Well, this was Edward's and Bella's first love and mistakes are to be expected. But Where is the selfishness in Edward as far a Bella is, that is what I have been asking and I am not getting anywhere with you , I give reason for actions but you say selfishness. How could leaving Bella when he loved her so much be selfish. How could wanting to protect her be selfish, how could not realizing how deep her feeling and yours be selfish, maybe a mistake but certainly not selfish. you definately got my interest by your word saying subtle degree of it. Please you can't say that and not back it up. And to say something that broad would encompass everyone, and so that is just a human trait and not something abnormal in Edward and Bella'sAsheleyo wrote:I don't think Edward believed Bella didn't love him, but I know from Midnight Sun and from SM that he did think she couldn't possibly love him as much as he loved her.
On the other stuff, we'll just have to agree to disagree. I don't think you're getting that selfishness can come in different degrees. And I'm playing off of a much more subtle degree of it. I don't think Edward is at his core selfish at all, but there is a small amount of it that played into his actions. I do think you can be selfish without realizing it, and I think that's what happened. I don't think it was his main motivating factor at all. But I don't agree that he understood Bella completely at that point and I do think he mitigated her love for him. If he had known that pain and suffering she would go through once he left, I don't think he would have left, as is evident by his extreme guilt every time someone mentions the time that he was away and what it did to her. And whether he thought about her love for him not being as strong as a reason to leave or not, it still played into his actions. He left for her to have a normal life and be safe and free from pain. But there's nothing normal about a zombie. And there's nothing painfree about losing your true love. He wouldn't stay with her after coming back from Italy if he didn't realize how much of a mistake it was to leave in the first place. He was letting his near sense of omniscience cloud his judgment.
relationship. Have you ever broken up with anyone that you loved, and for reasons that at the time seemed to be right. and then realized that it was a mistake. I can't see anyone saying that never happened to them . And when you realize that it was a mistake you try and make it right . If they still love you, and if its meant to be then it will work out. But you are putting Edward to a higher standard to anyone else, and to me that just is not being open minded, and seeing the whole picture and not just the leaving. You are looking only from Bella's point of view, and I am looking at it through both points and how relationships do break up, and it feel like your world is ending, and yet things will work out. So I guess if you want to disagree with me, that's cool but don't hold Edward to a higher standard just because you didn't agree to his leaving. Look at it through his eyes. and his torment when he came back, and Bella's. Its a part that makes a relationship solid not that every relationship has to, but this is not your average relationship.