Twilight Lexicon Discussion Forums

I don't think it's Bella that keeps people hyperventillating in the kitchen! LOL

Personally, I don't relate to Bella much. I think people like that she has quirks and faults that exemplify human traits, especially when compared to all the super-human hotties she's surrounded with. And she does have redeeming qualities, like bravery and loyalty, that make her a worthy character. It could just be that everyone wants to live vicariously through her because she's found true love.

I agree while she is quite annoying sometimes she is very much human. She is surrounded by all of this super human stuff but she's till clumsy little Bella. I think that endears her to people. That she can hold her own surrounded by vamps and wolves. Also, it's the fact she has Edward. If we can't have him ourselves we have to read about the one that can

I agree with Ringswraith, a lot of the traits that made Bella Bella were lost after the transformation. Instead of clumsy, she's the most graceful vampire from the get-go. Instead of being plain, she's breath-taking. I think a lot of people had trouble relating to her after she turned. I know she almost died a bunch of times but it still seems like she got off easy, especially when she didn't have to go through all the newborn vampire stuff. Maybe I'm just being difficult. But the whole second half of BD seemed like it didn't even belong in the same series.

While I agree that Bella was somewhat lost in BD, I think that it was somewhat necessary for her to grow up and mature. I mean, we had three books about Bella and her imperfections, as well as her love story with Edward. If Meyer had made BD about the same Bella-being-Bella-loving-Edward story that the first three books were about, the story would begin to seem very repetitive. BD is about Bella losing her human fears that make her much of who she is before the transformation. It's about her family and its difficulties - not about her and Edward any more. While I bemoan the subtle lack of romance in BD, I see why it had to happen. BD as an entirety was a conclusion to the series - it gave us a three-month glimpse of what life would be like for the Cullens after the series ended. Bella is still Bella - but she is the new improved Bella, and I honestly think these are realistic changes considering what she went through to become a vampire, including the loss of physical weakness, fear for her life as a human, and not being able to hold onto Edward as a human. Even in Eclipse she is afraid when Edward leaves her, but in Breaking Dawn she has lost that fear.

I could go on for hours like this. I'll stop while I'm ahead.

All right, Rings, I agree with you on the whole missing the newborn vampire stage part. I was disappointed that she skipped right over that - it seemed a little too convenient that she would do that, and it would have been extremely interesting to see what she would have been like if she had less self control.
But I still maintain that her personality was not out of keeping with her conversion from human to vampire. I think that, even if she did act like a normal newborn, that she still would have acted the way she does after the first few years of bloodlust wears off. Her personality would have been the same after those years, it just wouldn't have been as prominent as it is after her conversion.

opulent wrote:All right, Rings, I agree with you on the whole missing the newborn vampire stage part. I was disappointed that she skipped right over that - it seemed a little too convenient that she would do that, and it would have been extremely interesting to see what she would have been like if she had less self control.
But I still maintain that her personality was not out of keeping with her conversion from human to vampire. I think that, even if she did act like a normal newborn, that she still would have acted the way she does after the first few years of bloodlust wears off. Her personality would have been the same after those years, it just wouldn't have been as prominent as it is after her conversion.

I think we're talking about different things. I think you're talking about her actual personality- like disliking gifts and surprises.

I'm talking about her as a whole, post-transformation. Yes, she's still the same essential person. But now she's just too perfect. What she does flies in the face of everything we've been taught in the series.

No, she's not perfect. But I understand what you are saying. Physically, the fact that she's beautiful post-transformation is no surprise. Her being perfect would have eliminated a lot of the insecurities she felt pre-transformation. Therefore eliminating a lot of who we know as "Bella". Then you have her klutziness. Losing that as a vampire would have changed another set of characteristics - her awkwardness, her self-consciousness to an extent. Yes, she changed overall - a lot, in fact. But this was due to her loss of human traits that made her who she was. You could probably name another human trait she had and figure out how she changed because she lost that in the transformation.

We were talking about two different things, but at the same time, Rings, both aspects still affect Bella and how she perceives herself after the transformation.