizona. Very little of Bella's life in Phoenix is mentioned, although she does allude to not fitting in very well at her old school, never having any romantic relationships or many friends, and that she spent a lot of time with her mother. She mentions taking piano lessons and having a few pet fish. It is also known that she used to take ballet lessons in a studio near her house.[1][2][3]
[edit] Twilight
At the start of the first book, Bella's mother has recently married Phil Dwyer, a minor league baseball player who is much younger than herself. Phil travels a lot due to his profession, and Bella notices how much her mother wants to be with him while he travels. So, to make it easier for them, Bella moves back to her birthtown of Forks, Washington, to live with her father Charlie Swan. She enrolls at Forks High School and notices that the boys there are immediately attracted to her, although she dismisses their advances. She makes a few new friends, including Jessica Stanley, Angela Weber, and Mike Newton.
The one group of people at Forks High School that truly intrigues Bella are the Cullens, a mysterious family consisting of five adopted children. Edward Cullen, in particular, captures her attention. As the story progresses, Bella finds out from a family friend, Jacob Black, that the Cullens are supposedly vampires. However, they are different from other vampires in that they are "vegetarian" – that is, they substitute animal blood for human blood, refusing to hunt humans.
As Edward and Bella get to know each other better, it is hard for Edward to be near her, because her blood "sings" to him. Although he does not drink human blood, Edward constantly lusts for it, and Bella's blood is especially tantalizing for him. He must constantly control his desire. He also finds that his mind reading capabilities do not work on her.
Eventually, the two grow closer and declare their love for one another. Edward introduces her to his family, and soon after she is invited to watch their baseball game. During the game, danger reveals itself in the form of a visiting vampire coven consisting of Laurent, Victoria, and James. Victoria's mate, James, is a sadistic tracker vampire who has set his sights on killing Bella. Edward and his family save Bella and destroy James, though the other vampires of his coven, Victoria and Laurent, survive. Bella escapes death with broken ribs, a broken leg, multiple fractures, bruises and a permanent crescent-shaped scar on her hand where James had bitten her. She spends time in a hospital with Edward constantly by her side, where he admits that his sister Alice saw a vision of Bella becoming a vampire. However, he is determined to keep her human, despite her own determination to become a vampire. The reasons behind his intentions are revealed in New Moon.
At the end of the novel, Edward takes Bella to their prom, despite her broken leg and angry protests. There are high levels of tension as the book ends, caused by Edward and Bella's differences of opinion about turning Bella into a vampire.[1][2][3]
[edit] New Moon
The events of New Moon begin on Bella's eighteenth birthday. Bella is especially upset because it is the day that she becomes older, physically, than Edward, who will always be 17. Edward manages to persuade her to come to his house on the evening of her birthday for a party thrown by Alice. Though she discourages the Cullens from giving her gifts, they insist. Bella receives a paper cut while opening one of her gifts, drawing blood and causing Jasper to try to attack her. Although Bella's injuries are not life-threatening, Edward later decides that she would be safer without him, his family, and his dangerous style of life, so he deceives Bella into thinking that he does not love her any longer and leaves Forks with his family. Before leaving, though, he makes Bella promise that she will not do anything reckless or dangerous. She agrees, and in return, he promises that she will never see him again.
Bella sinks into a deep depression for four months, until she is 'awoken' by Charlie, her father. He threatens to send her back to live with her mother in Jacksonville, Florida, because he is worried about her behavior. To appease her father, she tries to engage in normal, teenage-like behavior. She invites her friend Jessica to go to Port Angeles with her for dinner and a movie. While there, she carelessly approaches four men standing outside a bar. This results in her hearing Edward's voice inside her head, warning her to turn around. Bella soon realizes that whenever she puts herself in a dangerous situation, she can hear Edward's voice again with perfect clarity.
With this discovery in mind, Bella seeks out Jacob Black and convinces him to fix a motorcycle for her and teach her how to ride. Jacob, however, is completely unaware that Bella wants to ride motorcycles just so she can hear Edward's voice again. Jacob and Bella become very close, verging on the edge of romance, when suddenly Jacob refuses to answer any of her calls and asks her not to come to his house anymore. It is not until a week later that Bella learns what has happened to her best friend: he has become a werewolf and is avoiding Bella for her own safety. She also learns that Victoria has returned to kill her, out of revenge for Edward killing Victoria's mate, James.
To hear Edward's voice again, Bella attempts cliff-diving and nearly drowns. When Alice, Edward's sister who has the power to see the future, sees Bella jump, she believes Bella had committed suicide and subsequently returns to Forks. Edward, isolated from his family by his own volition, is told by Rosalie, his other sister, that Bella is dead. Alice finds Bella and tells her that Edward is going to Volterra, Italy to ask the Volturi to kill him, because he believes Bella to be dead. Bella and Alice quickly pursue Edward to Italy, and stop him from being killed. Afterwards they are brought to speak with the Volturi, and must promise to change Bella into a vampire so that they will let her live.
Back in Forks, Bella and Edward are reunited and he promises to never leave her again. Later, Jacob Black reminds Edward of the treaty made between the Cullens and the La Push werewolves, which states that no Cullen may bite a human. Bella is thus left in a difficult position: if she does not become a vampire, the Volturi will come to kill her. However, if the Cullens do make her a vampire, they will have broken their treaty with the La Push werewolves, who would start a war with the Cullens.[1][2][3]
[edit] Eclipse
Eclipse begins with Bella reading a letter from Jacob that says that they can't be friends anymore. She is upset about this, but her mood improves when Edward comes to visit her. Edward is trying to convince Bella to fill out more application forms for college, but Bella thinks that college is pointless since she will be turning into a vampire soon anyway. Edward then sees an article in the newspaper about a series of mysterious killings in Seattle and explains to Bella that these killings are most likely a newborn vampire, unable to control its thirst. Later on that day in school, Bella witnesses Alice having a vision: Victoria is coming back to Forks to hunt Bella.
Ultimately, Edward must go hunting and leave Bella. For fear of Bella putting herself in danger, he bribes Alice with a yellow 911 Porsche Turbo to watch over Bella while he's gone and keep her away from Jacob. Bella is furious at Edward's presumption and manages to slip away to see Jacob. Upon returning to the Cullens' house, she encounters Edward. He is not upset that Bella ran away, and realizes that he has been overprotective. Bella thanks Edward, and he begins frequently taking her to the La Push line for regular visits with Jacob. During one of the visits, Jacob admits that he is in love with Bella and forcefully kisses her. Bella is furious and punches him in the face, succeeding only in breaking her hand instead of Jacob's jaw. Edward later threatens to make sure that the "mongrel" will only be walking on three legs if he hurts Bella again (or if she gets hurt whilst under his care) and if he kisses her again he vows to break his jaw for Bella.
Meanwhile, Bella still has her heart set on joining Edward and his family as a vampire. But, after consideration, she decides that there is one thing she would like to do while human: have Edward make love to her. Edward immediately refuses this "demand", explaining that although he wants her as much as she wants him, he could easily kill her if he loses control. Bella insists that he would never allow himself to let that happen. Eventually, Edward agrees that they can "try", but she still must marry him first. Bella reluctantly agrees, making herself Edward's fiancée.
During a fight with the newborn vampires from Seattle, Bella realizes that she is in love with Jacob, but also knows that she can not live without Edward. She kisses Jacob but then tells him that she can't be with him, and leaves to be with Edward. Near the end of Eclipse, Edward takes Bella to their meadow and says that he will do whatever Bella wants without marrying her, because she is trying to make everybody else happy instead of herself. Bella refuses this and tells him that she wants to do this the "right way": marriage, making love, and then being turned into a vampire.[1][2][3]
[edit] Physical appearance
Bella is described as having a very pale complexion with long, straight, dark brown hair and wide chocolate brown eyes. Beyond this information, a detailed description of Bella's appearance is never given in the series. Stephenie Meyer explains that this is because she wanted her readers to "step into Bella's shoes" more easily. However, she has provided a more detailed description of her own interpretation of Bella on her website: she has a heart-shaped face, a widow's peak, a thin nose, and a narrow jaw with a pointed chin and full lips. Her fingernails are stubby, as she has a nervous habit of biting them. She stands at 5'4" and weighs about 110-115 pounds. Bella also has a small crescent-shaped scar on her hand where she was bitten by James, a tracker vampire, in Twilight. The scar is described as being pale, always a few degrees colder than the rest of her body, and shines like a vampire's skin when in the sunlight.[1][4]
[edit] Personality and traits
Bella is described as being exceptionally clumsy, dropping and tripping over everything in sight. She cares deeply for Edward, the rest of the Cullen family, her father Charlie and mother Renée, and her best friend Jacob Black. She hates dressing up, saying that makeup "is a pain" and that she feels uncomfortable in unpractical, elegant clothes. She has a very private mind, which is thought to be why Edward is unable to see her thoughts, and she is determined to become a vampire. She is also said to be a terrible liar, but demonstrates good acting ability in Twilight when she makes her father believe that she has dumped Edward and is leaving Forks. She also gets faint at the sight or smell of blood, as demonstrated in Twilight.
Stephenie Meyer has stated that Bella's "tragic flaw" is her lack of self-knowledge. This is most obviously illustrated in her consistent denial of any romantic feelings for Jacob Black in Eclipse, despite the fact that she later realizes she is, indeed, in love with him.[5]
[edit] Romantic relationships
[edit] Edward Cullen
Bella's first boyfriend is Edward Cullen, a vampire who has renounced drinking the blood of humans. She loves him unconditionally and believes Edward to be absolutely perfect, and does not consider herself worthy of his love. She often describes him as god-like in appearance, and hopes that by becoming a vampire she will become beautiful and graceful like he and his family, the Cullens. Edward disapproves of this and always reassures her that she is more than worthy, and has his heart.
Edward proposes to Bella in New Moon and she eventually accepts in Eclipse, looking down on the prospect of marriage but not entirely opposed to it. As part of a deal with Edward, she promises to marry him if he promises to make love to her and then change her into a vampire. She sees this as the only part of the marriage to look forward to. In the beginning of Breaking Dawn Bella is still engaged to Edward.
[edit] Jacob Black
Jacob Black, a Quileute and the son of Charlie Swan's friend, Billy Black, also loves Bella and spends a lot of time with her during the period of Edward's absence. While Edward was away, Bella found that Jacob's presence soothed the "hole" in her chest that resulted from Edward leaving her. Being around Jacob brought a measure of happiness back to Bella's life, though he was unable to replace Edward fully. Bella felt that Jacob was a good friend, and that he was her own "personal little sun" which would beam happiness in every direction wherever he went. When Jacob underwent his transformation into a werewolf, it put a distance in their friendship.
In Eclipse, Jacob acts upon his romantic feelings for Bella, and tries to convince her to leave Edward for him. Jacob thinks that, since he is more human than Edward, he will be safer for Bella to have a relationship with. Edward sees sense in this, but is still willing to fight for her. Jacob forcefully kisses Bella, resulting in her punching him and breaking her hand almost ending their friendship. Nevertheless, Jacob overhears that Bella and Edward are engaged and makes Bella kiss him, saying that if she doesn't he will kill himself. She does so, and realizes that she is in love with Jacob but that her love for Edward is greater. She tells him that she loves him, but she loves Edward more and he says he wishes it was enough.
[edit] Mike Newton
Mike Newton is a generically popular boy at Bella's new high school who is instantly attracted to Bella. He is friendly and Bella thinks he possesses traits like a golden retriever: his happiness and loyalty in walking her to class and speaking with her every day. Mike frequently tries to ask Bella out, but she always declines. In New Moon, after a movie date with Bella, Jacob and Mike, Mike has seemingly given up on Bella, and tells her that "girls are cruel". Mike develops a new romantic relationship with Jessica Stanley when he accepts that Edward is Bella's boyfriend. In New Moon, Bella tries to rekindle their friendship after four months of 'being a zombie' after the Cullens leave Forks. Mike becomes her friend again, although not with the same enthusiasm and also never forgets his fondness of Bella.
[edit] Tyler Crowley
After nearly killing Bella in a car accident, Tyler feels obligated to make things even. He unsuccessfully asks Bella out to the turnabout dance. After Bella declines, insisting that she must go to Seattle that day, he insists on taking her to prom. He tells the whole school and convinces most of the students that he is taking Bella to prom, much to her annoyance. He shows up at Bella's house on prom night, only to be told over the phone by Edward that she would be unavailable every night as far as anyone but himself was concerned.
[edit] Eric Yorkie
Eric, like Mike Newton, immediately took an interest in Bella when she arrived in Forks. Bella described him as being the "overly eager" chess club type, and he was one of the three boys (Mike, Tyler and himself) who asked Bella to the spring dance, though she declined all three. He develops a rivalry with Mike Newton, and later a dislike for Tyler as well. His friendship sways and mostly falls after Bella goes through a depression in the absence of Edward and the rest of the Cullen family.
[edit] Movie portrayal
On November 16, 2007 it was announced that Kristen Stewart was to play the role of Bella. Meyer stated that she is "very excited" to see Stewart play the part.[6]
[edit] See also
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[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e Meyer, Stephenie. (2005) Twilight. 512pp.
- ^ a b c d Meyer, Stephenie. (2006) New Moon. 563pp.
- ^ a b c d Meyer, Stephenie. (2007) Eclipse. 629pp.
- ^ "Twilight FAQ". Accessed January 01, 2007.
- ^ StephenieMeyer.com | Twilight Series | Eclipse FAQ
- ^ StephenieMeyer.com | Twilight Series | Twilight | Twilight the Movie
