The song for this chapter is Dead But Breathing by Lesley Roy
[audio:https://twilightguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/deadbutbreathing.mp3]
Finally: a week where I’m actually not flying in or out of the west or east coast! Seriously, I have so much jetlag right now the keys on my keyboard are looking a bit fuzzy. But it’s back to Breaking Dawn, and what could possibly be the shortest title in a long time (it actually fits in less than three lines! Hooray! Huzzah!). Where did I leave off? Oh yes — Bella just vomited a fountain of blood. How could I forget?
Blood isn’t exactly a big fear of mine, but like most sane human beings I’m not good around lots of it. Bella is obviously coughing up a LOT of blood (the word ‘fountains’ is probably one of the best/worst/most-discomforting mental images associated with this). But forget about me: what about poor Edward and Rosalie? It’s like putting a sugar addict in a candy store and handing them a big fat card that says “SHOPPING SPREE. EXPIRES: NEVER. GOOD FOR: EVERYTHING”. Why even call Carlisle — all that blood could be smelled by every vampire within miles.
Good for Jacob: he finally has an excuse to attack Rosalie. She kinda needed it from him sometime 😀 . Not that she really wants to fight. It’s hard to imagine just how overwhelming the thirst for blood must be for Rosalie, to know that if she loses control she would kill Bella and the vampire baby she’s so crazy about. She seems to understand this but also understands that it’s nearly impossible for her to fight it. My feelings go out to the Bluetooth that was in her ear when Jacob threw her against the wall.
The transformation of Bella into a vampire was something I never, ever expected to happen in this chapter. I thought for sure it would be later, perhaps at the end of the book, so when Edward injects her with the venom and then finally bites her, I find myself at a loss. It must be realized that since Twilight, the first book, Edward has resisted all temptations to change Bella. It has been the constant struggle throughout all the books, so that if he had transformed her in the first a lot of problems might have been averted throughout. When he changes her, it’s almost a miniature climax of all that has happened so far between Bella and Edward.
It leads me to ask the question of “why now?”. Bella has been in danger many times before, and yet Edward didn’t want to change her then. Is this situation so much more life-threatening than the others? Or did all of her blood spilled around the room just become too much for Edward, so that the intoxicating smell played with his judgment, and made the idea of changing her not so difficult? I am under the impression that it is a mixture of them all: but more so the fact that Bella, who previously survived an assortment of clumsy disasters, was actually on the brink of death and wouldn’t survive if Edward had not done something.
I find it interesting as well that when Bella’s child is born, and Bella seems dead, that Jacob suddenly appears to lose interest in her. What was he in love with? I’ve asked myself this question a lot in the past few chapters of this book. Is it just because he finds her beautiful? Intriguing? Confusing? Was he suddenly repulsed by her when she was covered in blood in front of him, or did his love disappear the moment she became a vampire? It’s as if in an instant, she doesn’t dazzle him anymore.
I can only imagine what it must mean to Jacob when Bella is bitten by Edward. He didn’t even seem too phased by the wedding, as if he didn’t actually believe in the marriage or thought somewhere in the back of his mind that there still might be hope for him stealing Bella away in the future. But Edward biting Bella seems to be something different, even deeper than the marriage — something more eternal, that no matter what Jacob does, he will never, ever get her now, because she is truly, and only, Edward’s. They are now eternal. Jacob will die one day, and Bella will go on living after he is gone. His time with Bella is now a tiny speck in comparison to how long she will be with Edward. Thinking about how unimportant he seems to be now, I don’t blame Jacob at all for wanting to bleach his brains.
ADDED: In response to a bunch of comments below, I did NOT miss the last paragraphs of this chapter. But since it left in a cliffhanger it’s nearly impossible to comment on that part until I return to the scene and find out what exactly happened (probably in the next chapter?).
——NOTES——
– Because my life is about to get super busy with promotion for my novel, I am doing a Breaking Dawn marathon! With all my travel this month, I have gotten behind, and the time has come to catch up so I can finish before September 9. My posts might be shorter but I’ll read a lot more in the coming weeks 😀
93 Responses
Is this REALLY the first comment? Whoa.
Nice post, as always.
Can't wait for you to read/post the next chapter! It is the most shocking one to me.
tehe wait until you read the next chapter… *evil laugh*
The reason Edward bit Bella was because she was dying. He didn't want ther to die so he bit her.
“My feelings go out to the Bluetooth that was in her ear when Jacob threw her against the wall.” HAHAHA
Rosalie is the one main person who helped Bella keep the baby at this time.
i send you a email like a month ago.. i know that you are very bussy.. and i don´t want to be insistent but, like i don´t know even if you read that email i want to share with you a blog.. that mention you.. is in spanish but, have a post in english EXCLUSIVE for you.. at the sidebar you can find something like “if the twilightguy visit this place” and i translate for you the reason of the blog… you are part of the inspiration.. that´s all.. http://www.estaschicasleentwilight.blogspot.com Is a place that is still borning
Sorry for the english i am not a native english speaker… Thanks..
I must (slightly) disagree with your resoning behind why Edward changed Bella when he did. I agree with the part where you said that this was more life threatening that the other times. However I don't think her blood being everywhere was much of a factor. As Edward had said before her blood didn't appeal to him the way it had before and I think he was in control of himself. I think he changed her 1 because he wanted to save her (without the venom healing her then there would be no hope of survival) and 2 because he is noble and wanted to keep his word that he would change her (although this act might very well be her last wish fulfilled [I say no more in fear of spoiling something])
O how I love Breading Dawn xD
Great post as always! Every point you make makes me think of the books & meanings in a different way, & from a different perspective. No question for the comments this time, so I'll just wish you happy reading! 😀
this may be a stupid question but why do u have to finish by september 9th?
oh that poor bluetooth!! lol
I have a little medical background, and as Edward supposedly has been to medical school twice (according to SM), he knew that with a detached placenta, Bella was dying. She was losing so much blood, there was no way to save her. Even being at an excellent hospital, her chances were slim.
If Edward wanted her to survive, he had to bite her. Period.
Another interesting thing about her condition, is that if they wouldn't have delivered the baby as they did, with no anesthesia, the baby would probably have suffocated to death. With the placenta detached, the baby had NO access to oxygen or the outside world.
Finally, here is Jacob, helping Edward save Bella AGAIN! If he would not have kept her heart beating with the CPR, the venom would not have circulated enough through her body,and she would have NOT turned into a vampire. It would have been too late.
So, not only has Jacob accepted that she is eternally Edward's, BUT he helped him turn her into a vamp.
How ironic is that?
And yes, more shocks to come…
Umm, no comment on the end of the chapter? Was it not obvious what happened?
Wait I thought Edward injected his venom in her not bit her
Obviously, Bella couldn't survive the birth of her daughter. Biting her was the only way to keep her alive.
All of the questions in the 6th paragraph will be answered soon enough… 🙂
His book Bran Hambric: The Farfield Curse is being released that day. He will be doing book tours, and then working on the sequels. A chapter post takes him an average of five hours, with reading, writing, editing, and photoshopping. He's going to be too busy after September 9 to put that much time in, and wants to finish the series.
Er, did you read the last page? Important stuff happened that you didn't really didn't mention… did you not get what was happening!?! This, btw, answers your questions in the 6th paragraph.
Now I'm confused. Did you miss the point where Edward injects venom into Bella's heart before he started biting her? And don't you remember that it takes enormous amounts of self-control not to take all of Bella's blood? And wasn't there something very important about Jacob in the end of the chapter??
I'm happy to hear that you're reading the book fast now. The following chapters are my favorite in the saga and I can't wait to read your thoughts on them!
I think jet lag must really have you by the horns, Kaleb. The reason that Edward is not at all resistant to changing Bella now is because there is no other choices left. Her heart has stopped beating twice, she is bleeding profusely, and she's paralyzed. Technically, she was dead when Jacob left the room.
Please re-read page 360, you must have missed something important. If it's not clear to you why Jacob no longer felt the “senseless need” to be near her, and was being pulled down the stairs, you had to miss something.
Chapter 20 is my favorite, keep reading! 😉
Yes, first he injected the venom into her heart through the metal syringe. Then he methodically bit her at all her pressure points, licking them to seal them shut as he went.
Kaleb, you really must have jetlag because you missed alot of underlying points in this chapter that seen obvious to me. So, first, Bella changing. Bella's blood, though still singer-rank-tempation for Edward, is not appealing to him as food anymore because of his absolute horror at doing anything to her that will hurt her. When he changed her, she had a detached placenta, a broken spine, many other broken bones, two rebroken ribs, had lost so much blood that she was covered in it, was still bleeding, and needed to have her heart pumped and CPR done. Obviously there was no way she was going to recover from this as a human, the only thing that could help her was vampire venom, and lots of it.
And Jacob. When Bella basically died but was sort of alive and got bitten by Edward, Jacob felt like the pull to be with her had left, or at least moved away, down the stairs and out the door. Bella being bitten meant almost nothing to him, because he was absoutely sure that she was dead and Edward's attempt to “reanimate her corpse” was completely pointless. Then he looked at Renesmee. Did you not realize what happened there?
This is where I think SM was going with the pregnancy – Edward HAD to change Bella to save her life. This was the golden opportunity to change her without guilt. He was prepared, knew she would die unless he did it (the syringe full of venom is proof of that). Even if he could have stopped the bleeding of a placental abruption, which is a very serious problem, she was broken beyond belief. Her spine had snapped. She was done. You'll get a taste of it in the next chapter – back in Bella's POV.
And, this is why I love Jacob – even after everything that had happened, there he was, fighting to save his friend's life. Yes, he gave up before he should have, but that is beside the point. He did everything he could to help Edward and to keep Bella alive in some fashion or another. He was truly her friend – even if his feelings were mixed up.
I'm glad you'll be reading a little faster now. I've missed your humor… Besides, I don't know how you can put the book down!!
Hmmm..I'm suprised no one mentioned that fact that her spinal cord was severed. She became paralyzed from the waist down. That coupled with the blood loss and her heart failure would be the reason for having to change her at this moment. I do agree that I didn't see this as being the “moment”. I was hoping it would be more romantic, but you know Bella!
So glad you'll be powering through the rest! I love reading your amusing posts!
I already twittered you, but I have to reiterate how IMPORTANT page 360 is. May I suggest re-reading it once your jet lag has cleared?
I'm SO excited that you are moving through Breaking Dawn faster…. but I must ask you Kaleb… Does your September 9th deadline also include Midnight Sun??? Could you leave us hanging without your amazing insights regarding Edwards perspective? DO TELL!
lmao. That's all I have to say about the end of this blog. Of course, anything else I said would be sad, team Jake and all that, so yeah.
Regarding Edward's decision to turn her into a vampire at that point – it seemed clear to me that all the vampires had decided earlier in the book that the only way she would survive this was by becoming a vampire.
Beyond that, think about how the baby was born, and how it would have had to be born even if the placenta didn't detach – Edward cut through her belly with his TEETH. That means there is already venom in her bloodstream. I suppose that you could argue something about sucking her blood out again, etc., but this is a much larger wound than the last time and she was already in a terrible state. It's unlikely that she could have survived losing any more blood after the birth, and the store of blood (which, although not explicitly stated, I always thought was for transfusions, should the need arise after the birth, assuming they could have delivered the baby any other way) had largely been consumed by Bella already.
i'm glad you havent figured out the end of this chapter yet.
i didnt first time either 😛
The end was way obvious lol.
Sigh, no more Jacob POV.
as everyone else has said, edward changed her because he had to, she was dying, there was no onther way, period.
As for the end, jacob not loving bella anymore nad all that, its just now that she's a vampire there is literally no point, everything he has been working against has happened, it appears she's dead, and even if she isnt dead, shes a vampire which means she's edwards forever and Jacob has no idea what to do with himself now. He's detached himself from sams pack, hes not welcome in la push, and he knows no one outside la push and forks (besides his sisters) he doesnt know what hes going to do with himself.
Theres always been something about Bella that has attracted him to her, but suddenly its gone, and the only love he feels for her is the friendship they built and vice versa, it had been growing and growing hte more pregnant she got (hmm I wonder why?) that special attachment he felt has now been transferred to someone else times a thousand, its not that he feels nothing towards bella anymore- its just he only feels what he should have felt all along, if that makes any sense 😛 oh well 😀 melissaturkey
WOW….This tidbit of information just enhanced the book for me. Thanks~!
I think it is really awesome that this transformation happened after they had the chance to have a baby. It was the cherry on top of a beautiful relationship…..now they have everything they will ever want. I also love that Edward was the one who turned her…..although I am a feminist…I think it is terribly romantic and it reinforces their relationship…Now they both know that either is willing to do anything for the love of the other. *sighs* WOW! 🙂
It all comes down to FATE the came together and had to go through the motions to live as the powers that be intended the baby is like the chosen one to save all to bring everyone together and become one ie Rose.
Edward had to bite Bella, there was no other option. The baby broke so many bones in her body and probably seriously messed up her internal organs. Not to mention that she broke her spine. She'd lost so much blood by then there would have been no way to save her if he didn't bite her.
And Edward's judgement was not clouded by Bella's scent. Actually, I was a little offended by that… (Still awesome though,Kaleb) Edward doesn't really care about her blood anymore. I'm not saying it just plain ol' disappeared ,but as he said in Eclipse, he thought he'd lost her once and it changes the way he thinks. The way his body reacts to her blood.
“She kinda needed it from him sometime.” Ha ha. =D
Oh, and I have a question for you Kaleb. When you finish BD will you move onto Midnight Sun (posting about it, I mean) or did you already read that?
oh – also, when I read this chapter, it seemed to me that Jacob had given up on Bella living in any way – as a human OR a vampire. But it is possible that since her natural life was ending that he saw her as completely gone even if she did become a vampire. There's certainly evidence in his narrative to support that.
did you not read page 360???
i know jet lag may be confuzzling, but really?? come on, Kaleb!!
thats wat i thought too
I think Jacob was in shock when he thought Bella to be dead. All this time he was expecting her to die. It was a waiting game for him, and he knew nothing he could have done would've changed it. He didn't love her any less, just in a different way. Can't say why, you'll find out for yourself. I thought the end was quite obvious, but I understand to wait until you're for certain. Sometimes, you never know.
i no right. like remember in the first movie were they were at the prom and she asked him to bit her but instead he kissed her. that was romantic. i had already finished breaking dawn. im not ruining anything but the ending is wonderful!& romantic. but i thought him changing her would b romantic u know. instead there was blood, and i almost pucked reading that part cuz it put n image into my head. CREEPY!!! but at least he changed her, so they could b togther forever. o and as Kaleb said, i thought he would change her at the end of the book. but im glad it was earlier in the book bcuz i think that would b a terrible ending to the series, but luckily (as i said) the ending is wonderful & romantic.
Wait, i thought Stephenie Meyer wasnt making midnight sun anymore bcuz somone hacked it
u r team jake. i am too. all of my friends r team edward. finally some one thats not team edwards u no
she stoped maing midight sun right?
Well, the reason jacob is in love with Bella is kind of explained in those paragraphs that you refuse to comment on, Kaleb.
u go grl
-jakeluverxoxoxoxox)
Edward turned Bella into a vampire because there was no way in hell that she would of survived a baby clawing its way out of her stomach. The whole time bella was preggo with an eggo no one expected her to live when the baby was comming out and bella told jacob before that she was going to “live” because edward would give her the venom not to die. This situation was VERY differnt then the voulturi or seeing victoria again. If victoria we're too hurt bella in a way that would end her life i would have no doubt edward would change her right then and there
Um…okay….i don't know what to say, so I'm just going to leave…*opens virtual door and walks away*
no worries. page 360 went completely over my head until later whan i was all “what!?!?!? zomg wtf!”
If you didn't figure it out with the clues in the last few paragraphs, you'll get it as soon as you start the next chapter. It's in plain sight…
All of Bella's injuries, etc. could only be healed by the vampire venom as they were so severe and so many. He needed to get it into her fast to save her life – thus the heart injection and at all the pressure points.