Mrs.Edward_Cullen<3 wrote:Mara Jade Cullen wrote:Bella is designed to be a character that can be sympathized with so that the reader could easily step into her shoes.
I don't get why people think that she is weak and boring. She goes against the grain of what is the usual while still being "approachable" by the reader. She is takes care of her family. She doesn't just go along with the crowd. She thinks differently than her friends and classmates. She stands up to her father. And she has a strong enough personality to hold her own against Edward--who can be a little stubborn and opinionated if you haven't noticed.
So she's weak physically. *shrugs* She's human{/i] in a supernatural setting. Of course she has to be protected. People complain because they think that she is the perpetual damsel in distress. But in Twilight she doesn't wait for Edward to come and rescue her. She goes out to protect her mom and the Cullens from James even though she knows that it means her own death and sacrifice of everything that she had with Edward. I don't see that as weak. She may have been rather gullible, but I think that she shows strength of character throughout the series.
Despite her physical weakness she goes to Italy and saves Edward.
Breaking Dawn then turns the tables. She goes from being the "weak" link in the Cullen family to being the most powerful character that saves them all.
Everyone has their own opinion, of course. But I think that those who see the story as being sexist in reference to Bella's role choose to only see what they want and aren't considering her storyline as a whole.
I very much agree with you. Bella was percepted by some people as the weak, human girl in a world of a vampires. I think you're mostly right. She may be physically weak in the beginning but she's emotionally stronger than most people. And when she ends up stronger than everyone else she does come in and save them all. Heck, she saved some people in her human life. She's not a damsel in distress. She's our heroine.
The point is that she isn't that emotionally strong if she can't function without a man in her life . . . she falls apart whenever she's left without Edward or Jake. I wouldn't call her a heroine, I'd certify her as a damsel in distress because that is what she does. She sits and waits for someone to save her.
I don't know anyone who can identify with her, all of my friends and I agree, she's unrelatable because none of us think of ourselves as that boring, that weak, we all like to think that we're a lot stronger . . .
I'm with LeahRose I would have been wanting to learn how to kick those vampire butts, yet she's just content to forever be this damsel who can never save herself . . . rather pathetic if you ask me.