Chapter 27 ~ Needs

[Alphie]

Many thanks to December for her help with this one! Remember - answer these as if you didn't know what happened in Breaking Dawn!

1. What is Bella weeping for during that long night of mourning? Is Jake at the forefront of her mind or is she grieving for the humanity she is giving up? Do you think Edward knows what she is mourning over? What are the “adjustments” Bella has made which allow her to move on in the morning?

2. Why does Edward suddenly change his mind in the meadow? Is his about-face a response to what Bella has been saying about their wedding plans? What does it have to do with Bella’s grief the night before? Is his reaction disproportionate?

3. Why does Bella insist on waiting and doing everything as they planned? Does she feel differently about marrying Edward now? Or is she just determined to do things correctly? Which considerations do you think weigh most heavily on her: eg. saying her goodbyes, giving Edward the wedding he dreams of, having a care for his soul, committing herself publicly to him before becoming a vampire....or any others you can think of?

4. Who do you think is actually right about what would be best for them here, Edward or Bella?

5. The last chapter of Eclipse doesn’t leave us with the upbeat feeling you might expect when a book ends with its hero and heroine planning their wedding. Does the faintly elegiac note on which it closes make sense? Did it bother you? Did it make you worry whether Bella had made the right choice?

[rain.on.me]

1. What is Bella weeping for during that long night of mourning? Is Jake at the forefront of her mind or is she grieving for the humanity she is giving up? Do you think Edward knows what she is mourning over? What are the “adjustments” Bella has made which allow her to move on in the morning?
I think Bella is crying over Jacob and the relationship she can no longer have with him. Also, probably all of the stress she's been through recently probably added to her hysteric sobbing. She realized soon that she's chosen Edward and that she needs to forget about Jake and move on to the future.

2. Why does Edward suddenly change his mind in the meadow? Is his about-face a response to what Bella has been saying about their wedding plans? What does it have to do with Bella’s grief the night before? Is his reaction disproportionate?
I think he changes his mind because he sees how depressed Bella is and he wants to give her everything he can. He's desparate to make her happy. He might want to show Bella that he is grateful for her choosing him and that he can provide Bella with the proper relationship she craves.

3. Why does Bella insist on waiting and doing everything as they planned? Does she feel differently about marrying Edward now? Or is she just determined to do things correctly? Which considerations do you think weigh most heavily on her: eg. saying her goodbyes, giving Edward the wedding he dreams of, having a care for his soul, committing herself publicly to him before becoming a vampire....or any others you can think of?
I think she insists on waiting because she knows waiting is what Edward really wants and she does want to go through with everything properly. So she definately has Edward's dream wedding, their souls, and committment on her mind.

4. Who do you think is actually right about what would be best for them here, Edward or Bella?
I dont care much about the soul aspect of it all, but doing things correctly and maturely is a better decision than not. So I would agree with Edward...but in this chapter he kind of throws that all away and Bella's the one who cares about doing things right...but otherwise, I would agree with him.

5. The last chapter of Eclipse doesn’t leave us with the upbeat feeling you might expect when a book ends with its hero and heroine planning their wedding. Does the faintly elegiac note on which it closes make sense? Did it bother you? Did it make you worry whether Bella had made the right choice?
Yes, the tone of the ending did bother me a bit. I'm not sure why or how exactly, but it certainly did. In my mind, Bella made the right choice. But it seemed like she was still regreting not choosing Jake.

[BlueStarlight]

1. What is Bella weeping for during that long night of mourning? Is Jake at the forefront of her mind or is she grieving for the humanity she is giving up? Do you think Edward knows what she is mourning over? What are the “adjustments” Bella has made which allow her to move on in the morning? Bella has always put the happiness and well-being of others in front of her own. I think it all came crashing down on her that night. She finally had made sense of what she's going to do about her future; she is ready to put Jake behind her and move forward with Edward. I think she is grieving for every reason mentioned. I think Edward has some sense of why she's mourning; he asks her if she's made the right choice. The "adjustments" would be marrying Edward, letting Alice plan the wedding, setting things in order for leaving the mortal realm.

2. Why does Edward suddenly change his mind in the meadow? Is his about-face a response to what Bella has been saying about their wedding plans? What does it have to do with Bella’s grief the night before? Is his reaction disproportionate? Good grief, such hard questions! Hmm, I think that maybe Edward was giving in just a little bit in order to let Bella make the choice here. She knew how he felt and his conditions on the matter. I think that he thought maybe she would accept the "order of things" better if they weren't there just because that's what Edward wanted, but because she realized that's the way things needed to be between them.

3. Why does Bella insist on waiting and doing everything as they planned? Does she feel differently about marrying Edward now? Or is she just determined to do things correctly? Which considerations do you think weigh most heavily on her: eg. saying her goodbyes, giving Edward the wedding he dreams of, having a care for his soul, committing herself publicly to him before becoming a vampire....or any others you can think of? I think it's all of these reasons. I think the ones that weigh the most heavily are care for his soul, letting others know that wherever she is, at least they will know that she is with Edward and is happy. This is the aspect she has been dealing with the entire book- how to make the transition easier on the people she loved. As long as they are happy, Bella will be happy.

4. Who do you think is actually right about what would be best for them here, Edward or Bella? I think what Bella wants is best for them, doing things in the right order. She believes Edward has a soul, so she will do what she can, knowing how important it is for him.

5. The last chapter of Eclipse doesn’t leave us with the upbeat feeling you might expect when a book ends with its hero and heroine planning their wedding. Does the faintly elegiac note on which it closes make sense? Did it bother you? Did it make you worry whether Bella had made the right choice? It has always bothered me that Bella wasn't happier about her wedding. No, I didn't worry that she made the right choice; Bella belongs with Edward. She just didn't see the need to do the human thing of a wedding when she wasn't going to be human anymore.

[spookybell]

1. What is Bella weeping for during that long night of mourning? Is Jake at the forefront of her mind or is she grieving for the humanity she is giving up? Do you think Edward knows what she is mourning over? What are the “adjustments” Bella has made which allow her to move on in the morning?
I think Bella is weeping for the loss of Jacob, or hurting Jacob because even though she always chose Edward, she officially chose Edward thus not Jacob. I do think it is all about Jake and not huer humanity. I do think Edward knows why Bella is sad. He isn't stupid and he is quite intuitive even though he can't read her mind. Bella makes adjustments in the morning because she has chosen... She can not live without Edward. It is pretty intense really.

2. Why does Edward suddenly change his mind in the meadow? Is his about-face a response to what Bella has been saying about their wedding plans? What does it have to do with Bella’s grief the night before? Is his reaction disproportionate?
Edward changes his mind in the meadow because he really does not want to "force
Bella into a choice she really does not want to make. He loves her too much. Bella deicdes to give in and make everone else happy. Both are trying to be selfless. It's all so much about love.

3. Why does Bella insist on waiting and doing everything as they planned? Does she feel differently about marrying Edward now? Or is she just determined to do things correctly? Which considerations do you think weigh most heavily on her: eg. saying her goodbyes, giving Edward the wedding he dreams of, having a care for his soul, committing herself publicly to him before becoming a vampire....or any others you can think of?
Bella says why she want's to do everything as planned because it is the right thing to do for her mom and dad, for the man she loves, for the friend she adores (Alice) and I think a part of her embrases her choice to be Edwards wife, is to do it the right way, even if it is painful for her. I don't think it is all about giving Edward the wedding of his dreams, I think it is a piece of it. It's like a 25 piece puzzle. Everything fits together to make a complete picture, some of the colors are bright & some are dull. No matter what, the pieces need to be put together to be compleated.

4. Who do you think is actually right about what would be best for them here, Edward or Bella?
I don't think either is right or wrong. I think it is a combination of both. Give and take.

5. The last chapter of Eclipse doesn’t leave us with the upbeat feeling you might expect when a book ends with its hero and heroine planning their wedding. Does the faintly elegiac note on which it closes make sense? Did it bother you? Did it make you worry whether Bella had made the right choice?
I never ever worried about Bella's choices. In fact, I want her to become a vampire from book 1... and I'm gona be really ticked off if she does not become a vampire... Edward is her destiny, so I don't worry about her choice. Fortunatly... Breaking Dawn was sitting right next to me when I finished Eclipse... so i didn't have more than seconds or moments to be bothered, anxious, worried or depressed.

[mistytwilight85]

1. What is Bella weeping for during that long night of mourning? Is Jake at the forefront of her mind or is she grieving for the humanity she is giving up? Do you think Edward knows what she is mourning over? What are the “adjustments” Bella has made which allow her to move on in the morning?

She is weeping for Jake, the fact that she truely does love him, and she knows that she loves Edward more, but she knows that she is hurting Jake VERY badly and that She already has hurt him. Edward does know what is going on. He's not stupid. He can see the relationship between her and Jake and he knows she loves him. In the morning Bella knows that she has made her choice and must live with the decisions she has made, She doesn't want to hurt anyone anymore.

2. Why does Edward suddenly change his mind in the meadow? Is his about-face a response to what Bella has been saying about their wedding plans? What does it have to do with Bella’s grief the night before? Is his reaction disproportionate?

He wants Bella to make the choice herself and not be obligated to do anything like marrying him just because he wants her to. I think he knows that she loved Jake and that he wants her to make the rigth choice for her and her alone. I don't think his choice is disproportionate at all. He knows that she tries to make everyone happy, and he only wants her to be happy for what she wants.

3. Why does Bella insist on waiting and doing everything as they planned? Does she feel differently about marrying Edward now? Or is she just determined to do things correctly? Which considerations do you think weigh most heavily on her: eg. saying her goodbyes, giving Edward the wedding he dreams of, having a care for his soul, committing herself publicly to him before becoming a vampire....or any others you can think of?

I think at this point she truely does want to marry Edward now. I don't know what most heavily weighs on her now.

4. Who do you think is actually right about what would be best for them here, Edward or Bella?

Bella

5. The last chapter of Eclipse doesn’t leave us with the upbeat feeling you might expect when a book ends with its hero and heroine planning their wedding. Does the faintly elegiac note on which it closes make sense? Did it bother you? Did it make you worry whether Bella had made the right choice?

It didn't really bother me. But then again I had book four already to read the first time I read Eclipse, so I just started in on the 4th book. I think if I had to wait a year for the next book it probably would have bothered me more. I didn't worry if Bella made the right choice though, because they were finally going to get married, and I knew that wasn't going to change.

[KaylaMarieBlack7]

1. What is Bella weeping for during that long night of mourning? Is Jake at the forefront of her mind or is she grieving for the humanity she is giving up? Do you think Edward knows what she is mourning over? What are the “adjustments” Bella has made which allow her to move on in the morning?
I think its a little bit of both. If it were me I know for sure that it would be about both. She probably feels horrible because Jake got hurt. But I think she also realizes that she might not be the same Bella when she isnt human. She is thinking of all of things that she will miss from her human life. I think that Edward has a sense of what she is weeping over.

2. Why does Edward suddenly change his mind in the meadow? Is his about-face a response to what Bella has been saying about their wedding plans? What does it have to do with Bella’s grief the night before? Is his reaction disproportionate?
I think that Edward thinks Bella is just doing this for different reasons. Im pretty sure its all about what Bella has been saying about their wedding plans. It probably does have a little to do with Bellas grief the night before. He realized how much everything is hurting her. His reaction is disproportionate.

3. Why does Bella insist on waiting and doing everything as they planned? Does she feel differently about marrying Edward now? Or is she just determined to do things correctly? Which considerations do you think weigh most heavily on her: eg. saying her goodbyes, giving Edward the wedding he dreams of, having a care for his soul, committing herself publicly to him before becoming a vampire....or any others you can think of?
I think she is just determined to do things correctly. She wants everyone to know that Edward is the one she is always going to love, forever.

4. Who do you think is actually right about what would be best for them here, Edward or Bella?
Bella.

5. The last chapter of Eclipse doesn’t leave us with the upbeat feeling you might expect when a book ends with its hero and heroine planning their wedding. Does the faintly elegiac note on which it closes make sense? Did it bother you? Did it make you worry whether Bella had made the right choice?
It didnt make me worry at all. She knows thats what she wants. And i havent had any doubt that she made the right choice.

[Riddalyn]

1. What is Bella weeping for during that long night of mourning? Is Jake at the forefront of her mind or is she grieving for the humanity she is giving up? Do you think Edward knows what she is mourning over? What are the “adjustments” Bella has made which allow her to move on in the morning?
I think every emotion that had been creeping up on her in the past few weeks, the very ones she'd been trying so hard to repress, finally caught up. The realization that she was in love with Jacob. The fact that Edward wasn't mad at her for kissing him, and that Jacob said he loved her more. The fact that soon enough, she'll have to leave Charlie and Renee to become a monster, similar to the one she saw in the clearing... everything. I think Edward was a little confused, but mainly thought the whole episode was about Jacob, which is why he asked the questions he did in the morning.

2. Why does Edward suddenly change his mind in the meadow? Is his about-face a response to what Bella has been saying about their wedding plans? What does it have to do with Bella’s grief the night before? Is his reaction disproportionate?
I think he changes his mind because Bella is doing what she's doing to make everyone else happy. I think Bella's grief the night before put how fragile her emotions are in perspective for him... I don't know.

3. Why does Bella insist on waiting and doing everything as they planned? Does she feel differently about marrying Edward now? Or is she just determined to do things correctly? Which considerations do you think weigh most heavily on her: eg. saying her goodbyes, giving Edward the wedding he dreams of, having a care for his soul, committing herself publicly to him before becoming a vampire....or any others you can think of?
I'm sure that when she says she wants to wait, she is trying to make Edward happy... I'm sure he'd feel a little wrong about doing that before the wedding, and she knows that about him. I think the thing that weighs most heavily on her is her relationship with Edward, and separating it from her relationship with Jacob. Finding that line and making it more pronounced than it ever was, knowing she's picked a side and staying true to that decision..
Maybe?

4. Who do you think is actually right about what would be best for them here, Edward or Bella?
Bella.

5. The last chapter of Eclipse doesn’t leave us with the upbeat feeling you might expect when a book ends with its hero and heroine planning their wedding. Does the faintly elegiac note on which it closes make sense? Did it bother you? Did it make you worry whether Bella had made the right choice?
I was faintly worried about the choice she made, but I knew in the end it would be the absolute right one.

[ThisStoryOfLove]

Everyone has pretty much said the same things that I am going to say...but here it goes anyway

1. What is Bella weeping for during that long night of mourning? Is Jake at the forefront of her mind or is she grieving for the humanity she is giving up? Do you think Edward knows what she is mourning over? What are the “adjustments” Bella has made which allow her to move on in the morning?
I do not think that Bella is mourning for the humanity that she is giving up. Even though she is a total mess in this scene I think she has fully grasped what she would be giving up long ago because Edward has pointed that out to her. I think that she is such a mess because she honestly thinks that she will never see Jacob again, and like it or not there was a part of her the truly loved Jacob, even is this part was not as large as the part that loves Edward. I felt bad for Edward during this night, but I think that it showed even more how much he truly loves and and wants her to be happy. And I am not sure what Edward thought she was mourning over, in his mind he probably made it much much worse than what was actually happening.


2. Why does Edward suddenly change his mind in the meadow? Is his about-face a response to what Bella has been saying about their wedding plans? What does it have to do with Bella’s grief the night before? Is his reaction disproportionate?
I think that he changes his mind because he believes that Bella is making herself unhappy just to accommodate him, Alice, Charlie, etc. He wants Bella to be happy so badly that he will do anything for her, even go against his own beliefs on the "proper" way to do things. I think his reaction is very typical of Edward, he is just trying to do what he thinks Bella really wants.


3. Why does Bella insist on waiting and doing everything as they planned? Does she feel differently about marrying Edward now? Or is she just determined to do things correctly? Which considerations do you think weigh most heavily on her: eg. saying her goodbyes, giving Edward the wedding he dreams of, having a care for his soul, committing herself publicly to him before becoming a vampire....or any others you can think of?
I think that Bella has finally realized that her wedding and her becoming a vampire will effect not only her but her other human, vampire, and werewolf counterparts. I think that she wants to provide a proper ending for Charlie and for Jacob (so that he sees even more that she is Edwards). I also think that she is trying to make Edward happy with a beautiful wedding and letting Alice have her fun.


4. Who do you think is actually right about what would be best for them here, Edward or Bella?
Up until the meadow scene, Edward, but then during and after the meadow scene Bella.


5. The last chapter of Eclipse doesn’t leave us with the upbeat feeling you might expect when a book ends with its hero and heroine planning their wedding. Does the faintly elegiac note on which it closes make sense? Did it bother you? Did it make you worry whether Bella had made the right choice?
I think it is meant to set us up for the startling events of Breaking Dawn. After all, throughout most of BD it seems as if everyone is doomed...

[RebeccaCullen]

1. What is Bella weeping for during that long night of mourning? Is Jake at the forefront of her mind or is she grieving for the humanity she is giving up? Do you think Edward knows what she is mourning over? What are the “adjustments” Bella has made which allow her to move on in the morning?

I think it's her losing her best friend because of her choices and because of what she had done to him over the little while they were together; she wanted to be with Jacob, but her heart belonged to Edward. I think she had to realize that by choosing one or the other she would have to change something, and leave it behind lock and key.

2. Why does Edward suddenly change his mind in the meadow? Is his about-face a response to what Bella has been saying about their wedding plans? What does it have to do with Bella’s grief the night before? Is his reaction disproportionate?

He wants Bella to be happy; always has, always will. I think he feels by making Bella go about the wedding his way, he is hurting her more than he wants to, and I think that what had happened the night before made him see by asking her to do it his way, someone was going to be hurt.

3. Why does Bella insist on waiting and doing everything as they planned? Does she feel differently about marrying Edward now? Or is she just determined to do things correctly? Which considerations do you think weigh most heavily on her: eg. saying her goodbyes, giving Edward the wedding he dreams of, having a care for his soul, committing herself publicly to him before becoming a vampire....or any others you can think of?

She realizes that if they go about it her way, she doesn't get to let people know who she's chosen. She would have to explain everything to Charlie, and she doesn't want to harm his health; she wants Alice to have her fun; and she now sees that by going the way Edward wanted she can get him and keep her dad in her life a little longer without him getting overly hurt.

4. Who do you think is actually right about what would be best for them here, Edward or Bella?

Bella believes that he has a soul, even if he doesn't believe it.

5. The last chapter of Eclipse doesn’t leave us with the upbeat feeling you might expect when a book ends with its hero and heroine planning their wedding. Does the faintly elegiac note on which it closes make sense? Did it bother you? Did it make you worry whether Bella had made the right choice?

It did kinda bother me. She did make the right choice, but she wasn't going to be human anymore, so the wedding facade made little sense.

[cullen_kissez]

Many thanks to December for her help with this one! Remember - answer these as if you didn't know what happened in Breaking Dawn!

1. What is Bella weeping for during that long night of mourning? Is Jake at the forefront of her mind or is she grieving for the humanity she is giving up? Do you think Edward knows what she is mourning over? What are the “adjustments” Bella has made which allow her to move on in the morning?
I think she's crying for the life she could have had. The one where, like Jacob said, her life took a natural course and Edward didn't come back.. She knows that she loves Jacob, and the good thing to do would've been to accept that path, but the right thing to do was to follow her heart, and that was to stay with Edward. He does know. But he mistakenly thinks she's crying for Jacob. He still doesn't want to believe that she really chose him and immortality when she could've done the human thing and chosen Jacob. She herself said he had known worse pain, and believe me, if she had chosen Jacob, there'd have been a bigger hole in her heart. The adjustment she made - she accepted that she had made her choice, and she knew who she couldn't live without.

2. Why does Edward suddenly change his mind in the meadow? Is his about-face a response to what Bella has been saying about their wedding plans? What does it have to do with Bella’s grief the night before? Is his reaction disproportionate?
He changed his mind because he wanted Bella to marry him because she wanted to.
Again, he misunderstood her. She does want to marry him, but because she loves her parents, Alice and her friends, she's willing to sacrifice her happiness to appease theirs. It could seem that he said no because he felt guilty about her choosing him over Jacob. Again, Edward does not fully understand Bella's love for him. As long as she gets to be with him, that's all she needs, she'll take it whatever he'll give it.

3. Why does Bella insist on waiting and doing everything as they planned? Does she feel differently about marrying Edward now? Or is she just determined to do things correctly? Which considerations do you think weigh most heavily on her: eg. saying her goodbyes, giving Edward the wedding he dreams of, having a care for his soul, committing herself publicly to him before becoming a vampire....or any others you can think of?
She realized what Edward meant about her doing things his way just because she wanted to make sure her family that she was leaving behind didn't think she'd forgotten them; Renee & Charlie would've been destroyed if she'd gotten married in Vegas, I think it was better she was upfront about it. Then again, she believes that Edward does belong in heaven, she sees the good in him he refuses to acknowledge. She understands his reasoning about protecting his virtue (I always laugh when I think about Edward still being untainted, I'm proud of him!) and if that's the one thing left that will assure his place in heaven, she won't jeopardize that. I think she takes all of that into consideration, foremost saving his soul, then making the wedding something he would always be proud of - remember he said he wants it to be formal (and legal) so the world would know they belonged together. And she wanted that last human feeling of being with Edward before she was immortal, and if the only way he would do it is if she were married to him, aside from her fear of marriage, that one legal drawback was not going to stop her.

4. Who do you think is actually right about what would be best for them here, Edward or Bella?
Dare I say both?
From each point of view, Bella knows what she wants, and she's stubborn enough to stand by her decision to go and get it.
The same is said for Edward, he's stubborn and in control enough to stand by his decisions.
But they also share a flaw: he can't resist her and she can't resist him.

5. The last chapter of Eclipse doesn’t leave us with the upbeat feeling you might expect when a book ends with its hero and heroine planning their wedding. Does the faintly elegiac note on which it closes make sense? Did it bother you? Did it make you worry whether Bella had made the right choice?
Actually, the way Eclipse ended, Jacob thought he'd lost his love. He wanted to be alone, he wanted to run away from the pain, the hurt, the betrayal, the responsibility. Even if we hadn't known he would've come back, it played out the way it should. I wasn't worried. Bella had made the choice that was right for her and her heart. If she'd stayed with Jacob, she'd hurt Edward more. Look at it this way - she could deal with the pain of Jacob's hurt, but she couldn't survive with Edward's heartbreak.