Okay, maybe I should explain some of my statements a bit more. I was in a hurry earlier and maybe didn't make some things clear. And I have my books with me now. Also, I should say that I don't blame Edward one bit. I do understand where he is coming from. It just doesn't fit with the Edward in my mind while reading the book that he gets that angry and walks out on her. But like
corona said, everyone’s opinion of Edward is different. It’s all subjective. Especially this part of the book that we can only speculate on.
I’m going to be commenting on a lot of what you all have said without using quotes, because it all runs together in my head. Hope you won’t mind and you can make sense of my brainwaves.
See, I didn't say Edward understood and accepted Bella's decision. I simply got the impression that he was aware of her opinion. And if he saw that, even if he didn’t understand it, could he honestly force her to give it up? Take her choices away from her? In the movie, particularly in this scene, it seems like he is prepared to do it. Rip her open, right there and then. Not even caring what she wants.
Now let me tell you how I read the book and you’ll see why this is different from my experience of the movie (hopefully).: When they first find out about the pregnancy on Isle Esme, Edward calls the baby a “thing” and is determined to get it out of her. He’s disgusted by the abomination and Bella sees that in him. She knows he won’t listen to her if she told him she wanted to keep the
baby. That’s why she hides her plan to ask Rosalie for help. If she would have told him anything about that, he would have tipped the Cullens off. Have Carlisle keep Rosalie away from the airport, anything. He would have taken the thing out. At this point, I do believe he would have done it. He’s not thinking rationally and he also doesn’t know (see how I say “know”, not “understand”,
) the full scope of Bella’s feelings toward the baby. He still thinks Bella is scared of the thing hurting her, while in fact she’s just scared of loosing it. During the trip back to Forks, yes, Bella is shutting him out. She’s not communicating. But she has good reason to. And running to Rosalie gives her the temporary escape from a forced abortion. Rosalie is like the witnesses against the Volturi; she’s there to make Edward hesitate. Make him calm down. Make him have a reasonable discussion. In the two weeks we skip until Jacob comes to the Cullen house, they must have had some form of discussion or conversation. That’s what Rosalie provided with her first interference.
You honestly believe that during those two weeks, they just sat there? Arms crossed, staring angrily at each other, no words spoken? I don’t believe that. And there is evidence in the books supporting this theory even though we don’t have an actual account of the events. For example:
“She won’t listen to me, because she thinks I’m underestimating her. She thinks she’s strong enough for this…” This suggests that they talked about it. At least he’s talked to her, tried to reason with her. And the fact that he knows what she’s thinking, says that she talked back. (I don’t need to remind you that he can’t read her mind... Yet, I just did…
) Also:
“I’m not going to die,” she said through her teeth, and I could tell she was repeating things she’d said before. “I will keep my heart beating. I’m strong enough for that.” Plus the whole theory about Esmee, she must have told Carlisle about that plan at the very least. And if she’s still dead-set on having Edward be the one to change her, she must have told him the plan as well. And think about this; Wouldn’t Bella want to have Edward on her side? Wouldn’t she try to persuade him to see her reasoning? Wouldn’t she rather see him happy and sharing her love for her little nudger?
In the end, I believe a similar conversation to the one Bella has with Jacob must have taken place between her and Edward, whether Rosalie or any of the other Cullens were present or not. And in that conversation I could see Edward yelling at her, yes. He doesn’t become “the burning man” from just standing on the sidelines with his arms crossed over his chest.
“I’ve been thinking of nothing but ways to save her since I realized what she was planning to do. What she would die to do …” And as Bella says:
“He really would do anything
, wouldn’t he?” Edward tried everything else, but Bella won’t change her mind. That only leads me to think he had to have tried to persuade her in every possible way he could come up with. Only when he realizes she can’t be persuaded to change her mind, does he become “the burning man”; he now believes there is absolutely no way out of the situation. Bella is going to die and he can’t change her mind nor can he force her to give up what she wants.
Do you believe he would have pounced on her if Rosalie would have slipped up? Lost her focus on Bella just a second? Edward would have scooped her up from the couch and ran off with her? He’s faster than the others so he could have made it away from them… In the movie that is “his choice” if he got the chance.
To continue my experience of the book from the moment Jacob’s POV starts: Edward has tried everything to change Bella’s mind. That’s why he finally resorts to suggesting the whole puppies idea. He hides this plan from Bella and the others, leaving the option open that Bella never had to explain that she wanted
this baby. So “burning man”-Edward wasn’t aware of that. After the conversation with Jacob, Edward and Bella must have spoken about it and Edward may have understood her POV a bit more. However, it doesn’t change how he feels about the pregnancy. He still doesn’t believe the thing could be good. Bella doesn’t believe Edward is evil, so she doesn’t believe the baby is evil. But Edward thinks Bella is wrong about him and therefore about the baby. At that point it changes from a discussion about simply her health and whether she will survive, into a question of the baby being evil or not. That’s when Edward starts referring to the thing - it - as a fetus. Maybe he’s even
starting to understand Bella’s feelings toward the baby…
And all the above is for me the reason I hate movieWard in that scene. MovieWard is ready to rip her open and get it out, while fully aware of her opinion. BookWard, in my mind, wasn’t going to do that after the initial shock. It’s like Carlisle says:
“I can’t ignore her will. It wouldn’t be right to make such a choice for her, to force her.” And I would have expected Edward to (eventually) realize that as well. He can only try to reason with her, not force her. Maybe it’s because I am a woman. Nobody can force me to do things to my body I don’t want to. If I don’t want to have an abortion, I won’t. If I do, I will. Granted I don’t have a lot of experience with serious relationships like Bella and Edward’s nor do I have experience with pregnancy, especially not life-threatening vampire-pregnancy. But I can’t let anyone else make decisions about
my body, no matter who you are. Edward may have come from a different time, but if he seriously would force her into an abortion even knowing her opinion on it, knowing it’s about
this baby and Bella absolutely does not want to loose it… Than he is not the man I thought he was. I’d be seriously disappointed. It should be
his choice not to force her.
On Rosalie: Yes, she’s always there. But that doesn’t mean there wasn’t a connection between Edward and Bella still. Even though Rosalie is always hovering close by, there is a physical connection:
His head slumped against Bella’s knees. She put one of her hands against his cheek. Like she was comforting him. He also strokes her face, holds her hand, has her burritoed feet in his lap etc. Even Jacob touches her repeatedly. Edward and Bella still talk to each other. Granted they’re not deep philosophical exchanges and Edward is constantly keeping up his mask. But Edward is always there, even if Rose is standing between them. And Rosalie’s actions are not about Bella shutting Edward out. Rosalie has her own reasons of course and Bella is just happy with her assurance that she has an ally in protecting her nudger. But Bella, in my mind, still communicates with Edward and everyone else. At least after the airport incident.
Finally, Edward may have been angry, frustrated, hurting, helpless etc. But to get absolutely furious and walking out on her? Leave her in all the physical and mental pain. No. Never. I don’t believe that. And if he did go that far, he would have turned around once he realized the emotional damage he had inflicted and tried to comfort her. At least apologize for yelling. He’s always saying:
“I have to try to hide this in front of her, because stress makes her more ill. She can’t keep anything down as it is. I have to be composed; I can’t make it harder.” or
”But it’s hard to leave her, even for a few minutes. … I can’t be away from her now.” This is the absolute opposite from walking out on her after an argument.
Anyways, I think I got carried away a little there… Summary: From reading the book, I thought Bella and Edward both knew each other’s arguments. They’d reached an impasse at the time Jacob comes into the picture. That’s why they don’t seem to communicate anymore after that. They’ve said all they needed to say, but neither of them is really able to change the situation, knowing what they know about themselves and each other.
One more thing:
Violet Sunlight wrote:In BD1 Bella had accepted that it looked like she was going to die and she took it upon herself to make Edward a widower and a father. However, in BD the book, Bella thought she could stay strong enough to be changed and have an even happier ever after than she first planned. I think the circumstances were a bit different.
That's actually a good point. BookBella believes she's going to survive. MovieBella in that instant is talking about how the baby is going to need it's father when she's gone. Quite a significant difference. Still doesn't rationalize the walking out in my mind though. But it does make the "I don't choose that"-comment more clear. Bella wants him to live on without her and take care of the baby, as you said. What if the "choosing" was refering to whether or not he'd kill himself after Bella dies. Hmmm...