I think it has also a lot to do with their gifts, if Carlisle was from the beginning very compasionate to everything, then there was always the realisation of what he could do and could become, and I truly believed he hated that part of him.Jazz Girl wrote:I've oftened wondered about this part of the phenomenon, honestly. Carlisle awoke with no one to guide him. But, he also awoke with an at least partial understanding of what he was, what the burn might be. But, he staunchly refused to give in, willing to waste away rather than give in to his instinct.
Reading the stories of every character in the book I believe that it was only Rosalie who had the same clean record as Carlisle, she didn't kill to eat because of compassion but I think it was because she was afraid of what she was.
About Alice's record nobody ever said something, besides Edward in twilight, he said Alice would have become a total savage if not for her gift. I think that the vision of a future with the Cullens kept her sane, stopped her from being a total monster but I think she tried not the kill humans to eat, but that she had given in sometimes....
About Bella's transformation, I do think SM should have given her more of a hard time to adept. after her meeting with Charlie the only thing I can find in the book about her dealings with the human scent is when she got back from J. Jenks. that she was happy she didn't kill anyone
I always tought it would be better for the story to fill in the three months SM leaves open, in which she shows Bella's struggles of a new born.
On why she would have been able to resist so easy, I think Bella's shield wasn't the only thing she brought into her vampire life. I think her mothering feelings were so strong when Edward changed her, that it has also become a core trait of her in her vampire life and the will to defend is really strong, to defend herself and those she loves...like she had always wanted when she was human...