Bella Swan Cullen #3

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una
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Re: Bella Swan Cullen #3

Post by una »

And on that note, I think we've discussed this topic to death, time for a new one.

It seems we think about Bella mostly in regards to Twilight through Eclipse. What about Breaking Dawn Bella? How is she different (taking into account more than just the physical changes)? Is she the same ol' Bella after her transition and motherhood? Are her differences (if you perceive them) positive or negative?
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Re: Bella Swan Cullen #3

Post by Jazz Girl »

una wrote:And on that note, I think we've discussed this topic to death, time for a new one.

It seems we think about Bella mostly in regards to Twilight through Eclipse. What about Breaking Dawn Bella? How is she different (taking into account more than just the physical changes)? Is she the same ol' Bella after her transition and motherhood? Are her differences (if you perceive them) positive or negative?
Una~ The most significant change I see in Bella in Breaking Dawn is a... freedom, maybe. She has finally won what she has been fighting so hard for, in addition to getting a few added gifts she never thought she needed or wanted. In that, she lets go of a lot of the worries and the issues that she has let hold her back. She is still quintessentially Bella; consumed by her love for Edward, hating double standards, hating attention, reserved, feeling like she's a bit outside, feeling like she doesn't deserve the things she has. But, at the same time, she feels more secure in her place in the world and in her family, that she has finally found the life she was born to live. It allows her to open up, take risks she might not have taken before. I also believe that Edward's greater sense of freedom with her helps to foster her own sense of freedom in her new life.

While there are moments early on when I want to shake her, BD Bella is my favorite Bella.
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Re: Bella Swan Cullen #3

Post by Susie »

Hi Everyone!

I've been dying to get over to this thread for a while, and thought I'd join this discussion for a start. I haven't read the Saga as many times as the rest of you have (yet) because I'm a newbie, so I probably won't be as detailed in my responses. I am, however, as deeply committed. (I think!!)

Bella's character gained a lot of strength in BD. She became more of her own person. Of course I echo many of the comments already made, but I'll focus on strength here. She was strong in all her efforts: from getting Edward to continue the "honeymoon activities" to keeping Renesmee, to getting passports, to using her special power to "save the day".
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Re: Bella Swan Cullen #3

Post by Jazz Girl »

susie~ Do you think that strength was always there and just expressed differently? Or was it something that she had to learn?
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Re: Bella Swan Cullen #3

Post by Susie »

Jazz -I think the strength was always there - she just didn't realize she had it. What do you think?

Another thing to discuss -

I'm reading New Moon for the second time and catching all sorts of things I didn't catch before.

Taking Pictures
Between the ill-fated birthday party and the break-up, Bella takes lots of pictures of things from her everyday life (including Charlie!) as though she is going to have to leave them because she is going to be changed into a vampire and have to "relocate". In my first reading, I just thought - oh, she's taking pictures with her new camera. Not so! The fact that she thinks she is going to be changed and be with Edward forever, rather than the opposite, makes the breakup scene much more painful for her and for me to read!
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Re: Bella Swan Cullen #3

Post by Jazz Girl »

Susie~ Oh absolutely!!! Bella has built her life, her future life, around her unquestionable knowledge that she would eventually be a Cullen in ever sense of the word. There are various places throughout New Moon that she would have bet her life that Edward loved her. Bella's depression, her utter loss, while mostly centered around losing Edward, also is a reaction to losing her entire future...the family she chooses, the life she wants. All of a sudden everything she knows, every piece of her understanding of the world around her is suddenly turned on its head. Once she made up her mind to join Edward, she never questioned that it would eventually happen. It's one of the reasons I can never figure out whey people criticize her for her reaction when he leaves.
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Re: Bella Swan Cullen #3

Post by Seeker-Mar »

The positive, I think Bella became even more brave in BD. Her pregnancy pulls her out of her own head a little and makes her stronger. I also see her joy as positive. She is finally able to hold her own with her husband and that allows them to become even closer.


The negative would be that I miss her human characteristics and find it a little strange how she isn't that bothered by all the human blood drinking vampires that come to Forks to protect Renesmee. Why doesn't she care about the humans they kill? Plus, she is dismisive of Renee and that seems cold hearted and too convienent.
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Re: Bella Swan Cullen #3

Post by Seeker-Mar »

Jazz Girl wrote:All of a sudden everything she knows, every piece of her understanding of the world around her is suddenly turned on its head. Once she made up her mind to join Edward, she never questioned that it would eventually happen. It's one of the reasons I can never figure out whey people criticize her for her reaction when he leaves.
I agree. They told her she was a part of their family and then they just left her. How could she not be broken by that?
But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure and full of quiet gentleness. Then it is peace-loving and courteous. It allows discussion and is willing to yield to others; it is full of mercy and good deeds. James 3:17
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Re: Bella Swan Cullen #3

Post by Jazz Girl »

Seeker-Mar wrote:The positive, I think Bella became even more brave in BD. Her pregnancy pulls her out of her own head a little and makes her stronger. I also see her joy as positive. She is finally able to hold her own with her husband and that allows them to become even closer.


The negative would be that I miss her human characteristics and find it a little strange how she isn't that bothered by all the human blood drinking vampires that come to Forks to protect Renesmee. Why doesn't she care about the humans they kill? Plus, she is dismisive of Renee and that seems cold hearted and too convienent.
Seeker~ Welcome to the Lex. I'm pretty intrigued by the negatives you see in Bella's transformation. In my first reading of BD, it did bother me just a little that Bella was so willing to overlook the dietary habits of the "allied" vampires. But, first and foremost, I think she was way too concerned with the immediate future of her husband, daughter and family to be overly concerned with the wider world. She knew that the people of Forks (ie her friends and loved ones) were safe. Beyond that, what room for worry did she have in the face of the impending end of her family? Plus, and I suppose this sounds slightly heartless but it isn't meant to, even we as humans can only have so much concern for the greater tragedies of the human condition. We live our lives every day knowing that there is death, pain, evil and tragedy in the world and that the reality is that we can only do so much to stop it. What could Bella do about the general eating habits of all but a handful of vampires, short of killing every other one of their kind? She can only do her best to deal with the world and those around her. In the end, while she doesn't suffer the thirst and she makes a choice to be vegetarian, Bella understands what vampires are, their true nature. I think it does bother her that she is now a part of a race that lives off of death, especially knowing as she does that there's another way. But, she can either make a choice to accept it and do what she can, or drive herself insane trying to change the world.

As for her treatment of Renee, it never seemed that strange to me. Bella spent the majority of her childhood taking care of Renee, filling the role that Renee should have filled. Just as a parent whose child goes off to college and starts their adult life, Bella is not surprised that Renee's life with Phil in it is enough of a distraction to her to keep her occupied. She knows it is safer for her if she stays ignorant. And, she knows that she will have to say goodbye to her eventually anyways. She still loves her mom, but is also aware that things all around are just better if she can beging that separation process sooner than later.
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Re: Bella Swan Cullen #3

Post by Piece of forever »

Very interesting comments. I agree BD Bella shows more emotional strength . She has finally found her place, she has the life she has been yearning for since the first book. And she’s happy. And the certainty that she was made for this life all along makes her more self-confident (and I believe it also makes all the difference regarding the impressive self-control she shows when she’s turned). Also, we got to see Bella’s braveness and determination in a whole different level. Not that she wasn’t a brave girl before (see Volterra), but she usually couldn’t really show it, as she was often faced with supernatural threats no mere human could overcome, and therefore she had to be sheltered and protected by her allies in the supernatural world. And she used to be frustrated at the fact that she always had to be “Lois Lane”, that her main contribution in the confrontations and dangers was just sit around all delicious-smelling and let her loved ones risk their lives for her. But now she is already part of that world. And not any part: she’s as strong and fast as any newborn vampire but with an amazing self-control; she has a powerful and useful defensive gift that she learns to control and improve with relative ease. Which means that, at last, she can stand beside her husband, beside her family, in the final battle, and actually make the difference, for the sake of her daughter.
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