The book
opens in the home of Bella and Charlie Swan. Some of the most tender moments
for me in the Twilight series are the
exchanges between Bella and her father. Charlie is a silent and shy person. One
would think the town sheriff would exude more power in his home, but that’s not
Charlie. He attempts to monitor Bella, encourage her and put boundaries in
place. He isn’t perfect, but Charlie is a good dad. While Team Edward fans may
not support all of Charlie’s decisions around Edward, his love for his daughter
is evident and would also be valid in real life. Eclipse shows that Charlie is trying to engage in conversation with
Bella about the killings in Seattle, college, love and the future. Just when
things get going for Charlie, his least favorite person shows up – Edward
Cullen.
Edward
shows a whole new side in Eclipse. In
the beginning chapters, he moves from loving boyfriend to an overbearing,
control freak. He tries to manipulate the college application process for Bella
by completing applications for schools outside of her price range. He demands
that Bella stay away from the wolves, including Jacob. Edward lies to Bella
about Alice’s vision at school and forces her into a trip to Florida. He
restrains Bella from hugging Jacob after his surprise visit to school. He even
tracks Bella when she sneaks out to La Push, and he eventually orchestrates a
kidnapping of Bella by Alice so he can hunt without worry. Edward goes
overboard. His words to Bella at certain points are demeaning to her. He calls
her a coward and states that her judgment is less than stellar.
In the Twilight series, Bella must sacrifice a
great deal to feel accepted and safe in her new supernatural world. I just came
down hard on Edward’s behavior; now, it’s time for Bella. Her behavior is also
quite atrocious throughout much of Eclipse.
Just in the first few chapters alone, we see Bella easily forgive Edward for
leaving her and struggle to understand how he could love her. She starts
internally recognizing him as “her personal miracle.” She compromises her
relationship with Charlie by lying. Bella compromises her relationship with
Renee by manipulating. And she compromises her friendship with Jacob by
avoiding, all in an effort to keep her relationship with Edward intact. She
even defuses her own anger when Alice kidnaps her under Edward’s direction.
Seriously?!
Bella
visits La Push again after Edward adjusts his position on her visits. The
Cullens and the wolf pack negotiate a new truce so they can work together in
killing Victoria and finding the unknown vampire from Bella’s room. She attends
a Quilete tribe council meeting with Jacob. In this meeting, Bella also hears
the Quilete legends of the spirit warriors. She learns about a human wife who
sacrificed herself to save her supernatural husband. This story lingers with
Bella. Much of Eclipse is about Bella
finding her purpose in a supernatural world. The wolves are protectors of the
La Push tribe. The Cullen family is a coven that uses “vegetarian” ways and
encourages others to value human life. Both groups have tremendous strength and
skill to fight. Bella feels powerless. She lets the Quilete legends simmer on
the backburner of her mind because they give her a possible option – to play a
role in this greater story.
In the
midst of this craziness, Bella graduates from high school. The sexual tension
rises exponentially in Eclipse. I had
to laugh when the husband of a friend told me at worship one day, “I don’t know
what happens in these Twilight books,
but I want my wife to keep reading them. She wants me all the time.” I laughed
hysterically. These books accurately portray the healthy sexual tension that
each of us experiences when another person pursues us and loves us in intimate
ways. When the Cullens leave to increase their strength for the upcoming
battle, Bella and Edward are left alone for a night at the Cullen house. Bella attempts to jump Edward for sex, but
instead, she ends up engaged to him. This is when Edward’s extra hundred years
of life experience starts to show more clearly.
My
favorite scene in the Twilight series
comes in Eclipse. It is the mountain
top conversation between Edward and Jacob. Bella and Edward spend the night in
a remote location to prepare for the next day’s battle. A snowstorm comes, and
Bella is left freezing in the tent. Enter Jacob Black. He comes to save the day
and irritate Edward by staying in the sleeping bag with Bella for warmth. While
Bella sleeps, Edward and Jacob discuss their love for Bella. Edward explains
his devotion to Bella and his conflict in loving her. Jacob asks for time to
really try out a human relationship with Bella. In the end, both boys realize
their profound affection for this human girl. The next morning Jacob finds out
that Bella and Edward are engaged. This information sends him into a tailspin,
and Bella begs him to stay safe in the fight. Jacob really uses his
manipulation skills here, which leads to Bella kissing him. In this kiss, Bella
sees what she will lose as a human in her vampire conversion. She falls into
tears on the shoulder of Edward while Jacob leaves for the battle.
Prayer
would have been a good option for Bella in Eclipse.
As the newborn army arrives on the scene, Victoria makes a surprise appearance
on the mountain top. Edward and Victoria spar while Seth and Riley fight to the
death. When all hope seems lost to Bella, she cuts herself with a rock and
pushes the team to victory. The killing of Victoria and her army is a gruesome
portion in the Twilight series. The battle is won, but the
internal struggle for Bella is still present. She completes her preparation
process by asking questions about the newborn life and confronts her own fears
of losing her human identity. Bella visits Jacob, who is still mending from his
battle wounds. She confesses that she is in love with Jake but chooses Edward
as her life. Jacob uses an Old Testament story to concede his spot by saying,
“I’m not going to cut you in half anymore, Bella.”12 Bella also accepts
responsibility for her behavior in vacillating between two worlds. In this
moment, she moves from an immature, uneducated teenager to a new, maturing
young woman. This scene reminds me of a quote by the great civil rights leader,
Martin Luther King, Jr. He said, “An individual has not started living until he
can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the
broader concerns of all humanity.”
Eclipse ends with Bella’s final decisions for
closure before her vampire conversion. She closes the door with Jacob. She
affirms her decisions with Edward, who feels conflicted after seeing Bella’s
great loss over Jacob. Bella also fights off a seduction attempt by Edward. Way
to go, Bella! In fact, she exudes responsibility in her final resolves before
the big conversion day. First, she will give Charlie and Renee the best closure
possible. Second, she will let Alice have fun with the wedding plans. Lastly,
she vows to have sex with Edward as a human. Bella and Edward share the wedding
news with their parents, and Jacob runs away in protest of his own wedding
invitation. The climax is set for the final book in the Twilight series, Breaking
Dawn.