The song for this chapter is How Does It Feel by Avril Lavigne (suggested by Kelcey M)
Β [audio:https://twilightguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/howdoesitfeel.mp3]
It feels very odd coming to the final chapter of Twilight, when it seems like it was just yesterday that I started on this book. I know that most of you are probably gagging and choking at the moment. Feels like only yesterday? says he. Sheesh. One more week of waiting and it’d be to the pit of lions with him for sure.
This happens to be the chapter in which all things are resolved, and the final pieces of the first part of the Twilight Saga are brought to a close. Bella, awakening in a hospital, finds herself alive: and not only that, she finds Edward is still at her side, as he has been since the moment he found her with James.
One of my emailers used this scene as an example of why she despises Edward: and I find it also as one of the leading reasons many guys do not understand Twilight. They say that Edward is solidly over-protective of Bella, to the point of obsession: staying by her side for days and nights at the hospital, among the many other times he has lurked about with his eye on her. Although some of the Edward fans will try to deny it, there is no getting around the fact that he seems to always be watching Bella, keeping her in sight in case something happens. Is this a bad or a good thing?
Again, as always, you must peel away the layers and look to the core of Edward’s intentions. While this could certainly merit a checkup with a psychiatrist if Edward was a human, you have to remember that Edward is not a human. He is a vampire, and somehow things inside his head are different than other humans who match his (outward) age. Does it have something to do with the fact that he is so much older than the others, that he has matured enough so that selfishness doesn’t taint his reasoning as badly? I see it that his intentions for Bella are only the best, and he has proven it throughout the book. He watches her because he has seen how much danger follows her.
Edward knows what Bella wants, and yet he is against changing her. His reason is because he cares enough about her that he does not want to enslave her to the same state as he is. However, for Bella to remain a human means that she will die. For her to die would mean that Edward would be left alone again without her. Is that what he wants? I’m sure we all know the answer. But even though he wishes that he could change her, and have her with him for eternity, and Bella wants it as well, Edward wants what is best for her more:
“…as long as it makes you happy…as long as it’s what’s best for you.”
No matter what it takes he wants the best for Bella. In this chapter, Edward tries to tell Bella that he is leaving her: that he wants her to go to Florida with her mom and stay there, away from him. Of course, this is not what he wants. We’ve seen how much Bella means to him, so much that in the previous chapter he is willing to risk everything to save her. But in the end, it is what is best for Bella that is still his top priority.
You do have to remember, especially, that his lips were against her hand in the previous chapter. If there was ever a chance for Edward to think of himself for once, and allow Bella to turn into a vampire, he had it then. But instead, he chose to save Bella’s life as a human. Because of this, I see exactly why those on Team Edward trust him so well, and why Edward is such a shining light for so many millions of Twilight readers around the world. It is easy to trust someone who loves unselfishly.
Along these lines, I’ve finally noticed how much Bella and Edward argue. I mean, they argue a lot. This immediately reminded me of my own grandparents. They argue all the time, about anything and everything under the sun. This month, it’s been sixty-one years of marriage, and they still bicker like you wouldn’t believe. It is hilarious, and they know it too. But any outside person might begin to ask, as with Bella and Edward: why on earth are you two still together?
The reason is simple: they are together because they simply cannot be apart. True love is binding, and unselfish, and holds through any of the arguing and fighting and bickering that comes along between two people who are meant to be together for the rest of their lives. Twilight is not simply one of those ‘happily ever after’ stories where the two ride off into the sunset. It is real, with love that is just as difficult and confusing as in life: but it is worth it, because it is true.
Still, I hover around listening to Bella and Edward bicker, like an eavesdropping doctor about to explode into shouts of
That said, I can only imagine the demise of James, at the hands of two angry vampires:
(Bella:) “What happened to James?”
“After I pulled him off of you, Emmett and Jasper took care of him.”
[audio:https://twilightguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/uhoh.mp3]
Shiver.
I just loved how cleverly in-the-dark Bella’s mom is. Crime in town? The dance studio burned to the ground? With a stolen car outside? Oh the loverly coincidences in this town (snicker, snicker).
Also, I found a bit of amusement in Edward’s excuse to Bella’s mom:
(Bella:) “Why did you tell her I’m here?”
“You fell down two flights of stairs and through a window.” He paused. “Then, you collided into the back of an ice cream truck which upon impact sent canisters of cold cream spiraling into the street, one of which tripped you into falling out of the truck again and down another flight of stairs into a subway tunnel, where you collided with no fewer than three dozen people and a small poodle on your way down, finally coming to rest by knocking over three trash cans.”
He shrugged. “Hey, it had to be believable. Two flights of stairs and a window just sounded contrived.”
My post on the epilogue will be Saturday, with the results for the Twilight Song and my final thoughts on the book.
——NOTES——
– This week, there will be no Friday post, so that I can go seamlessly from the last chapter to the Epilogue. See you Saturday!
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Woo hooo, you finished! Execot for the epilogue, of course. I love what you wrote and Bella and Edward in this post. And the “duh dun dun duh” music was prett funny! π
good job kaleb! you finally finished. you went out with a bang with your dizzying insight. why cant there be more men like you? its really a shame. i hope that you continue with such amazing insight through new moon and eclipse. and then breaking dawn! i’ve really enjoyed your writings, and i think you are very hilarious and smart. keep up the good work for the epilogue!!
AH! I can’t wait for you to read New Moon! Are you going to start is ASAP?
Hey!
This has probably been said a lot but congrats on finishing the last full chapter! Can’t wait to hear which song wins and the epilogue.
NO FRIDAY POST??!?! I might die waiting Kaleb! haha, just kidding (maybe). To answer your question, which was most likely rhetorical, “Although some of the Edward fans will try to deny it, there is no getting around the fact that he seems to always be watching Bella, keeping her in sight in case something happens. Is this a bad or a good thing?” I think that even Edward has his moments. I mean, if you had just almost killed your girlfriend (or the love of your life), wouldn’t you stay in the hospital? In a way Bella is the same. She’s also watching him, making sure he doesn’t disappear.
Yay! You’re pretty much finished! Time to move on to New Moon! I love how you also noticed that Edward and Bella argue a lot. I totally believe that it means they’re meant to be together because they’re not afraid to say waht they really think. Kind of ‘The Notebook’-ish. Great job. I think this was my favorite post.
You had better read New Moon fast…Breaking Dawn comes out in 3 weeks! If you miss reading Eclipse before Breaking Dawn as well, I can promise you nothing but extreme confusion. Read fast!
Another hilarious post. Soon we’ll be able to call you the “New Moon Guy.”
…
On second thought, we’ll stick with “Twilight Guy.”
Congrats on your grandparents’ anniversary and keep up the great posts!
I so look forward to each posting you put up! Thanks for giving us new thoughts on our favorites scenes and chapters!
I wanted to say, in response to Edward’s over-protectiveness and constant watch, that not only does want and need to keep her safe…but he’s lived without her for so long, that I see as him trying to make up for his 80+ years without her. She is his other half, what makes him whole…
Page 304: “For almost 90 years I’ve walked among my kind and yours…all the time thinking I was complete in myself, not realizing what I was seeking. And not finding anything, because you weren’t alive yet.”
“It hardly seems fair…I haven’t had to wait at all…”
So, now he’s found the missing piece of himself…and it’s so potent and amazing, that he can’t bring himself, and doesn’t want to even let her out of his sight. There’s no amount of time spent with her, of looking into her eyes, of thrilling to the touch of her that could make up for his time without her, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t try, that he doesn’t revel in it, in being with her.
Sorry for the chapter’s worth of commentary, that’s just how I’ve always seen his constant ‘watch’ and presence.
I can’t wait until you get into the heart of New Moon, to see what you think!
When you spoke of your grandparents it reminded me of my grandparents. I’m going to share a story with you. Two years ago for my grandparent’s wedding anniversary my mom sent them a card with a couple back to back and the man was saying “hag” and the woman was saying “moron” and inside it says “studies show that couples that have nicknames for each other stay together longer”
Also, I never really noticed how much Bella and Edward fight but they really do. It’s healthy though for a relationship. I means that at least they communicate.
Enjoy the rest of the book and I can’t wait to see your reaction to new moon.
You completely pinpointed why everyone loves and trusts Edward so much. He lives for Bella. She’s the only reason he exists. He is completely unselfish and would do anything for her. He does it so much that its actually quite irritating.
Although his obsession with keeping Bella safe and doing only what’s right for her may come off as stalkerish, he’s only doing it because he loves her so much. It’s his nature to be unselfish.
Edward’s disregard for his own wants is possibly his only flaw, and I think that’s why everyone continues to love him. Even though essentially Edward is perfect, even he has a flaw. He is so set in his ways and so stubborn in doing what’s best for her, that he neglects his own desires.
“If there was ever a chance for Edward to think of himself for once, and allow Bella to turn into a vampire, he had it then. But instead, he chose to save Bellaβs life as a human. Because of this, I see exactly why those on Team Edward trust him so well, and why Edward is such a shining light for so many millions of Twilight readers around the world. It is easy to trust someone who loves unselfishly.”
SO TRUE. Edward always wants what is best for Bella, and his selflessness is extraordinary.
(On the other hand, you have no idea how hard it is not to make comments on this regarding things that will come up in New Moon… So get on reading!)
oh that last part… the embellishment on her “accident”… made me laugh until my chest hurt! Omgosh! Thanks for the laughs! You do a great job!
After such insightful, well thought-out posts on Twilight, I can’t wait to see what you can do with New Moon. Based on your interpretations of Twilight, I personally think you will share my opinion of NM, which I’ll tell you once you get into the main part of the story.
I like what you said about the true love and bickering thing. Believe me, with my parents (and my grandparents) I’ve seen that in action plenty of times.
One thing that I think makes us so obsessed with Twilight is that we know it’s fictional, we can accept that Edward, Bella, and Jacob aren’t real, that the storyline is fabricated, but what we have trouble with is accepting that the love between them, so intense and real in the books, is fictional. The fact that we are able to feel that love so strongly is what makes these characters so real and important to us.
sorry for the novel of a comment- I’m a writer too if you can’t tell.
I just want to thank you for taking on this little project and tell you that I check your website every day! Its been so great to get a guy’s perspective on “Twilight” and especially on Edward and Bella. Some of you’re posts have helped my boyfriend understand my love for these books. And I have to say that from reading all your posts, you GET it. Its strange, because I didn’t think the a guy would understand or see it the way all of us obsessed females do, but I’m happy to say you’ve proven me wrong! I can’t wait to read what you think of the rest of the series! Thanks again!
And I also agree with Libby; Edward’s extreme selflessness can definitely be a flaw. He bases everything on what HE feels is selfish (which in his brooding mind is quite a lot), and disregarding his own wants makes both him and Bella unhappy at times.
Congrats on getting through the book. Most guys i know never finshed they started and stopped. Go on to new moon.
Way to go on finshing the whole book. Most guys i know started and stopped
Hmmm, Kaleb, I have thoroughly enjoyed reading through your experience with Twilight. There are so many things to learn about Edward that will be able to explain his over protectiveness toward Bella; some of it is just the way Edward is personality-wise. Another thing is that you have to look at the way that Edward sees Bella. He is an indestructible vampire and he knows better than some how fragile human beings are, especially Bella. She is overly accident-prone so I think that it just makes sense in his mind to be overly-protective. That coupled with the fact that he loves her so much causes him to do things like follow her–some would call it stalking, but since it is Edward (I’m biased enough to say), he is beyond reproach, hahaha. We also have to realize that he’s been obsessed with her from the beginning anyway (I’m sure we all remember how she smells to him). And as you’ve already pointed out he is not human so we cannot expect normal human reactions from him, just intensified human approximations. Please start New Moon quickly!!! It is so hard not to tie in Edward’s behavior there to this discussion!!! But I will not give it away so no worries. Just hurry!
wOOt! π Yay the Twilight guy is almost done! wOOt! π
wow. Congrats you’re (almost) DONE!!! Now you see why most of us love Mr.Edward Cullen…now hurry up and start reading new moon…and I am so friggin excited only 22 days till Breaking Dawn..CHES!
Thank you so much for reading it! You make me laugh π
Dundundun DUN dundundun DUN
*James’ death*
LOL
Kaleb, I don’t know if I can express how impressed I am with your review and thoughts on this book. I have read and re-read the book, and attempted to discuss it with others, but your insights have given me new points of view and a fresh perspective on the characters. I enthusiastically look forward with expectant pleasure to your continued comments for the remaining books in the series. I believe your intelligent, impassioned and humorous commentary is valuable and good work!
Kaleb, I also wanted to agree with your description of Edward and his possessive behavior. I also feel that it would be a mistake to compare his actions to similar behavior from a human. His years of existence WITH his ability to read the minds of the humans he has lived around, give him the permission to act protective around Bella. And as she has proven to be a person who draws danger to herself, his devotion to her would understandably be magnified. If he stayed awake for days on end to peep in her windows, then, yes, he would be creepy and out of order in his overly protective manner. But, he never sleeps. uh-Vampire. So him being watchful of Bella is completely reasonable!
You completely hit the nail on the head with this review. You summed up this chapter along with Edward and his intentions perfectly. Well said!
Snaps for Kaleb! He FINALLY got to the last chapter!!! WoOt! You better get done with the next two books before Breaking Dawn comes out!! I can’t wait for your view for the next two books! (Even though I thought the middle of New Moon was boring) *Hides from rabit fan girls* lol!!!
I luv you Keleb!
Best post yet. I love all of your insights, and I’m so glad that you have some understanding of Edward, and their relationship. Some people just don’t understand, but you get it completely!
I do have one question, though…what makes you think Edward is trying to tell Bella he’s leaving her??
im still team jacob all the way.
your so cool Kaleb.
KALEB!!! YOU SUCK!! NOT ONLY WAS THERE NO POST YESTERDAY OF ANY SORT, BUT THERE WILL BE NO POST TOMORROW!! DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY TIMES I CHECK THIS WEBSITE A DAY SO THAT I CAN READ YOUR COMICAL TAKE ON TWILIGHT?!?! AHHHHHH!! I’M GOIN’ NUTS!!! JUST FREAKING POST!!!!!!!!!
Please!
You’re so great kaleb!! I’ve read twilight 8 times and you still taught me something new about it!!
I’m torn. I want you to hurry so I can read more from you, but then you’ll be done faster!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
by the way the word TORN just looks like it says tom, it doesn’t really
Congrats! You made it to the end, finally! Can’t wait for your take on New Moon, I know you’ll have lots to say. Can’t wait for your post on Saturday, I’ll be up pretty early to check it!
I love you. I love that you see Edward in the right light. And thank you so much for defending him. *HUG* Thank you for just getting it. You’re amazing.
Muah!
I have just read your entire Twilight saga from 11 p.m. last night, stopping at 2 a.m. to get some rest, continuing at 11 a.m. today and finally caught up at.. 2:31 p.m. (time coincidence, how funny xD)
Anyways, I’m so proud of you Kaleb! (look at me, I sound like a mother wishing her son luck in the real world)
I can’t wait to see your thoughts on the Epilogue and the rest of the Twilight series.
Keep being you, we fans just love you =D!
Ugh!! Kaleb, how on earth am I supposed to live until Saturday? I suppose if I’m going to try to live 23 more days till BD, I’ll make it to Saturday.
THANK YOU for that brilliant explanation of all the bickering! That’s one of the (only) things that bugged me about twilight, how they always seemed to argue, but the way you put it just made it all so clear for me, especially with the comparison to your own grandparents. I’m so glad I understand! lol xxx
I love you Kaleb. Will you marry me?
you really got it didn’t you?? great review kaleb, kudos to you xD
GO TEAM EDWARD!!!
Whoa, Sammy…chill. :p
Can’t wait for Saturday!
you amaze me.
ive read the books so many times and you tell us things i dint even pick up on!
u rock
<3 u!
π I’m so proud of you Kaleb! Can’t wait for your post on Saturday! You are so amazing! I’m using a lot of exclamation points, wow.
love you!
(ps. the epilogue is amazing! and you’ll love new moon)
Kaleb,
I have been following your blog from the beginning, but never posted a comment until now. You totally get this book and the characters. I have never come across anyone that could explain this book, or break it down better than you. You tell it perfectly.
I can’t wait for you to read the other books and read your thoughts on them.
You know, you really do an excellent job of analyzing the characters in this book. For a guy. Guys tend to be so frickin dense. No offense, of course π
And I think you make a very excellent point about love and arguments and all that jazz. My boy..thing..and I argue and bicker TONS. And our friends are all like “if you guys actually end up dating, it will be the worst relationship EVER because you’ll be fighting so much.” But I disagree with that. And they don’t understand it. But the argument isn’t what makes the relationship. And truthfully, a relationship without at least a bit of arguing is probably unhealthy.
So yes, bottom line, eff the haters.
Or something.
Git on that epilogue boy!
Yes!!!! Your (almost) done!!!! About time!! he he he..
Kaleb-“The reason is simple: they are together because they simply cannot be apart. True love is binding, and unselfish, and holds through any of the arguing and fighting and bickering that comes along between two people who are meant to be together for the rest of their lives. Twilight is not simply one of those βhappily ever afterβ stories where the two ride off into the sunset. It is real, with love that is just as difficult and confusing as in life: but it is worth it, because it is true.”
I don’t think anyone could have said that better.. I was in awe of you when I read that!!!
Anyways I love your new way for how Bella got hurt -much more believable-
ha ha see you Saturday π
YAY! you’re practically done =]
Yeah, uh, Sorry Faktririjekt… I kinda have no life lol =D
And Sorry Kaleb – I was insulting
*turns around and sniggers into hand**turns back around to face you with semi-straight face*
Will be more polite next time
;P
Yay! I can’t believe youre done with the book! (almost) I actually am curious on what team you’ll go on…Team Edward all the way! I actually don’t like New Moon for certain reasons you will understand when you get to it. So I’m curious on how will analyze it.
I loved how you spoke of Edward’s personality! I am always telling me Jacob obsessed friends that! Kudos! And I actually never realized how much Bella and Edward fight until you mentioned it…I learned something new! Read on
π
oops I meant my Jacob obsessed friends
my bad!
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