diane771 wrote:In response to you Una, Are you regarding Edward as a vampire to which he would not be placed in the evil catagory because as a vampire that is his source of food. So its like saying being in a room with a humgry tiger or lion that kills you is evil. The fact Edward discrimminated in his choice of food selection was due to the fact that he didn't want to be a monster and was having a hard time accepting who he really was.
Good question and my clarification is this, by Edward's definition being a vampire is being evil, they kill and therefore evil. To me, as a vampire it is in his nature to feed, therefore how can we say he is evil if we do not say the lion is evil for killing the deer for survival. I agree with you here, I don't see Edward as a monster because he make the choice to not kill, he fights against the urge to kill humans and hunts animals instead. Before the vampires learned that they could survive on animal blood (which I believe was all Carlisle's doing or did the Denali clan figure it out on their own as well?), humans classified Vampires as evil because they preyed on humans. Are sharks evil since sharks will prey on humans if they are around? Maybe the distinction is that vampires were at one time human and in their transition (that for many were against their will) they were transformed evil. Because they may (as some do) remember their humanity and therefore judge themselves as having become evil. For Edward, maybe because he started as a veggie vamp and with Carlisle's influence retained more of his humanity so he was better able to be his own judge. Would Aro or Caius say they are evil monsters?
Again, personally, I do not view Edward as a monster nor do I view all vampires as evil per say. It is their nature, but with the discovery of being able to live off of animals instead of humans can we still say that? Is a vampire evil because they chose to continue to prey on humans, indiscriminately? Or are they like the lion or shark still?
Are vampires considered similar to animals or are they to be held to a higher plane like humans? Killing another is considered wrong by human standards, vampires are able to reason so should they be held to the same plane? Especially now knowing they do not have to live off of humans? Not all vampires have Edward's gift so they may actually kill innocents. In
New Moon how many of those humans led to the chambers were innocents? Edward was bothered by it, not just on Bella's behalf. Their feeding method did not sit well with him. I believe it was because not only did they feed on the humans, that many of those humans were innocents.
It is interesting that Edward seeks redemption but the redemption he can attain can only come from within, his acceptance that he is not evil or no longer evil. Was that part of our HEA? Do you think that by the end of Bella and Edward's story that Edward no longer viewed himself as evil? He no longer only saw a monster?