Twilight

by

Stephenie Meyer

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Dr. Carlisle Cullen Character Analysis

Carlisle is Edward’s adoptive father. He works at the county hospital as a doctor and surgeon, and he’s responsible for changing Edward, Esme, Emmett, and Rosalie into vampires. An immortal vampire, Carlisle was born in the mid 17th-century to an Anglican pastor father. As was common at the time, Carlisle led hunts for Catholics, witches, and vampires—and one of those hunts resulted in a starving vampire biting Carlisle, turning him into a vampire. An extremely moral person, Carlisle detested being a vampire (which he considered evil) and tried to destroy himself. But, ultimately, he realized he didn’t have to be a monster: he could feed on animals, just as he did when he was a human. This discovery allowed Carlisle to throw himself into learning. After 200 years of practice and study, Carlisle developed the self-control necessary to be able to work as a doctor and surgeon without feeling any urge to feed on human blood. Much of Carlisle’s early life as a vampire was lonely, which is why he decided to change dying humans whom he encountered in his work as a doctor, like Esme and Edward, into vampires. Carlisle is calm, dignified, and extremely diplomatic—he developed the treaty with the Quileutes a century before the novel begins that forbids the Cullens from setting foot on Quileute land, and he also calmly defends Bella to James, Laurent, and Victoria despite their rudeness.

Dr. Carlisle Cullen Quotes in Twilight

The Twilight quotes below are all either spoken by Dr. Carlisle Cullen or refer to Dr. Carlisle Cullen. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Love and Lust Theme Icon
).
Chapter 1 Quotes

“They’re all adopted. The Hales are brother and sister, twins—the blondes—and they’re foster children.”

“They look a little old for foster children.”

“They are now, Jasper and Rosalie are both eighteen, but they’ve been with Mrs. Cullen since they were eight. She’s their aunt or something like that.”

“That’s really kind of nice—for them to take care of all those kids like that, when they’re so young and everything.”

“I guess so,” Jessica admitted reluctantly […] “I think that Mrs. Cullen can’t have any kids, though,” she added, as if that lessened their kindness.

Related Characters: Bella Swan (speaker), Jessica (speaker), Edward Cullen, Dr. Carlisle Cullen, Alice Cullen, Jasper Hale, Emmett Cullen, Rosalie Hale, Esme Cullen
Page Number: 2
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 2 Quotes

“He’s an asset to the community, and all those kids are well behaved and polite. I had my doubts, when they first moved in, with all those adopted teenagers. I thought we might have some problems with them. But they’re all very mature—I haven’t had one speck of trouble from any of them. That’s more than I can say for some of the children of some folks who have lived in this town for generations. And they stick together the way a family should—camping trips every other weekend…Just because they’re newcomers, people have to talk.”

Related Characters: Charlie Swan (speaker), Bella Swan, Dr. Carlisle Cullen
Page Number: 37
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 13 Quotes

“When you walked past me, I could have ruined everything Carlisle has built for us, right then and there. If I hadn’t been denying my thirst for the last, well, too many years, I wouldn’t have been able to stop myself.” He paused, scowling at the trees.

He glanced at me grimly, both of us remembering. “You must have thought I was possessed.”

“I couldn’t understand why. How you could hate me so quickly…”

“To me, it was like you were some kind of demon, summoned straight from my own personal hell to ruin me.”

Related Characters: Bella Swan (speaker), Edward Cullen (speaker), Dr. Carlisle Cullen
Page Number: 269
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 14 Quotes

“The others—the majority of our kind who are quite content with our lot—they, too, wonder at how we live. But you see, just because we’ve been…dealt a certain hand…it doesn’t mean that we can’t choose to rise above—to conquer the boundaries of a destiny that none of us wanted. To try to retain whatever essential humanity we can.”

Related Characters: Edward Cullen (speaker), Bella Swan, Dr. Carlisle Cullen
Page Number: 307
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 15 Quotes

“His father was an intolerant man. As the Protestants came into power, he was enthusiastic in his persecution of Roman Catholics and other religions. He also believed very strongly in the reality of evil. He led hunts for witches, werewolves…and vampires.”

Related Characters: Edward Cullen (speaker), Bella Swan, Dr. Carlisle Cullen, Jacob Black
Page Number: 314
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 16 Quotes

“One night, a herd of deer passed his hiding place. He was so wild with thirst that he attacked without a thought. His strength returned and he realized there was an alternative to being the vile monster he feared. Had he not eaten venison in his former life? Over the next months his new philosophy was born. He could exist without being a demon. He found himself again.”

Related Characters: Edward Cullen (speaker), Bella Swan, Dr. Carlisle Cullen
Page Number: 337
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 24 Quotes

“You have saved me,” he said quietly.

“I can’t always be Lois Lane,” I insisted. “I want to be Superman, too.”

[…]

“Do you wish Carlisle hadn’t saved you?”

“No, I don’t wish that.” He paused before continuing. “But my life was over. I wasn’t giving anything up.”

“You are my life. You’re the only thing it would hurt me to lose.” I was getting better at this. It was easy to admit how much I needed him.

Related Characters: Bella Swan (speaker), Edward Cullen (speaker), Dr. Carlisle Cullen
Page Number: 474
Explanation and Analysis:
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Dr. Carlisle Cullen Quotes in Twilight

The Twilight quotes below are all either spoken by Dr. Carlisle Cullen or refer to Dr. Carlisle Cullen. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Love and Lust Theme Icon
).
Chapter 1 Quotes

“They’re all adopted. The Hales are brother and sister, twins—the blondes—and they’re foster children.”

“They look a little old for foster children.”

“They are now, Jasper and Rosalie are both eighteen, but they’ve been with Mrs. Cullen since they were eight. She’s their aunt or something like that.”

“That’s really kind of nice—for them to take care of all those kids like that, when they’re so young and everything.”

“I guess so,” Jessica admitted reluctantly […] “I think that Mrs. Cullen can’t have any kids, though,” she added, as if that lessened their kindness.

Related Characters: Bella Swan (speaker), Jessica (speaker), Edward Cullen, Dr. Carlisle Cullen, Alice Cullen, Jasper Hale, Emmett Cullen, Rosalie Hale, Esme Cullen
Page Number: 2
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 2 Quotes

“He’s an asset to the community, and all those kids are well behaved and polite. I had my doubts, when they first moved in, with all those adopted teenagers. I thought we might have some problems with them. But they’re all very mature—I haven’t had one speck of trouble from any of them. That’s more than I can say for some of the children of some folks who have lived in this town for generations. And they stick together the way a family should—camping trips every other weekend…Just because they’re newcomers, people have to talk.”

Related Characters: Charlie Swan (speaker), Bella Swan, Dr. Carlisle Cullen
Page Number: 37
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 13 Quotes

“When you walked past me, I could have ruined everything Carlisle has built for us, right then and there. If I hadn’t been denying my thirst for the last, well, too many years, I wouldn’t have been able to stop myself.” He paused, scowling at the trees.

He glanced at me grimly, both of us remembering. “You must have thought I was possessed.”

“I couldn’t understand why. How you could hate me so quickly…”

“To me, it was like you were some kind of demon, summoned straight from my own personal hell to ruin me.”

Related Characters: Bella Swan (speaker), Edward Cullen (speaker), Dr. Carlisle Cullen
Page Number: 269
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 14 Quotes

“The others—the majority of our kind who are quite content with our lot—they, too, wonder at how we live. But you see, just because we’ve been…dealt a certain hand…it doesn’t mean that we can’t choose to rise above—to conquer the boundaries of a destiny that none of us wanted. To try to retain whatever essential humanity we can.”

Related Characters: Edward Cullen (speaker), Bella Swan, Dr. Carlisle Cullen
Page Number: 307
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 15 Quotes

“His father was an intolerant man. As the Protestants came into power, he was enthusiastic in his persecution of Roman Catholics and other religions. He also believed very strongly in the reality of evil. He led hunts for witches, werewolves…and vampires.”

Related Characters: Edward Cullen (speaker), Bella Swan, Dr. Carlisle Cullen, Jacob Black
Page Number: 314
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 16 Quotes

“One night, a herd of deer passed his hiding place. He was so wild with thirst that he attacked without a thought. His strength returned and he realized there was an alternative to being the vile monster he feared. Had he not eaten venison in his former life? Over the next months his new philosophy was born. He could exist without being a demon. He found himself again.”

Related Characters: Edward Cullen (speaker), Bella Swan, Dr. Carlisle Cullen
Page Number: 337
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 24 Quotes

“You have saved me,” he said quietly.

“I can’t always be Lois Lane,” I insisted. “I want to be Superman, too.”

[…]

“Do you wish Carlisle hadn’t saved you?”

“No, I don’t wish that.” He paused before continuing. “But my life was over. I wasn’t giving anything up.”

“You are my life. You’re the only thing it would hurt me to lose.” I was getting better at this. It was easy to admit how much I needed him.

Related Characters: Bella Swan (speaker), Edward Cullen (speaker), Dr. Carlisle Cullen
Page Number: 474
Explanation and Analysis: