Leah Clearwater

[Ellie Ibis]

It was certainly cool to get to know Leah. She is really a very sharp young woman. She calls it like it is - not ifs ands or buts. I also like how Jacob started to understand her and why she was the way she was.

SM explains Leah in her FAQ's under the Breaking Dawn tab. It is pretty interesting. Jacob & Leah find find a common ground and commaderie with each other.

I don't think was Meyer did in the FAQ was really explaining. It was more like two sentences summarizing what anyone who read Breaking Dawn already knew.


As for Unwanted's point about how they wouldn't understand Leah. I don't think you're giving them enough credit. I know woman and girls like to act like men are some cold, foreign creatures who have no emotional depth, but that's not at all true, especially since they are werewolves and capable of feeling not only their own emotions but all their pack members' too. Some of them probably were capable of understanding Leah and her emotions, but it just would have caused more pack drama for there to be two different sides to the issue, and Sam was the alpha, so it was "safer" to just stick to following him and thinking Leah was an annoyance.

[navarre]

It was certainly cool to get to know Leah. She is really a very sharp young woman. She calls it like it is - not ifs ands or buts. I also like how Jacob started to understand her and why she was the way she was.

SM explains Leah in her FAQ's under the Breaking Dawn tab. It is pretty interesting. Jacob & Leah find find a common ground and commaderie with each other.

I don't think was Meyer did in the FAQ was really explaining. It was more like two sentences summarizing what anyone who read Breaking Dawn already knew.


As for Unwanted's point about how they wouldn't understand Leah. I don't think you're giving them enough credit. I know woman and girls like to act like men are some cold, foreign creatures who have no emotional depth, but that's not at all true, especially since they are werewolves and capable of feeling not only their own emotions but all their pack members' too. Some of them probably were capable of understanding Leah and her emotions, but it just would have caused more pack drama for there to be two different sides to the issue, and Sam was the alpha, so it was "safer" to just stick to following him and thinking Leah was an annoyance.[/quote]

You're right - the better word would have been 'reiterate' from the FAQ's, instead of explaining because that implies a long discussion of something and it certainly was not that.

[inlovewithmyJasper54]

I liked Leah at times, and then other times I couldn't stand her.
I mainly like her because how she was being nice to Jacob and cared about him and stuff and I did feel terrible for her when she was explaining how painful it was for her to see Sam with Emily. But, I hated how she never gave the vampires a chance and was always up tight around them. I know that's all part of her character but it annoyed me.

[likeameteor]

I really love Leah. I know she's moody and holds a grudge against the vampires, but something about her personality really interests me. And when Jake learns to understand her better in Breaking Dawn, I really felt for her. I think she's been through a lot, and I love the way she looks out for her brother, too.

[bella_love3]

i think Leah is a very interesting character. i really wished that her and Jacob had developed something though. it would have been nice. my friend told me there is a rumor that sm was going to write the books from Leah's perspective. that would be a very interesting book.

ohhh and i forget is there any other reason than jake why leah hates bella?

[Amivera]

I think Leah dislikes Bella, because:
A) as you mentioned, Bella treats Jacob horribly, whether she means to or not. She drags him around on a leash and has been leading him on since the very first conversation they had. She messes with his feelings. I'm not blaming her, per say, I'm just saying— that's what Leah sees.

B) Bella is willing to become one of the vampires. She's willing to die and become a monster, as Leah sees it.

C) Leah probably becomes a tad annoyed by Bella's zombie behavior after Edward leaves. After all, Leah's situation is much worse, and it's only strengthened Leah, not turned her into a tissue-paper person. Edward's left completely, and though they had true love, I personally find it easier to get over someone if you don't spend time around them.
Sam, on the other hand, is not only around and about to marry her cousin (whose friendship with Leah has deteriorated), but he's also in her head and completely in command of her now that she's a wolf in his Alpha pack.

D) Bella can't take an ounce of criticism, whether it's to her actions or her character. Everyone always protects her from it, and though she's supposed to be extremely mature for her age, she acts like a baby, letting everyone protect her from the 'harsh world'. (Once again, I'm looking at it through Leah's eyes).
Leah, on the other hand, has to put up with criticism all the time. She hears the minds of the other wolves as they think horrible thoughts about her. They're faithful to their Alpha, Sam, so if Leah is bothering Sam with her own thoughts, they're immediately on his side.

E) I'm sure to Leah (and to some of us, as well), Bella's struggles seem futile compared to the humongous mountains Leah must climb. Leah not only changes into a werewolf, but her father dies shortly after (and I do believe it's mentioned somewhere that it might have been because of the shock of having his only daughter change into a monster/shapeshifter/werewolf).
Bella, on the other hand, has an entire family of vampires protecting her. Her biggest and most emotionally taxing struggle is to choose a one-true-love. And while Bella has a handful of admirers, headstrong Leah is left alone and with no one to love.

So, this is my attempt at looking at it from Leah's POV. She probably doesn't know quite as much as we do, but I hope I got close.

[bella_love3]

thanks i felt i was just forgeting if there was a huge reason but you said them all.

[likeameteor]

Amivera - I agree with all your points, and thankyou very much - that post made me to understand why Leah disliked Bella so much on a more elaborate level.

[Destani]

I'm so happy we got a closer look at Leah in BD. In Eclipse, I sympathized with her, but we didn't get to see her enough for me to say that I honestly liked her. Now, I can say that. She's had to deal with so many stressful things all at once, but I think she'll come out of it as a stronger person. She's obviously still working through her issues, but once she got away from Sam's pack her outlook got brighter. She gained hope and started making plans for the future.

There was definitely a point where I thought she and Jake might end up together. It just seemed so fitting. Both of them had been wounded by love and together they could have overcome that because they would understand and respect each other. Now don't get me wrong, I don't think that Leah needs a man to be happy, but things were starting to feel so right between her and Jake.

I guess it's better for her if she doesn't end up with another wolf, though, unless that wolf imprints on her. It would be really traumatic if she lost yet another love to imprinting.

[Amivera]

This randomly popped into my head:

Jacob said everything about him grew quickly, so he had to keep cutting his hair every few days, or weeks. Does that mean— haha— that Leah has to... shave ten times a day?

Normally girls shave every day or every three days, if they wear shorts on a daily basis, and depending on their hair type. Poor Leah, if she really does have to shave all the time.

Or is it just head hair that grows quickly? Otherwise all the guys would have carpets on their legs... eeh. 0.0