I was seriously looking forward to both this entry and the chapter. The hope was that it would be the “big reveal” that Edward would tell Bella that he was a Vampire, and then Meyer would have to explain how the undead work in her little world. So with disappointment, I must tell you that entry will have to wait. After last week it was all I could do to not plod ahead reading forward. The worst part about it is that I know that I am going to have to wait at least three weeks before I can write the “vampire post,” but enough about that.
This section makes me worry about Bella. I find odd that I vacillate between two emotions with her: disgust and pity. I know that people who are actually depressed can’t just snap themselves out of it, I’m up enough on the subject of psychology to understand this, but certain things that she does seem so self-imposed that it leads me to roll my eyes at her self-pity. The trouble is that the person that who undergoes self-imposed exile, an undeserved air of superiority at the rest of their peers, and an unrealistic image of advanced maturity can start to believe themselves. This will lead them to actual exile which then turns into unwanted loneliness. Ask any guy, we all knew someone in highschool who wanted to be left alone and by the end of our senior year that person was alone–all the time. The trouble for these guys is that they become so needy that they will take anything after awhile just to have some human contact. This usually manifests itself in drug use, it’s not really the drugs so much as the feeling of being in a group. It always amazes me how those people always knew where to find them, it didn’t matter what city they were in, they could sniff out a dealer. Too bad that cops don’t have the same ability.
Anyway, that’s the male experience. I know because for a good part of the time I was like that in school. I was lucky that at the time I viewed drugs as a moral issue and not merely a legal issue as I do now. With women I imagine the scenario to be much worse. Instead of just being in the wrong crowd, they can often fall to the wrong type of guy. Dr. Drew, from Loveline, used to say that he wanted “predator vision” which was the ability of abusers to instantly find the victim. He wanted to know what they look for because intervention would be a lot easier if you could see “victimhood” in a person before they were abused/raped. Chronic abusers seem to know, according to him, what type of person won’t talk.
I’m beginning to get that from Bella. Certainly Edward is a predator, he has to be because he is a vampire that’s just his nature. In 2002 a little known, but fairly good movie, called Roger Dodger was released. It was about a womanizer who takes his teenage nephew out in New York City because the young lad wants to get laid. They meet two women and Roger (Campbell Scott) asks them what they find most attractive in a man. Elizabeth Berkeley replies that the sense of humor is the most important thing.
Which is total bullshit, I know plenty of funny guys who haven’t had a date in years, so Roger calls her out. He tells her that the first guy she slept with probably had a tattoo, or a leather jacket or something. And she answers that he was a married guy with a motorcycle. Danger is the best aphrodisiac, never mind romantic comedies or period pieces, horror movies are the best date movies.* The danger aspect is good but coupled with mystery and it’s better than a half bottle of tequila and a hot tub. Edward knows this and he ferments it in Bella who has been drawn to him even though any being with even an iota of Kantian intrinsic value would see that he’s wrong. He treats her terribly, ignores her whenever he pleases, lords himself over her, and returns her affections like a slot machine. So of course she’s smitten.
After ignoring her, then half-heartedly apologizing for being a douche, he tells her that he will drive her to Seattle for her impromptu-yet-planned trip. She agrees, then it’s lunch time. The dance is approaching, as well as the beach party that Mike was planning. We’ve been given clues that there was a beach thing coming up, but that was before the accident and we still don’t know what month/season we are in. Bella tells us that there was probably going to be no rain but the temp would be at the most in the 40s. Being from Western New York, that puts our possible time period between January 1st and May 30th, or September 30th and December 31st. I have nothing to work with here.
The beach party is awfully impertinent because it doesn’t allow us to concentrate on picking on Bella for not going to the dance. This is inconsistent with her character: she won’t go to the dance for some reason but she will go to the beach party that will contain (and this is important): THE EXACT SAME FUCKING PEOPLE! She has told her father that she doesn’t dance, well neither do a lot of people who attend those things, I just don’t get it.
The other thing is that for someone who claims that she never fits in, she sure has taken the alpha role at lunch which is, again, the most important discernment of social order in high school. Bella is sitting with all of her “friends” disappointed that Edward isn’t there at his usual table, not eating, and ignoring her. Her “friends” are gabbing away about normal stuff, stuff that she deems beneath her: “Jessica babbled on and on about her dance plans– Lauren and Angela had asked the other boys and they were all going together–completely unaware of my inattention.”
In other words Jessica, Lauren, and Angela are being girls while Bella has more important things to do. Who are Lauren and Angela? Since Bella doesn’t pay them any regard or view them as in possession of any importance we don’t know. They are apparently not important enough to even be “Red Shirts” they’re more like the people that walk on to the bridge hand the captain the iPad and then walk away without so much as a nod from Kirk/Picard/Sisko. Then Jessica notices something odd, “Edward Cullen is staring at you again.”
“Again”? No Jessica, Edward is staring at her. This is the first time that anyone has ever noticed it outside of Bella. The odd thing that Jessica should have noticed is that Edward isn’t sitting with his pretentious aristocratic family, he’s by himself. Using his finger to order Bella to him. Jessica is surprised, and probably more surprised that she goes over. Further adding to the surprise is that the other girls are jealous, which I’m not going to complain about since it is normal girl behavior.
Taking a look at Edward’s motioning, it’s pure entitlement. It displays an attitude that she should be honored to be asked to his table. He doesn’t come over and politely interrupt. He sits by himself, stares, and then motions. It’s creepy and disgusting, I’ve known high school football stars that acted with more humility than this smug bastard. The worst part: she goes over delighted at the opportunity to grovel at the Duke’s feet hoping for a scrap of affection. He’s a sociopath alright but now I’m getting that confused feeling towards her: I really don’t know if I should pity her or hate her.
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*And actual horror movies, not the bullshit torture porn/snuff movies like Saw or Passion of the Christ. Those aren’t scary so much as anatomical.
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