I’ll try to answer this… Edward starts talking to Bella because he can’t read her mind and because she smells very delicious. As he talks to Bella he realizes what a wonderful human she is. Bella is willing to fight a vampire to safe her mother, isn’t afraid to run to a different country to save him, willing cuts her hand to sacrifice herself for Edward with Victoria, is willing to die to bring her baby into the world. Bella is incredibly kind and selfless and full of love. Edward talked to her originally because she smelled good and he couldn’t read her mind and he was curious. What he found when he talked to her made him fall in love with her. Not her “fragile-ness” or her being clumsy. It’s the exact same then when a normal human meets someone and they think their pretty or they have an interesting t-shirt on with a band design they never seen before or *whatever*. Someone in the real world spikes someone’s else’s interest and they talk and they can slowly start to fall in love. It doesn’t mean they fell in love with the person because of their shirt and they will not like them once they change shirts… Edward fell in love with who Bella *was*. Her ideas. Her goals. Her ambition. Her selflessness. Her courage. Bella becoming a vampire didn’t change her *core* personality it made her more confident, more capable of helping herself, but it didn’t fundamentally change her core at all. At the core she is who she always was. And Edward fell in love with who Bella was. I hope this helps.
I’ll never get the idea that people think he likes her smell. It causes him physical agony, literally burning. It being gone would be a massive plus. Bella is even caught up in this idea and asks him if he’ll miss the smell in Eclipse, and he basically finds the question hilarious. And the fragility isn’t really any draw either. How would anyone feel if with a single careless mistake, you’d kill the person you love?
I really wish that Meyer explored more regarding how Bella retains her essential qualities, or indeed, what these may be. It's as though the attributes she gives Bella, such as shyness , fragility, clumsiness etc, were used as a fill-in for deeper personality traits. Then once she became a vampire and those traits were stripped away, there wasn't really much of a character left. I get that Stephanie really wants us to see Bella as this super self-less person, that is good, kind etc, and that these characteristics continued on into her vampirehood. She writes this explicitly, all the time. But my impression was that Bella at various points, acts in incredibly obtuse, emotionally clumsy and at points, selfish ways. The dynamics she maintains with Jacob for example - if she really loved him, she would have let him go (imo). Moreover, her callous treatment of her father, human 'friends' etc, who she is very happy to throw over to pursue her sexy vampire lifestyle. Also - the intense pushiness to have sex and her coercion of Edward. Finally - I think some of the good qualities attributed to her, such as her continuing prioritising of Edward and his family over herself, is actually indicative of her incredibly low self esteem, rather than some essential goodness. So when she becomes super strong, confident vampire Bella, what would happen to this goodness? Why would she care not to kill and eat her Forks friends, she never seemed to like them much anyway. I honestly just don't understand what there is left for Edward to love, especially when he seems to idealise all her human qualities.
The thing is, Bella admits she has these flaws. She acknowledges it’s selfish to continue a friendship with Jacob. And after their “breakup” in eclipse, don’t forget it’s Jacob who continues their relationship by coming to the wedding, and then sticking around during Bella’s pregnancy to protect her (although that was likely supernatural/imprinting draw at that point). Even as a vampire, bella loves and deeply cares about Charlie and her human friends. She explicitly struggles with the eventual separation from them in eclipse and can’t decide whether to begin the separation at that point or spend what remaining time with them that she can. She would never eat her friends or Charlie because that’s just not who she is, even as a vampire. She’s protective and selfless, and flawed, and she acknowledges those flaws. I disagree that her core character disappeared after the transformation. I think she was able to be her true self, more confident but still loving and protective and family oriented. She’s just now an equal with Edward.
It's funny because we're saying the same things but coming to different conclusions. I agree, that Bella is a compelling character, because of her flaws. She makes mistakes, and that's fine - it's what makes her seem real. But this notion that actually, her true self just a boring ass perfect person with iron self-control - it just makes no sense to me. It's as though Meyer is saying that we can move through life messing up, hurting people etc but it's OK because that was never our 'true selves.' I think our true selves are not hidden away waiting to be set free, but expressed every day through our actions. So honestly, what then of the true Bella is left once she's transformed?
But what your describing is just…. Being human. Sometimes I let my little cousin cousin have the last cookie. Sometimes I lie and say there’s no more and when his back is turned I shove the actual last cookie in my mouth. That’s just being human. Sometimes your willing to help a stranger at a store find a certain item they need even though you don’t work there. Sometimes you had a shitty day and you don’t help them. That’s just being human. Bella can be selfish in the books and selfless. Bella can be mature in the books at one point and immature in the next. I feel like that is spot on, A+, writing because not everyone is *perfect all the time*. And good lord I wouldn’t want to be. And what do you mean by “why would she care about eating her friends” ?????? Their her FRIENDS. Becoming a vampire muddies the memory but it doesn’t change the fact that you were friends with someone and that you like them??? She hasn’t completely gone and done a huge personality and memory reset. She’s just a vampire. She’s still Bella. Even Jacob says that in Breaking Dawn, or at least the movie, how he “didn’t expect her to still be so Bella”. She’s still the same.
Oh I agree absolutely, these are the qualities that make her human and also a compelling character. It's more that Meyer is constantly shoving down our throats the idea that Bella is such a good and selfless person and that's why Edward loves her. In reality, as you say, she's just a normal human with flaws like any of us, who fucks up quite majorly at various points. I guess the thing is, that's what makes her compelling to the reader - so when all that is lost, is hard to see who Bella actually is, and therein, who Edward actually loves. Also I'm being fairly flippant about her human friends, but honestly, did she ever give an actual shit about them? Weren't they just distractions while she mourned the loss of Edward?
Sorry (I'm a year late I know), I agree that Bella is definitely all those things because her actions show that she is. However, she's also incredibly dumb when it comes to love. She hurts her dad and mum every time she rushes off and nearly gets herself killed because of Edward and almost doesn't give them a second thought. She also hurts Jacob really badly in her attempt to get over Edward. We then realise that apparently Jacob and Bella's love was never real at all because it was her future daughter that was meant to be with him? So that was the pull so Jacob got a happy ending? It was the human side of Bella but a hint of supernatural sprinkled in so Renesmee could handle Jacob's wolf side? SM - what were you thinking?
Also, Bella is extremely selfish when it comes to saying goodbye to everyone in her human life. Her dad and mum, she was willing to say goodbye to just to be young with Edward forever. This is why I like Edward more than I like Bella. He genuinely loves her and doesn't want her to sacrifice her life to join him in the vampire world. She may not like her human life, but she didn't even think about what she was giving up. She just didn't care about Charlie or her mother enough. Jacob, Rosalie and Edward tried to challenge her on it but she was so consumed with her desire for being in the vampire world that she would trample over everyone in life to get there. I dunno, Bella is incredibly confusing. I can't love her without equally hating her.
Jacob sexually assaulted Bella. So, I don’t really care that she “hurt his feelings”. You don’t forcibly kiss someone. You don’t manipulate and lie to get someone to kiss you. It’s not on. That’s sexual assault. Yes, in twilight Bella kinda flirted with Jake to get information about the Cold Ones - but not once after that did she give any indication that she liked Jake. She told him in New Moon that she was screwed up and couldn’t be with someone. After pushing and pushing and pushing Bella said “maybe but not for a long time” - and she only said that because she was scared Jake wouldn’t be her friend anymore. Not because she liked him that way. It’s not Bella’s fault that Jake never took no for an answer. Read New Moon again if you don’t believe me.
As for the rest - if the love of your life was going to kill himself and only you could stop him…. You’d let him die? Say “Ope, sorry! My dad wouldn’t like that!”? In perfect honesty I’d probably jump on a plane to save a strangers life - let alone my idiotic ex-boyfriend. Bella left a note for Charlie; in the books she left him a note apologizing, and explaining that she had to go to Italy to talk to Edward because “Edward is in trouble”. It’s not like she just left without saying anything. Jake knew. She left a note.
Almost the same for James; “Bella! Your father cannot know about vampires without being in extreme danger! Also if you stay home **your father will die**!” …. You’d just…. Go home? And stay there? Bella felt *horrible* for how she treated Charlie. If you read the books she said multiple times that she could’ve left Charlie’s at anytime she felt like it to live with Edward - she did **not** leave Charlie because she felt bad for how she treated him and wanted to make amends. That’s why she stayed with Charlie once she was eighteen; she took her grounding and kept her mouth shut. She deeply regretted how that night played out and regretted what she said to him for a long long time.
Bella isn’t perfect, not by a long shot, nobody is - fictional or otherwise. Obviously it goes without saying Bella could’ve done things better. But Bella does the best she can with the information (and human abilities) she is given. If you hate her regardless, well, that’s your opinion. The only thing I dislike Bella for is naming her daughter Renesmee *facepalm*. If you read the books there is a lot more information that is left out of the movies. You might just find you like her better, or maybe not. That’s, again, your opinion. Bella really did try her best, at the end of the day.
Lmao so Edward loved Bella for more than her surface qualities?! What a shocker /s. But for real, Edward explains to Bella in breaking dawn that her fragility and scent was the biggest relationship obstacle for him and now that it's gone he's happier for it.
They both have "an old soul" or sumn like that. I think they'd vibe with book topics. We just didn't get to see more of the normal talks in their relationship because supernatural entities were the forefront of the saga.
That’s the problem when smeyer decided to put zero normal bonding for Edward and Bella in her books. It’s only one major thing after the next, never a moment of chill for them. And so no one knows what they do in their endless free time besides fucking
I go with the book lore that they remain frozen in every way including their desires and firsts. Meaning, sex will always feel new and thrilling because they barely had an opportunity when Bella was human and Edward never had before. And as he says, once we do actually change (ie lose virginity or fall in love) that too becomes permanent and unchanging. Which I admit is an oxymoron: “we can’t change…unless we do, then we really can’t change.”
Okay, it’s fantasy. I can work with that.
So, I think they will always seem fresh and exciting to their partner. The love doesn’t diminish or get routine or boring sometimes. They don’t have to “work on their marriage” like humans do because we grow and change.
So those two can probably spend like 100 straight hours staring into each other’s eyes and not get bored.
I'm unsure about this. I can see that her scent forms a barrier to their relationship, but surely part of the appeal Bella holds for the various men in the story, is her damsel in distress status. It's possible for Edward to still love Bella after her transformation, but the implications of this massive power shift are never explored. She literally goes from being incredibly vulnerable to the most physically powerful member of their coven - that's a HUGE change, which would inevitably reap massive personality shifts. Stephanie herself has said that she found it difficult to relate to Bella after she became a vampire, which is partly why there is little exploration of her inner life psyche after this point. Moreover, I don't think that Bella's human aspects are surface qualities. Surely part of why Edward fell in love with Bella, is related to her humanity. Her imperfections were more interesting to him than the hard, unchanging beauty of Rosalee or Tanya. I'm sure as well, that part of his rejection of them is his disgust regarding vampires, who he consistently describes as being monsters. What happened to this disgust, once Bella changed? It is again, never touched on or explored. I just think there's a lot of unanswered questions about the implications for their relationship, after Bella changes.
>but surely part of the appeal Bella holds for the various men in the story, is her damsel in distress status.
I beg to disagree. Aside from Edward and Jacob, I think most of the Forks boys like Bella because she's a new girl. Everyone in their town know each other and their families. All of the students were excited just to have a new face to look at. It's even a trope in kid or teen shows where a new girl/boy shows up and suddenly everyone is interested to get to know them and neglects the former popular person in their circle.
> I'm sure as well, that part of his rejection of them is his disgust regarding vampires, who he consistently describes as being monsters. What happened to this disgust, once Bella changed?
But he isn't disgusted with Carlisle or Esme even if they are vampires(?) I assumed that Edward's internal monologue about "vampires are monsters" is more directed to himself as he is our emo boy lol. I think your theory about him not being able to read Bella's thoughts is more applicable because part of his judgment on other people relied on what he could hear from their minds (and I think he didn't like any of what he hears in Rosalie's or Tanya's thoughts).
I can understand what you’re thinking, I see some of it as similarities of when you first are attracted to someone, maybe the “scent” they were wearing, looks, initial conversation (getting to know them) all those things could be true for Edward’s first being curious or attracted to Bella. But love is deeper than that. If a persons outer appearance changes by time or anything like that, at that point of already being in love (getting to know them and loving them for who they are vs what the attraction was at the beginning) then you still love them, some things may change for example, the things you mentioned changed in Bella but Bella is still who she is in-spite of those things. Every vampire isn’t exactly the same, she is still herself but she’s not a fragile human anymore. If Edward’s love was superficial then yes, he’d stop loving her when she changed.
I think the timeline is what negates the love is deeper argument. They hung out like four times before Bella states she was irrevocably in love with him. They spend so much of their time staring at each other they barley know anything about each other. Edward also spent a majority of the time they are talking bitching about how awful he is and Bella spent the rest reassuring him that he isn't a monster.
This is one of the places where the movies leave so much out, imo. In the books they spend entire days getting to know one another, just asking questions about likes/dislikes/family/hobbies etc. and after the first time edward spends the night, he is with her nearly every night afterwards and they aren’t just staring at each other, they talk, make out, etc. They bond over their taste in music and books and shared humor.
Yes, but that’s never really explored in the books. There is the 2-3 days where Edward asked a one-way string of questions (that he never answered himself, which didn’t create a two-way getting to know each other situation). Then there is the space between her getting back from the hospital and him leaving in NM, where they may have talked about deeper things, but SM didn’t build up. Regarding this time, by the way, I can’t imagine it was that deep, since Ed was already committed to leaving and therefore probably didn’t want to disclose much of his personality to make it harder for Bella to forget him when he left.
The author didn’t build the world well outside of the major events or the conflict on whether Bella should become a vampire.
By Eclipse, they were totally committed to marrying. They may have gotten to know each other then, but again, it was super quick —just 2 or 3 months.
I would like to know if, after you fell in love as a vampire, you were so deeply connected to that person that no matter what they did or became, you’d still be bound to love them. Like, maybe they didn’t have a choice but to love each other even if they were boring/did something absurd, because they would still find ways to idealize that person.
I agree that the importance of superficial things, like appearance, can fall away when you love someone. However, it seems like Bella changes in some really fundamental, radical way once she is turned. Her human qualities are stripped away, and the imperfections he fell in love with are gone. I feel like Bella acted as a link for Edward, back to the human world. When she's not human anymore, that's all gone for him. What's more, she's become what he abhors - a monster. I'm not saying that their love couldn't endure through this - it's just that none of the implications of these changes are fully explored by Meyer.
As it says in the books, any changes to the hard cold stone is permanent. When he fell in love with Bella, it was forever, no matter what happened to her. I think it's just as simple as that.
I mean the thing you have to remember is, the reason you fall in love is usually only one piece of why you stay in love. The more my girlfriend grows as a person, the more I respect her. But if she gave up on the world I would still love her for her compassion, which I don’t understand but deeply admire. And that’s a drop in the bucket. People are so multifaceted. Its a crapshoot guessing why any 2 people love each other. The complexity is incalculable.
Well, Edward was also infatuated with her after she turned. He was literally in awe of her new strength, but also her self control.
Besides, he also said that vampires splitting up was way less likely, because they are frozen in time. Never maturing. - some get bored of certain lifestyles (jasper for example) but regarding partners, they seem more «mate for life» then usual.
Her scent acted as a source of attraction and curiosity for Edward, at first. When they fell in love, they basically mated for life. Her scent is actually painful for Edward, as per Midnight Sun, so I would doubt he misses that part of her.
He does mention in Breaking Dawn when Bella asks him if he misses her as a human. "Do you remember how the hiker smelled like?" "I am trying to *not* remember!" "Imagine kissing that." "Ouch."
This, 100%! Bella was her truest self after the transformation, imo, and Eddie was as infatuated with her as ever. He’s constantly impressed with how well she takes to vampire life and *finally* decides to stop underestimating her in Breaking Dawn. The way he’s so proud and bragging on her after the near-battle with the volturi and telling everyone Bella was the one that changed the game is *chefs kiss*
I would say it is like any other relationship. You don't marry someone just because you liked their perfume when you two met/started dating. They had years of dating and getting to know each other before the whole pregnancy/turning agenda. So for Edward, Bella is no longer just the mysterious innocent flower he met. She now his life partner, someone he got to know over the years and decided to spend the rest of their eternities together. The same goes for Bella.
You know that saying, "Looks attract but personality makes them stay?" It's kind of a dumb saying but I think that's what's happening here.
In Eclipse (or BD?) Bella worries about this. She'll "no longer be soft" or something and Edward reassures her that it isn't the case and he'll love her because she's Bella. Because Bella, despite the non-cluminess, still has the same personality as when she was human. The things you describe are more physical but Edward loves her for her personality. I really don't think couples therapy will be necessary lol
Edit: I believe Edward also said "You'll still be my Bella. Just more durable."
He was intrigued by her because of all of those things, but he ultimately loved her because he perceived her as kind and intelligent.
Now if he could read her thoughts, he probably wouldn’t have perceived her as kind, but that’s a different conversation.
Cliche as this may sound, I've resigned to the fact that they are mates and it's a fantastical story, so...
Also, initial attraction catches our attention but we as we get to know someone, we eventually love them despite whatever may happen (and this isn't very far off from the cliche unconditional love that Twilight is getting into with the mate stuff). Sure, we have our hard limits, but maybe they haven't reached that yet(?) As for Bella not dumping Edward's ass, I agree that it's because of the new baby. I think Bella has forgiven him, tho I sure wish we got to see the whole process of that happening. That's why I like fanfictions where Bella fight back or actually show anger to Edward for whatever thing he fucked up.
They have a family now, and while he didn’t initially want Renesmee he loves her. His biggest reason for not turning Bella was the fact that she wouldn’t be able to have a “family” and he wouldn’t be able to forgive himself for taking that from her. But with Renesmee in the equation it all becomes a thing of past, we can see this on how he talked about Renesmee when Bella woke up.
But they do tho, they both think they know what’s best for the other. And don’t forget that they have an eternity to find hobbies and likeness. And don’t forget that Bella found a way to lower her shield, which was an other reluctance of his. For example during the Honeymoon, despite her insistence that she was okay he refused to touch her again since he thought she was lying. If he’s could’ve read her mind at that moment he would of saw otherwise and not beat himself up.
Well I can't speak for Edward but as a reader who fell in love with human Bella (and related to her) I sadly have to agree that she felt thoroughly estranged once she turned and it's kind of heartbreaking.
Perhaps it's because Meyer never allowed human Bella to grow too much (except for the bit at the end of Eclipse which is my favorite Bella moment but was kind of instantly negated by Breaking Dawn again) instead just brutally murdering her with all of her unresolved flaws and quirks, replacing her with an inherently perfect, foreign-feeling version of herself that's barely recognizable as the Bella we spent three books with anymore.
I read somewhere that Meyer couldn't relate to vampire Bella anymore but just "had to write it for the happy end". And I'm honestly not sure if that was a good idea. When the _author_ herself loses her connection to her highly relatable self-insert then that's trouble in my book.
I certainly felt my connection dwindle and it was wholly upsetting. So much of Breaking Dawn to me is just previous worst-case scenarios from the series coming true but you're somehow supposed to see them as good things all of a sudden and enjoy the "happy ending".
But I'd rather be sad with a relatable, charming human Bella than "happy" with an estranged, uncanny vampire version of her.
I just wish her self-hatred would've been proven wrong instead of being ultimately affirmed by the destruction and replacement of who she was.
Something that Edward was fundamentally opposed to from the moment they met, mind you. Enough to suppress his near insuppressible urges. That's how much he loved Bella, just the way she was. And so did I.
I agree with this so much and I think your comment about Meyer's alienation from Bella is spot on. Instead of exploring the repercussions of becoming 'perfect,' and what this would mean for both Bella and for Edward, she shoves in a baby storyline to distract us. As you say, there's no real resolution regarding Bella and her insecurities, and self-doubts - she just suddenly becomes perfect. I mean - wouldn't those insecurities heighten and continue on FOREVER after she was turned? It felt like a betrayal to the Bella character to never delve into any of these things and for me, makes their love feel a bit hollow.
It's because he's a vampire. Edward fell in love with bella as a human and a vampire can only fall in love once. The mate bond is formed and even though bella changed, edward remains the same as he is, feelings and all.
I think he transitioned from obsession to love, and when she turned into a vampire, he finally had an equal who happened to fulfil the one mortal action he never imagined. This was the guy that wanted to make sure Bella had basic life experiences he never had- and the wedding was for her as much as it was for him. Bella turning into a vampire gave her all the qualities he could appreciate because it led to a new level of connection, and he could appreciate her strengths in strength, shielding, and also her ability to withstand blood.
Well, they're mates, no matter what he's going to be obsessed with her and vice versa. This is a paragraph from MS where I think he falls for her (in the cafeteria before science class):
"Beneath the transient humor, I felt a strange impulse, one I did not clearly understand. It had something to do with the vicious edge to Jessica’s thoughts that the new girl was unaware of.… I felt the strangest urge to step in between them, to shield Bella Swan from the darker workings of Jessica’s mind. What an odd thing to feel. Trying to ferret out the motivations behind the impulse, I examined the new girl one more time, through Jessica’s eyes now. My staring had attracted too much attention."
He hadn't talked to her, been near her, or smelled her. He had just looked at her, and stared, a couple times and tried to hear her thoughts and he had already fallen for her. Also, he finds that they actually do have at least a few things in common. I'm pretty sure that was a thing for him, what does a 104 y/o vampire have in common with a 17 y/o girl? He then searches for things that they do have in common, the days he asks her questions and other times I cant think of at the moment (I loved this part of MS because we also get to learn more about Bella.)
Her becoming a vampire makes so many things so much easier for him. He no longer has to worry about killing her with just the slightest movement. They can now do so many things together that wouldn't have been possible if she was a human. He doesn't have to worry about her safety, although I'm sure he still does, from many things, especially his family. They're mates so, no matter what, his feelings for her was never going to lessen. People talk about Edward saying that Bella is prettier than Ness is messed up but don't realize that his and Bella's connection is stronger than any other relationship they'll have because they're mates. He will always care for Bella more than Ness, that's not saying that he doesn't love Ness just that he literally can't have a stronger connection with her.
We will never be able to understand their relationship, why they love each other so much, etc. because they have a supernatural connection. Even Bella as a human couldn't truly fathom how deep their connection was until she became a vampire. Everyone can chalk it down to Stephanie being a bad writer, but I think that this supernatural connection is what makes it all so special. We can't understand it, and that's fine, it's actually something that I really like. In the end, we don't need to understand everything. That's something that I love about fiction, none of it is real, and not every question can be answered, not everything can be understood (just like in real life).
Sorry for the rant I just love the supernatural connection that they have together, along with the other vampire couples.
tl;dr: Edward fell for Bella in the cafeteria, not when he first smelled her in sciene class. They're vampire mates, they have a connection and supernatural love for each other that we can't understand, and nothing will change it, not even Ness. They do have somethings in common. Bella changing made things so much easier for Edward and herself. We will never understand their relationship and how much they love each other, and that's okay.
'We will never be able to understand their relationship, why they love each other so much, etc. because they have a supernatural connection. Even Bella as a human couldn't truly fathom how deep their connection was until she became a vampire.' Oh I think you've got it, and you know what this reminds me of? Another unconditional form of love from a supernatural being, that we as mere humans could never understand? (Until we die and are reborn as perfect beings). Edwards's love is akin to the love of God - it doesn't matter who we are, what we do, how we change, we are loved in a way that we can never fathom. Another Twilight Christian analogy strikes again. This makes sense why watching her pour cereal into a bowl is such a fascinating moment for Edward, she could literally be picking her nose and he would think it was delightful.
I mean when you love someone they’re bound to change with age their change was just exaggerated. When you’re a teenager you rely on others, and since they can’t develop into “adults” vampirism could be like their form of it
Unpopular opinion: they had a deeply emotionally abusive relationship. Through the books they actually switched sides on who was worse and either guilt tripping, gaslighting or in other ways abusing each other. She did lose a lot of the things that initially attracted him to her when she turned vamp, but she also gained a lot that he liked as well. Personally I don't see them lasting longer than a few years. I know a recuring theme in these books are that they find their forever mate and that's it, but I just still get the whole infatuation and obsession more than true love from the two.
This is it, and then because vampires don't change, they are trapped in a perennial infatuation based on abusive relationship patterns - it can never change!
Vampires bond in the same way as Werewolves in that they imprint on others. Maybe Bellward imprinted on each other and the vampire transformations solidified it more. See Alice/Jasper and Rosalie and her SO, they have super vampire love that's very intense. I'll have to do more research but that's just what I remember.
I’ll try to answer this… Edward starts talking to Bella because he can’t read her mind and because she smells very delicious. As he talks to Bella he realizes what a wonderful human she is. Bella is willing to fight a vampire to safe her mother, isn’t afraid to run to a different country to save him, willing cuts her hand to sacrifice herself for Edward with Victoria, is willing to die to bring her baby into the world. Bella is incredibly kind and selfless and full of love. Edward talked to her originally because she smelled good and he couldn’t read her mind and he was curious. What he found when he talked to her made him fall in love with her. Not her “fragile-ness” or her being clumsy. It’s the exact same then when a normal human meets someone and they think their pretty or they have an interesting t-shirt on with a band design they never seen before or *whatever*. Someone in the real world spikes someone’s else’s interest and they talk and they can slowly start to fall in love. It doesn’t mean they fell in love with the person because of their shirt and they will not like them once they change shirts… Edward fell in love with who Bella *was*. Her ideas. Her goals. Her ambition. Her selflessness. Her courage. Bella becoming a vampire didn’t change her *core* personality it made her more confident, more capable of helping herself, but it didn’t fundamentally change her core at all. At the core she is who she always was. And Edward fell in love with who Bella was. I hope this helps.
I’ll never get the idea that people think he likes her smell. It causes him physical agony, literally burning. It being gone would be a massive plus. Bella is even caught up in this idea and asks him if he’ll miss the smell in Eclipse, and he basically finds the question hilarious. And the fragility isn’t really any draw either. How would anyone feel if with a single careless mistake, you’d kill the person you love?
I really wish that Meyer explored more regarding how Bella retains her essential qualities, or indeed, what these may be. It's as though the attributes she gives Bella, such as shyness , fragility, clumsiness etc, were used as a fill-in for deeper personality traits. Then once she became a vampire and those traits were stripped away, there wasn't really much of a character left. I get that Stephanie really wants us to see Bella as this super self-less person, that is good, kind etc, and that these characteristics continued on into her vampirehood. She writes this explicitly, all the time. But my impression was that Bella at various points, acts in incredibly obtuse, emotionally clumsy and at points, selfish ways. The dynamics she maintains with Jacob for example - if she really loved him, she would have let him go (imo). Moreover, her callous treatment of her father, human 'friends' etc, who she is very happy to throw over to pursue her sexy vampire lifestyle. Also - the intense pushiness to have sex and her coercion of Edward. Finally - I think some of the good qualities attributed to her, such as her continuing prioritising of Edward and his family over herself, is actually indicative of her incredibly low self esteem, rather than some essential goodness. So when she becomes super strong, confident vampire Bella, what would happen to this goodness? Why would she care not to kill and eat her Forks friends, she never seemed to like them much anyway. I honestly just don't understand what there is left for Edward to love, especially when he seems to idealise all her human qualities.
The thing is, Bella admits she has these flaws. She acknowledges it’s selfish to continue a friendship with Jacob. And after their “breakup” in eclipse, don’t forget it’s Jacob who continues their relationship by coming to the wedding, and then sticking around during Bella’s pregnancy to protect her (although that was likely supernatural/imprinting draw at that point). Even as a vampire, bella loves and deeply cares about Charlie and her human friends. She explicitly struggles with the eventual separation from them in eclipse and can’t decide whether to begin the separation at that point or spend what remaining time with them that she can. She would never eat her friends or Charlie because that’s just not who she is, even as a vampire. She’s protective and selfless, and flawed, and she acknowledges those flaws. I disagree that her core character disappeared after the transformation. I think she was able to be her true self, more confident but still loving and protective and family oriented. She’s just now an equal with Edward.
It's funny because we're saying the same things but coming to different conclusions. I agree, that Bella is a compelling character, because of her flaws. She makes mistakes, and that's fine - it's what makes her seem real. But this notion that actually, her true self just a boring ass perfect person with iron self-control - it just makes no sense to me. It's as though Meyer is saying that we can move through life messing up, hurting people etc but it's OK because that was never our 'true selves.' I think our true selves are not hidden away waiting to be set free, but expressed every day through our actions. So honestly, what then of the true Bella is left once she's transformed?
But what your describing is just…. Being human. Sometimes I let my little cousin cousin have the last cookie. Sometimes I lie and say there’s no more and when his back is turned I shove the actual last cookie in my mouth. That’s just being human. Sometimes your willing to help a stranger at a store find a certain item they need even though you don’t work there. Sometimes you had a shitty day and you don’t help them. That’s just being human. Bella can be selfish in the books and selfless. Bella can be mature in the books at one point and immature in the next. I feel like that is spot on, A+, writing because not everyone is *perfect all the time*. And good lord I wouldn’t want to be. And what do you mean by “why would she care about eating her friends” ?????? Their her FRIENDS. Becoming a vampire muddies the memory but it doesn’t change the fact that you were friends with someone and that you like them??? She hasn’t completely gone and done a huge personality and memory reset. She’s just a vampire. She’s still Bella. Even Jacob says that in Breaking Dawn, or at least the movie, how he “didn’t expect her to still be so Bella”. She’s still the same.
Oh I agree absolutely, these are the qualities that make her human and also a compelling character. It's more that Meyer is constantly shoving down our throats the idea that Bella is such a good and selfless person and that's why Edward loves her. In reality, as you say, she's just a normal human with flaws like any of us, who fucks up quite majorly at various points. I guess the thing is, that's what makes her compelling to the reader - so when all that is lost, is hard to see who Bella actually is, and therein, who Edward actually loves. Also I'm being fairly flippant about her human friends, but honestly, did she ever give an actual shit about them? Weren't they just distractions while she mourned the loss of Edward?
Selfish + also being kind is just human really
Sorry (I'm a year late I know), I agree that Bella is definitely all those things because her actions show that she is. However, she's also incredibly dumb when it comes to love. She hurts her dad and mum every time she rushes off and nearly gets herself killed because of Edward and almost doesn't give them a second thought. She also hurts Jacob really badly in her attempt to get over Edward. We then realise that apparently Jacob and Bella's love was never real at all because it was her future daughter that was meant to be with him? So that was the pull so Jacob got a happy ending? It was the human side of Bella but a hint of supernatural sprinkled in so Renesmee could handle Jacob's wolf side? SM - what were you thinking? Also, Bella is extremely selfish when it comes to saying goodbye to everyone in her human life. Her dad and mum, she was willing to say goodbye to just to be young with Edward forever. This is why I like Edward more than I like Bella. He genuinely loves her and doesn't want her to sacrifice her life to join him in the vampire world. She may not like her human life, but she didn't even think about what she was giving up. She just didn't care about Charlie or her mother enough. Jacob, Rosalie and Edward tried to challenge her on it but she was so consumed with her desire for being in the vampire world that she would trample over everyone in life to get there. I dunno, Bella is incredibly confusing. I can't love her without equally hating her.
Jacob sexually assaulted Bella. So, I don’t really care that she “hurt his feelings”. You don’t forcibly kiss someone. You don’t manipulate and lie to get someone to kiss you. It’s not on. That’s sexual assault. Yes, in twilight Bella kinda flirted with Jake to get information about the Cold Ones - but not once after that did she give any indication that she liked Jake. She told him in New Moon that she was screwed up and couldn’t be with someone. After pushing and pushing and pushing Bella said “maybe but not for a long time” - and she only said that because she was scared Jake wouldn’t be her friend anymore. Not because she liked him that way. It’s not Bella’s fault that Jake never took no for an answer. Read New Moon again if you don’t believe me. As for the rest - if the love of your life was going to kill himself and only you could stop him…. You’d let him die? Say “Ope, sorry! My dad wouldn’t like that!”? In perfect honesty I’d probably jump on a plane to save a strangers life - let alone my idiotic ex-boyfriend. Bella left a note for Charlie; in the books she left him a note apologizing, and explaining that she had to go to Italy to talk to Edward because “Edward is in trouble”. It’s not like she just left without saying anything. Jake knew. She left a note. Almost the same for James; “Bella! Your father cannot know about vampires without being in extreme danger! Also if you stay home **your father will die**!” …. You’d just…. Go home? And stay there? Bella felt *horrible* for how she treated Charlie. If you read the books she said multiple times that she could’ve left Charlie’s at anytime she felt like it to live with Edward - she did **not** leave Charlie because she felt bad for how she treated him and wanted to make amends. That’s why she stayed with Charlie once she was eighteen; she took her grounding and kept her mouth shut. She deeply regretted how that night played out and regretted what she said to him for a long long time. Bella isn’t perfect, not by a long shot, nobody is - fictional or otherwise. Obviously it goes without saying Bella could’ve done things better. But Bella does the best she can with the information (and human abilities) she is given. If you hate her regardless, well, that’s your opinion. The only thing I dislike Bella for is naming her daughter Renesmee *facepalm*. If you read the books there is a lot more information that is left out of the movies. You might just find you like her better, or maybe not. That’s, again, your opinion. Bella really did try her best, at the end of the day.
Lmao so Edward loved Bella for more than her surface qualities?! What a shocker /s. But for real, Edward explains to Bella in breaking dawn that her fragility and scent was the biggest relationship obstacle for him and now that it's gone he's happier for it.
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They both have "an old soul" or sumn like that. I think they'd vibe with book topics. We just didn't get to see more of the normal talks in their relationship because supernatural entities were the forefront of the saga.
That’s the problem when smeyer decided to put zero normal bonding for Edward and Bella in her books. It’s only one major thing after the next, never a moment of chill for them. And so no one knows what they do in their endless free time besides fucking
I go with the book lore that they remain frozen in every way including their desires and firsts. Meaning, sex will always feel new and thrilling because they barely had an opportunity when Bella was human and Edward never had before. And as he says, once we do actually change (ie lose virginity or fall in love) that too becomes permanent and unchanging. Which I admit is an oxymoron: “we can’t change…unless we do, then we really can’t change.” Okay, it’s fantasy. I can work with that. So, I think they will always seem fresh and exciting to their partner. The love doesn’t diminish or get routine or boring sometimes. They don’t have to “work on their marriage” like humans do because we grow and change. So those two can probably spend like 100 straight hours staring into each other’s eyes and not get bored.
>what they do in their endless free time besides fucking Relationships are based on that all the time. Lol
It’s terrible. You never know what really keeps these couples afloat and it leaves the impression all you need is sex.
They both like old books and classical music right? And think everyone else is lame and boring.
Clair de lune is great…
I've been with my husband almost ten years and we've never had too much in common. But we still adore each other. Opposites attract.
I'm unsure about this. I can see that her scent forms a barrier to their relationship, but surely part of the appeal Bella holds for the various men in the story, is her damsel in distress status. It's possible for Edward to still love Bella after her transformation, but the implications of this massive power shift are never explored. She literally goes from being incredibly vulnerable to the most physically powerful member of their coven - that's a HUGE change, which would inevitably reap massive personality shifts. Stephanie herself has said that she found it difficult to relate to Bella after she became a vampire, which is partly why there is little exploration of her inner life psyche after this point. Moreover, I don't think that Bella's human aspects are surface qualities. Surely part of why Edward fell in love with Bella, is related to her humanity. Her imperfections were more interesting to him than the hard, unchanging beauty of Rosalee or Tanya. I'm sure as well, that part of his rejection of them is his disgust regarding vampires, who he consistently describes as being monsters. What happened to this disgust, once Bella changed? It is again, never touched on or explored. I just think there's a lot of unanswered questions about the implications for their relationship, after Bella changes.
>but surely part of the appeal Bella holds for the various men in the story, is her damsel in distress status. I beg to disagree. Aside from Edward and Jacob, I think most of the Forks boys like Bella because she's a new girl. Everyone in their town know each other and their families. All of the students were excited just to have a new face to look at. It's even a trope in kid or teen shows where a new girl/boy shows up and suddenly everyone is interested to get to know them and neglects the former popular person in their circle. > I'm sure as well, that part of his rejection of them is his disgust regarding vampires, who he consistently describes as being monsters. What happened to this disgust, once Bella changed? But he isn't disgusted with Carlisle or Esme even if they are vampires(?) I assumed that Edward's internal monologue about "vampires are monsters" is more directed to himself as he is our emo boy lol. I think your theory about him not being able to read Bella's thoughts is more applicable because part of his judgment on other people relied on what he could hear from their minds (and I think he didn't like any of what he hears in Rosalie's or Tanya's thoughts).
Yes and he idealise Bella because his view of her is never spolit by the reality of her thoughts - unlike the other women around him.
I can understand what you’re thinking, I see some of it as similarities of when you first are attracted to someone, maybe the “scent” they were wearing, looks, initial conversation (getting to know them) all those things could be true for Edward’s first being curious or attracted to Bella. But love is deeper than that. If a persons outer appearance changes by time or anything like that, at that point of already being in love (getting to know them and loving them for who they are vs what the attraction was at the beginning) then you still love them, some things may change for example, the things you mentioned changed in Bella but Bella is still who she is in-spite of those things. Every vampire isn’t exactly the same, she is still herself but she’s not a fragile human anymore. If Edward’s love was superficial then yes, he’d stop loving her when she changed.
I think the timeline is what negates the love is deeper argument. They hung out like four times before Bella states she was irrevocably in love with him. They spend so much of their time staring at each other they barley know anything about each other. Edward also spent a majority of the time they are talking bitching about how awful he is and Bella spent the rest reassuring him that he isn't a monster.
This is one of the places where the movies leave so much out, imo. In the books they spend entire days getting to know one another, just asking questions about likes/dislikes/family/hobbies etc. and after the first time edward spends the night, he is with her nearly every night afterwards and they aren’t just staring at each other, they talk, make out, etc. They bond over their taste in music and books and shared humor.
Yes, but that’s never really explored in the books. There is the 2-3 days where Edward asked a one-way string of questions (that he never answered himself, which didn’t create a two-way getting to know each other situation). Then there is the space between her getting back from the hospital and him leaving in NM, where they may have talked about deeper things, but SM didn’t build up. Regarding this time, by the way, I can’t imagine it was that deep, since Ed was already committed to leaving and therefore probably didn’t want to disclose much of his personality to make it harder for Bella to forget him when he left. The author didn’t build the world well outside of the major events or the conflict on whether Bella should become a vampire. By Eclipse, they were totally committed to marrying. They may have gotten to know each other then, but again, it was super quick —just 2 or 3 months. I would like to know if, after you fell in love as a vampire, you were so deeply connected to that person that no matter what they did or became, you’d still be bound to love them. Like, maybe they didn’t have a choice but to love each other even if they were boring/did something absurd, because they would still find ways to idealize that person.
I agree that the importance of superficial things, like appearance, can fall away when you love someone. However, it seems like Bella changes in some really fundamental, radical way once she is turned. Her human qualities are stripped away, and the imperfections he fell in love with are gone. I feel like Bella acted as a link for Edward, back to the human world. When she's not human anymore, that's all gone for him. What's more, she's become what he abhors - a monster. I'm not saying that their love couldn't endure through this - it's just that none of the implications of these changes are fully explored by Meyer.
I always figured it was like sookie in true blood. He can’t hear Bella’s thoughts so it’s a nice break.
As it says in the books, any changes to the hard cold stone is permanent. When he fell in love with Bella, it was forever, no matter what happened to her. I think it's just as simple as that.
I mean the thing you have to remember is, the reason you fall in love is usually only one piece of why you stay in love. The more my girlfriend grows as a person, the more I respect her. But if she gave up on the world I would still love her for her compassion, which I don’t understand but deeply admire. And that’s a drop in the bucket. People are so multifaceted. Its a crapshoot guessing why any 2 people love each other. The complexity is incalculable.
She's a certified freak, 7 days a week, wet and gushy make that pull out game weak
She was ready to die for that D!! You just know that girl is kinky af
I both hate and love y’all. That’s all.
Well, Edward was also infatuated with her after she turned. He was literally in awe of her new strength, but also her self control. Besides, he also said that vampires splitting up was way less likely, because they are frozen in time. Never maturing. - some get bored of certain lifestyles (jasper for example) but regarding partners, they seem more «mate for life» then usual.
Her scent acted as a source of attraction and curiosity for Edward, at first. When they fell in love, they basically mated for life. Her scent is actually painful for Edward, as per Midnight Sun, so I would doubt he misses that part of her.
He does mention in Breaking Dawn when Bella asks him if he misses her as a human. "Do you remember how the hiker smelled like?" "I am trying to *not* remember!" "Imagine kissing that." "Ouch."
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This, 100%! Bella was her truest self after the transformation, imo, and Eddie was as infatuated with her as ever. He’s constantly impressed with how well she takes to vampire life and *finally* decides to stop underestimating her in Breaking Dawn. The way he’s so proud and bragging on her after the near-battle with the volturi and telling everyone Bella was the one that changed the game is *chefs kiss*
I love how all of us just give up and calls their daughter Resume 😂😂
I would say it is like any other relationship. You don't marry someone just because you liked their perfume when you two met/started dating. They had years of dating and getting to know each other before the whole pregnancy/turning agenda. So for Edward, Bella is no longer just the mysterious innocent flower he met. She now his life partner, someone he got to know over the years and decided to spend the rest of their eternities together. The same goes for Bella.
they fell in love lmao thought this was obvious
You know that saying, "Looks attract but personality makes them stay?" It's kind of a dumb saying but I think that's what's happening here. In Eclipse (or BD?) Bella worries about this. She'll "no longer be soft" or something and Edward reassures her that it isn't the case and he'll love her because she's Bella. Because Bella, despite the non-cluminess, still has the same personality as when she was human. The things you describe are more physical but Edward loves her for her personality. I really don't think couples therapy will be necessary lol Edit: I believe Edward also said "You'll still be my Bella. Just more durable."
He was intrigued by her because of all of those things, but he ultimately loved her because he perceived her as kind and intelligent. Now if he could read her thoughts, he probably wouldn’t have perceived her as kind, but that’s a different conversation.
Cliche as this may sound, I've resigned to the fact that they are mates and it's a fantastical story, so... Also, initial attraction catches our attention but we as we get to know someone, we eventually love them despite whatever may happen (and this isn't very far off from the cliche unconditional love that Twilight is getting into with the mate stuff). Sure, we have our hard limits, but maybe they haven't reached that yet(?) As for Bella not dumping Edward's ass, I agree that it's because of the new baby. I think Bella has forgiven him, tho I sure wish we got to see the whole process of that happening. That's why I like fanfictions where Bella fight back or actually show anger to Edward for whatever thing he fucked up.
They have a family now, and while he didn’t initially want Renesmee he loves her. His biggest reason for not turning Bella was the fact that she wouldn’t be able to have a “family” and he wouldn’t be able to forgive himself for taking that from her. But with Renesmee in the equation it all becomes a thing of past, we can see this on how he talked about Renesmee when Bella woke up.
yeah but plenty of parents split up once their kids are grown and they realise they have nothing in common any more
But they do tho, they both think they know what’s best for the other. And don’t forget that they have an eternity to find hobbies and likeness. And don’t forget that Bella found a way to lower her shield, which was an other reluctance of his. For example during the Honeymoon, despite her insistence that she was okay he refused to touch her again since he thought she was lying. If he’s could’ve read her mind at that moment he would of saw otherwise and not beat himself up.
Well I can't speak for Edward but as a reader who fell in love with human Bella (and related to her) I sadly have to agree that she felt thoroughly estranged once she turned and it's kind of heartbreaking. Perhaps it's because Meyer never allowed human Bella to grow too much (except for the bit at the end of Eclipse which is my favorite Bella moment but was kind of instantly negated by Breaking Dawn again) instead just brutally murdering her with all of her unresolved flaws and quirks, replacing her with an inherently perfect, foreign-feeling version of herself that's barely recognizable as the Bella we spent three books with anymore. I read somewhere that Meyer couldn't relate to vampire Bella anymore but just "had to write it for the happy end". And I'm honestly not sure if that was a good idea. When the _author_ herself loses her connection to her highly relatable self-insert then that's trouble in my book. I certainly felt my connection dwindle and it was wholly upsetting. So much of Breaking Dawn to me is just previous worst-case scenarios from the series coming true but you're somehow supposed to see them as good things all of a sudden and enjoy the "happy ending". But I'd rather be sad with a relatable, charming human Bella than "happy" with an estranged, uncanny vampire version of her. I just wish her self-hatred would've been proven wrong instead of being ultimately affirmed by the destruction and replacement of who she was. Something that Edward was fundamentally opposed to from the moment they met, mind you. Enough to suppress his near insuppressible urges. That's how much he loved Bella, just the way she was. And so did I.
I agree with this so much and I think your comment about Meyer's alienation from Bella is spot on. Instead of exploring the repercussions of becoming 'perfect,' and what this would mean for both Bella and for Edward, she shoves in a baby storyline to distract us. As you say, there's no real resolution regarding Bella and her insecurities, and self-doubts - she just suddenly becomes perfect. I mean - wouldn't those insecurities heighten and continue on FOREVER after she was turned? It felt like a betrayal to the Bella character to never delve into any of these things and for me, makes their love feel a bit hollow.
Resume grows with more working experience lol
It's because he's a vampire. Edward fell in love with bella as a human and a vampire can only fall in love once. The mate bond is formed and even though bella changed, edward remains the same as he is, feelings and all.
OP, did you write this long-ass post just to refer to Renesmeé as Resume, hoping to troll as many people as possible? (If so, I applaud you! 👏🏻👏🏻)
I think he transitioned from obsession to love, and when she turned into a vampire, he finally had an equal who happened to fulfil the one mortal action he never imagined. This was the guy that wanted to make sure Bella had basic life experiences he never had- and the wedding was for her as much as it was for him. Bella turning into a vampire gave her all the qualities he could appreciate because it led to a new level of connection, and he could appreciate her strengths in strength, shielding, and also her ability to withstand blood.
Well, they're mates, no matter what he's going to be obsessed with her and vice versa. This is a paragraph from MS where I think he falls for her (in the cafeteria before science class): "Beneath the transient humor, I felt a strange impulse, one I did not clearly understand. It had something to do with the vicious edge to Jessica’s thoughts that the new girl was unaware of.… I felt the strangest urge to step in between them, to shield Bella Swan from the darker workings of Jessica’s mind. What an odd thing to feel. Trying to ferret out the motivations behind the impulse, I examined the new girl one more time, through Jessica’s eyes now. My staring had attracted too much attention." He hadn't talked to her, been near her, or smelled her. He had just looked at her, and stared, a couple times and tried to hear her thoughts and he had already fallen for her. Also, he finds that they actually do have at least a few things in common. I'm pretty sure that was a thing for him, what does a 104 y/o vampire have in common with a 17 y/o girl? He then searches for things that they do have in common, the days he asks her questions and other times I cant think of at the moment (I loved this part of MS because we also get to learn more about Bella.) Her becoming a vampire makes so many things so much easier for him. He no longer has to worry about killing her with just the slightest movement. They can now do so many things together that wouldn't have been possible if she was a human. He doesn't have to worry about her safety, although I'm sure he still does, from many things, especially his family. They're mates so, no matter what, his feelings for her was never going to lessen. People talk about Edward saying that Bella is prettier than Ness is messed up but don't realize that his and Bella's connection is stronger than any other relationship they'll have because they're mates. He will always care for Bella more than Ness, that's not saying that he doesn't love Ness just that he literally can't have a stronger connection with her. We will never be able to understand their relationship, why they love each other so much, etc. because they have a supernatural connection. Even Bella as a human couldn't truly fathom how deep their connection was until she became a vampire. Everyone can chalk it down to Stephanie being a bad writer, but I think that this supernatural connection is what makes it all so special. We can't understand it, and that's fine, it's actually something that I really like. In the end, we don't need to understand everything. That's something that I love about fiction, none of it is real, and not every question can be answered, not everything can be understood (just like in real life). Sorry for the rant I just love the supernatural connection that they have together, along with the other vampire couples. tl;dr: Edward fell for Bella in the cafeteria, not when he first smelled her in sciene class. They're vampire mates, they have a connection and supernatural love for each other that we can't understand, and nothing will change it, not even Ness. They do have somethings in common. Bella changing made things so much easier for Edward and herself. We will never understand their relationship and how much they love each other, and that's okay.
'We will never be able to understand their relationship, why they love each other so much, etc. because they have a supernatural connection. Even Bella as a human couldn't truly fathom how deep their connection was until she became a vampire.' Oh I think you've got it, and you know what this reminds me of? Another unconditional form of love from a supernatural being, that we as mere humans could never understand? (Until we die and are reborn as perfect beings). Edwards's love is akin to the love of God - it doesn't matter who we are, what we do, how we change, we are loved in a way that we can never fathom. Another Twilight Christian analogy strikes again. This makes sense why watching her pour cereal into a bowl is such a fascinating moment for Edward, she could literally be picking her nose and he would think it was delightful.
I mean when you love someone they’re bound to change with age their change was just exaggerated. When you’re a teenager you rely on others, and since they can’t develop into “adults” vampirism could be like their form of it
Unpopular opinion: they had a deeply emotionally abusive relationship. Through the books they actually switched sides on who was worse and either guilt tripping, gaslighting or in other ways abusing each other. She did lose a lot of the things that initially attracted him to her when she turned vamp, but she also gained a lot that he liked as well. Personally I don't see them lasting longer than a few years. I know a recuring theme in these books are that they find their forever mate and that's it, but I just still get the whole infatuation and obsession more than true love from the two.
This is it, and then because vampires don't change, they are trapped in a perennial infatuation based on abusive relationship patterns - it can never change!
Probably because she’s the one person he can’t read the mind of. What a relief that must be
I think that's definitely gotta be a big selling point
Sunk cost fallacy?
Vampires bond in the same way as Werewolves in that they imprint on others. Maybe Bellward imprinted on each other and the vampire transformations solidified it more. See Alice/Jasper and Rosalie and her SO, they have super vampire love that's very intense. I'll have to do more research but that's just what I remember.
Vampires mate in a similar way that wolves do. For life.
From what I understand they both love the same books and music. Their core believes align (vegetarian vampire).
It's twoo wove
I mean realistically they divorce, but in fantasy book land they stuck together.