Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Twilight, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Love and Lust
Self-Restraint and Morality
Good, Evil, and Perspective
Family
Summary
Analysis
Edward holds Bella’s hand as he drives into the sunset, singing along with an oldies station. As he notes which decades had the best music, Bella asks how old he really is. With a sigh, Edward says he was born in 1901. Carlisle found him dying of the Spanish flu in 1918, at 17 years old. His parents were already dead; that’s why Carlisle chose him. It was very painful. Bella’s mind starts to spin, but Edward interrupts to say that Carlisle turned Edward into a vampire out of loneliness. Soon after, Carlisle found Esme—she’d fallen from a cliff and was nearly dead. Edward explains that it’s just Carlisle’s preference to change people who are close to death; he wants healthy people to have a choice.
As Edward shares his story and talks about Carlisle’s choices to change him and Esme, it becomes clear that companionship and support are chief concerns for vampires, just as they can be for humans. Edward also makes a point to imply that Carlisle (and Edward himself, presumably) don’t think it’s appropriate to make a healthy, living person into a vampire for kicks—it’s a last resort, not a first choice. Living as a human, this implies, is something these vampires hold up as superior to life as a vampire.
Themes
Edward says that Carlisle changed Rosalie next. Carlisle had hoped that Rosalie would be a partner for Edward, but instead Rosalie found Emmett nearly dead after a bear attack and brought him to Carlisle. Alice and Jasper are “rare creatures,” as both developed a “conscience” on their own. Jasper became depressed while living with a different family and found Alice, who has visions of the future. She’d seen Jasper heading her way—and she saw Carlisle’s family. Alice is most sensitive to other vampires. Edward notes that there aren’t too many vampires in the world. There’s one other family like Carlisle’s in Alaska, and most everyone else lives nomadic lives. And nearly all live in the north, where there’s less sunshine.
By insisting that his family members all have “consciences,” Edward implies that lots of other vampires don’t—they’re more like the bloodthirsty monsters that Bella read about on the internet. He also insists that having a conscience is a choice, and is connected to self-control; feeding on animals rather than humans is something that he and his family members have to try to do every day. Edward also suggests that living a conscientious life is emotionally healthier, as evidenced by Jasper’s depression while living with the other family (which has presumably improved since finding Carlisle).
Themes
Edward parks in front of Bella’s house. When Bella asks, he says that Alice doesn’t remember her human life at all, and she has no idea who made her. Bella suddenly realizes she’s hungry. Edward apologizes—it’s new for him to be around someone who eats food. He asks to come in, so Bella leads him to the door. Edward zips ahead and opens it for her—he got the hidden key from under the eave and opened it so fast that she couldn’t even see. Bella realizes he’s been spying on her, but she feels flattered rather than enraged. As she heats up leftover lasagna, she asks how often he’s been in her house. He says he’s been coming every night to watch Bella sleep—she talks in her sleep, which he finds interesting.
Edward has to learn how to be a good partner, just like Bella does—and part of being a good partner to Bella means making sure she gets food at regular intervals. As he demonstrates his strength, speed, and knowledge of where the hidden key is, it’s another moment where Edward’s behavior could look predatory or concerning. But instead, Bella takes the news that he’s been watching her sleep as proof of his affection—because of her love for him she finds it exciting, even if some part of her knows that she could find it troubling.
Themes
Bella is angry and embarrassed. In a wail, she asks what he heard. Edward takes her hands and says that she talks about missing her mom, and she also talks about him a lot. He urges her to not be embarrassed; he’d dream about her if he could dream. Then, they hear tires outside, and Edward disappears in a flash. Charlie lets himself in a moment later. Bella tries to calm herself as she warms up a plate of lasagna for Charlie. When it’s ready, she joins him at the table and says she spent most of her day outside. Charlie seems to notice that Bella is anxious, and he asks if there are any boys she likes in town. Bella brushes him off and heads upstairs.
Edward listening to what Bella says in her sleep feels different to her than him watching her sleep—she still cares about her privacy—even as Edward assures her that she doesn’t say anything that should embarrass her. In this moment, Edward is implying that Bella can and should feel comfortable being honest and her true self around him, that he won’t judge her. And Bella seems to accept this.
Themes
Get the entire Twilight LitChart as a printable PDF.
As Bella enters her room, she whispers for Edward. He laughs, and she realizes he’s splayed out on her bed. Bella drops to the floor, surprised, and Edward picks her up as though she’s a toddler and sits her on the bed with him. When her heart slows down, she asks for a minute and heads for the bathroom. Bella showers, brushes her teeth, and gets dressed in ratty pajamas. Then, she goes downstairs to tell Charlie goodnight, making sure he notices her pajamas and wet hair. She returns to her room and explains to Edward that Charlie thinks she’s going to sneak out.
In this passage, Bella once again is not upset to be made to feel like a child (as when Edward picks her up like she’s a toddler). Rather, she takes it as a sign of how much he loves her, and another way for him to show off how strong but gentle he is. Their relationship is consistently organized around Edward as the strong one and Bella as the passive one needing protection. As this supernatural relationship continues, Bella still has human teenager concerns—she has to make sure Charlie isn’t going to get too concerned about her.
Themes
Slowly, Edward puts his cheek to Bella’s. It’s difficult for Bella to organize her thoughts, but she observes that Edward seems to be having an easier time getting close to her. Then, Bella admits that Edward is driving her crazy. Pleased, Edward admits that he never thought he’d find romance after nearly a century, so it’s nice to hear that he’s good at being with Bella. Bella asks why it suddenly seems so easy for Edward to be around her. He explains that this morning, he wasn’t sure he was strong enough to resist his instincts. But now, it’s “mind over matter.”
Things here start to take on a more sexual tone between Bella and Edward. Saying that Edward is driving her crazy seems to refer to Bella’s sexual desire. As Bella is giving into her sexual instincts, Edward continues to hold his vampiric instincts at bay. His comment about “mind over matter” once again situates his instincts as evil and his mind or conscience that rein in those instincts as being good.
Themes
Edward notes that if it gets to be too hard to control himself around Bella, he thinks he’s strong enough to leave. He knows that it’ll be even harder tomorrow, after he’s spent a night away from Bella, to fully control himself again. Bella asks him to not leave and asks why he seems so optimistic. Edward says it’s just “the glory of first love”—he’s read about it and seen it in the movies, but it’s all different now.
Edward once again frames leaving Bella as a way to protect her. Yet he also feels that love is giving him strength to resist his “lust” for her blood. The novel is constantly playing with the interplay between love and lust, where lust is both humanly sexual and vampirically bloodthirsty. In Edward’s case, the strength and purity of his love is highlighted by the way it allows him to hold off his bloodthirsty lust.
Themes
Edward notes that experiencing jealousy has been odd. He was jealous of Mike and Bella’s other suitors, especially since he couldn’t figure out why Bella turned their dance invitations down. That night was the first that he came to watch Bella sleep—and he felt angry knowing that someday, Bella would say yes to someone like Mike. But Bella said Edward’s name in her sleep, and Edward knew he couldn’t ignore her.
Edward is going through the same things Bella is—he can’t separate his love for Bella from less positive emotions, like jealousy or anger. He also suggests here that he didn’t really have a choice in whether or not to leave Bella alone. Once he heard her say his name, the decision was made: he can’t resist staying in her life.
Themes
Bella insists that there’s no reason for Edward to feel jealous—she can’t compete with anyone, and it’s hard knowing that Edward was supposed to be with gorgeous Rosalie. Edward thoughtfully says that no one is as attractive to him as Bella is. Now, he knows he’s spent the last century thinking he was complete, all because Bella wasn’t alive yet. Bella murmurs that it’s not fair for him, since she hasn’t had to wait for her true love. Edward jokes that Bella still has to risk her life to be with him, and he points out that she’s “turn[ing] [her] back on nature, on humanity” as well. Bella insists she doesn’t feel deprived, but Edward gets a grief-stricken look on his face.
Both Bella and Edward acknowledge that their love is life-changing and all-consuming. It allows them to be who they want to be, as they’re more comfortable with each other than they are with anyone else. However, Edward characterizes Bella’s choice to stay with him as something that’s going to deprive her of her humanity. Bella doesn’t agree with this, though, since she’s so in love with Edward that, in her mind, their love can conquer any problem. Edward, however, loves Bella as she is, and so her love for him causes him grief because of his fear about how it might impact her.
Themes
Suddenly, Edward disappears and hisses for Bella to pretend to sleep. Charlie opens Bella’s door to check on her. Once he’s gone, Edward appears in bed behind Bella. Bella’s heart pounds, but she asks Edward why he resists his vampire nature and feeds on animals. Edward acknowledges that many vampires don’t resist, but he and his family have chosen to “rise above” and attempt to hold onto their humanity. Then, with Bella’s prodding, Edward talks about vampires’ special gifts. Carlisle suspects that vampires’ gifts expand on some quality they had when they were still human—for example, Edward the human must’ve been very in tune with other people. Jasper was a charismatic human, and now he can manipulate people’s emotions.
Edward very clearly makes the case in this passage that people aren’t born or created good or bad. Rather, whether a person or vampire is seen as good or evil comes down to their choices. Edward and his family have decided to be as good as they possibly can by choosing not to hunt humans—and this, Edward suggests, makes them more human. By making this connection, Edward does suggest that, in his mind at least, there is some sort of natural hierarchy of beings, and that humans are higher than vampires in that hierarchy.
Themes
Bella asks how vampires came to be. Edward doesn’t know—perhaps a deity created vampires alongside humanity, just as there are killer whales and seals. Bella has more questions, but Edward assures Bella that they have lots of time to keep talking. Bella does ask one more question: is a romantic relationship between vampires the same as it is between humans? Edward says vampires have sex; they do still have human desires. But it would be impossible for him and Bella to have sex. She’s so breakable, and he could kill her in an instant, just by not paying attention. They both admit that they’ve never had sex before, and as Edward hums a lullaby, Bella falls asleep.
By suggesting that a deity created vampires and then noting that there are all sorts of predator-prey relationships in the natural world, Edward justifies his existence in two different ways. He suggests that it’s unlikely vampires just appeared out of the blue; regardless of how they came to be, they serve a purpose and are supposed to exist. This viewpoint is somewhat at odds with how Edward often talks about being a vampire, since he characterizes himself as evil and something that shouldn’t exist. Meanwhile, the novel now ratchets up the love and lust tension between Edward and Bella even more as it reveals that they are both virgins, that they love each other and want to have sex, and that Edward thinks they can’t because if they do he might end up killing Bella. So… that’s a lot.
Themes
