Twilight Part 2: Bella Swan

For background on Twilight read my previous posts on the book
Getting Ready for Twilight
Twilight Part 1

Isabella “Bella” Swan is a 17 year old only child who for a majority of her life lived as a rather mature, introverted, and independent lifestyle. She is the product of a divorced household with a mother who seems more interested in chasing a fancy lifestyle than starting a family or raising a daughter.

One of the themes that I picked up on in the book was the obvious cultural gap between adults and teens. The adults seemed incapable of caring for themselves and the teens were forced in a sense to create a subculture where they were running their own lives separate from any parental guidance. Bella is constantly worrying about her parents’ ability to care for themselves and there is a shift in the roles between parent and child.

Part of her maturity comes from her ability to read people quite well. She is very perceptive and while she often avoids community has a knack for understanding people. She is capable of understanding what people are feeling and thinking without ever asking them. This is not a super power or sixth sense, but rather a personal attribute of hers.

While Bella does live a rather mature and independent life she also is incredibly self-conscious and self-critical. In the beginning of Twilight Bella almost seems borderline depressed. She describes herself as never really fitting in and she went through her days trying to go unnoticed.

I think Bella is a rather attractive character for many teenage girls because she captures a lot of the sentiment that teenage girls feel today. With the immense pressure to be successful and beautiful (skinny, tall, perfect bone structure), girls often carry the weight of cultural expectations with them. Studies show that 20% of teens experience some amount of depression before they reach adult-hood and over 60% of teenage girls admit to thinking badly about their bodies or having low self-esteem. Bella is an accessible character for many teenage girls as she is not incredibly attractive, nor a social standout, but rather just a regular girl from a broken home trying to make it through adolescence without making a fool of herself.

This is not to say that readers who relate to Bella are themselves suffering from depression or self esteem issues, rather they connect with the idea of struggling to be vulnerable and the pressures of being a teen.

Perhaps the biggest draw to Bella as a character is her passion and desire for Edward. Beneath the vampires and intense situations is the basis of this novel… a love story.  The insecurity, the glances across the lunchroom, the wondering what he thinks, fretting over your appearances, trying to look cool, Bella experiences all of this and many readers can relate to the process. Every girl develops a crush throughout their teenage years and Bella is an excellent portrayal of those emotions.

While she is depicted quite well and teenagers are obviously associating with her, it’s not always in a positive manner. Bella’s affection for Edward constantly toes the line with obsession. Her identity becomes wrapped up in the relationship and she seems to run through life blind to anything, but Edward. This obsessive personality is often all too common for teens to take on and relate too and it can be incredibly damaging.

Bella places such an emphasis on Edward she is idolizing him and holding him to a standard that sets one up for failure and conflict. I hope that teen readers will recognize that Bella’s attitude toward Edward is not realistic and that nobody can fulfill your hearts desires completely. As humans we are prone to let people down, to hurt the ones we loves, and to be selfish. Idolizing someone only deepens the hurt that occurs when someone acts…well human.

Underneath the obsession is a positive attribute to Bella and it is her heart and compassion. It is visible in the way she treats others, the way she is constantly thinking about her friends feelings, her compassion and worry for her parents, and it is visible in her relationship with Edward.

Hopefully I have painted a working picture of Bella for you to work with. With that said I’m sure her character and personality will continue to grow over the course of the next three books and I will be sure to give any insight into those changes as the story progresses.

The next post will be about Edward Cullen, followed up by a discussion of Bella and Edwards relationship. Thanks for reading and all comments are gladly accepted!

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