While I sometimes flip-flop my opinion of Bella, I never do toward Edward. While Bella has some excuses for her self-pitying narcissism (the unstable mother, her chronic depression) Edward has no such excuses. He comes from a stable family, as far as we can tell, and exudes self-confidence. So the way he treats other people is despicable because he is choosing to do this, even worse, given his advanced age and experience he ought to know better. Especially if he's the good kind of vampire that Bella discovered on the internet. How is he supposed to be protecting humans when he views them as lacking any intrinsic self-worth?
One might excuse him for this view as he is a Vampire and not a person. Humans are simply not his equal. I can at least buy that to some extent but it changes the way that we must view Edward and the Cullens for the rest of the series. If they are to protect us from the evil vampires they must view us as a weaker and inferior species. In doing so, Edward takes the view of Achilles in the Iliad: a man-god hybrid who knows that he has more virtú than all of the warriors on either side of the Trojan war. A being that sits out of the war, almost causing his side to lose merely for spite. When he begins his fighting he fights like a pure blood god, single handedly changing the tide of the war.
However, that is Achilles, son of the goddess Thetis who has war as his single purpose in all of life. In this way he fulfills the Greek concept of "Goodness" and everything that he does must be viewed in that teleological sense. Our problem is that Edward is not Achilles, we don't know what Edward's purpose in life is, why he's in high school, and worst of all why he's behaving like someone at least eight decades younger than he. Without that purpose, we can't give him the excuse that we can give Achilles (or even Helen for that matter) and he comes across as an older man who is manipulating a teenage girl.
A girl, that allows it to happen because she's beaten her own sense of virtú so low that she probably places as a vicious person in Aristotle's ethics. All because she views Edward as being so much greater than she, "I couldn't imagine how an angel could be any more glorious" she muses to herself while staring at him.
The troubling aspect is that it is so far, only his looks that are attractive to any objective viewer of their relationship. Bella pines over and over about his appearance, but we never know what it is about his personality that she finds so desirable. Which leads me to think that there isn't anything there and she is only in it for the booty. It really can't be anything else.
For instance two days ago it was her turn to ask all of the questions, yesterday it was his turn. So now we should probably assume that it is going to be her turn again, "Nope,' he grinned, 'today is still mine."
This relationship is so far from being symbiotic she might as well be a fantasy of his. Which, I know is getting rather trite of me to say at this point, is a good mark of a sociopath. If she had any protest about it actually being her turn she knows better than to voice it because everyone knows that he isn't going to listen to her. Maybe that's because of his experience though...he's been around the block enough times that he thinks high-schoolers literally have nothing of any importance to add to anything. For him, they simply don't count, and if that's the case why is he there?
So far, today, he's been alright but as they talk about the weekend. Disposing of whether or not Charlie is going to be around he asks a question, "And if you don't come home, what will he think?"
Alright, I keep saying sociopath and here's evidence that even fans of the series can't argue against (if you're reading this go ahead and try). They are making their plans for their weekend date and the above quote is him wondering what her father will do if he fucking kills her and her body is never found. This it the type of person that you don't get in the car with, the type of person that probably killed Natalee Holloway, the type of warning from an individual that is predisposed to thinking these thoughts is one step closer to doing it then every other person.
Her response? She just makes excuses. Being so smitten with his angelic looks that she reminds herself that it doesn't matter, it doesn't matter that he just told her she could die on Saturday. Then again, why should it? This isn't the first time he's done it.
In one way I kind of get it, the bad boy shtick works on women. Funny and nice doesn't, especially in high school but at what point would even a naive high school girl realize that someone is crossing the line?
"His anger was much more impressive than mine." Is it even worth continuing on at this point? Even his anger is impressive?
Getting past all of that we are still in the lunchroom and finally Bella notices that Edward's family is also in the room with them. They disapprove of their relationship, and I think that it is fairly obvious why this is so. It's actually the smartest move the Cullens have made toward anonymity so far in the book. I mean it's clearly against heir usual attempts of inconspicuousness like driving expensive sports cars, wearing designer clothes, and never interacting with anyone else. When Bella sees them, "I peeked quickly behind me at his family. They sat staring off in different directions."
I also picture them whistling in the air and twirling their hands on the table. Clearly they were just busted spying on their conversation. It's a complete non-sequitor only written to remind us that there will be a coming conflict. Look, this isn't an Elizabethan tragedy about gang warfare written by Shakespeare, so we don't don't need to be reminded that there are "two houses." There isn't, Charlie doesn't know what is going on and it's still doubtful if he would disapprove. Edward knows this, he's probably using it to hook her even further. Not only is he the dangerous type, but even his family doesn't approve of him dating her.
When we finally meet one of his sisters, Alice it gets odd. Alice, the one that doesn't dislike the relationship comes over to grab Edward so he can snack up before the date, but unlike everyone else in the book (save Mike) she's cordial and says, "It's nice to meet you Bella."
Which is normal. Alice's politeness and ability to act like a decent person earns her a dark glance from Edward. Obviously there are illusions that must be held up here we can't have the bad boy tolerating such decency in front of his woman.
One might excuse him for this view as he is a Vampire and not a person. Humans are simply not his equal. I can at least buy that to some extent but it changes the way that we must view Edward and the Cullens for the rest of the series. If they are to protect us from the evil vampires they must view us as a weaker and inferior species. In doing so, Edward takes the view of Achilles in the Iliad: a man-god hybrid who knows that he has more virtú than all of the warriors on either side of the Trojan war. A being that sits out of the war, almost causing his side to lose merely for spite. When he begins his fighting he fights like a pure blood god, single handedly changing the tide of the war.
However, that is Achilles, son of the goddess Thetis who has war as his single purpose in all of life. In this way he fulfills the Greek concept of "Goodness" and everything that he does must be viewed in that teleological sense. Our problem is that Edward is not Achilles, we don't know what Edward's purpose in life is, why he's in high school, and worst of all why he's behaving like someone at least eight decades younger than he. Without that purpose, we can't give him the excuse that we can give Achilles (or even Helen for that matter) and he comes across as an older man who is manipulating a teenage girl.
A girl, that allows it to happen because she's beaten her own sense of virtú so low that she probably places as a vicious person in Aristotle's ethics. All because she views Edward as being so much greater than she, "I couldn't imagine how an angel could be any more glorious" she muses to herself while staring at him.
The troubling aspect is that it is so far, only his looks that are attractive to any objective viewer of their relationship. Bella pines over and over about his appearance, but we never know what it is about his personality that she finds so desirable. Which leads me to think that there isn't anything there and she is only in it for the booty. It really can't be anything else.
For instance two days ago it was her turn to ask all of the questions, yesterday it was his turn. So now we should probably assume that it is going to be her turn again, "Nope,' he grinned, 'today is still mine."
This relationship is so far from being symbiotic she might as well be a fantasy of his. Which, I know is getting rather trite of me to say at this point, is a good mark of a sociopath. If she had any protest about it actually being her turn she knows better than to voice it because everyone knows that he isn't going to listen to her. Maybe that's because of his experience though...he's been around the block enough times that he thinks high-schoolers literally have nothing of any importance to add to anything. For him, they simply don't count, and if that's the case why is he there?
So far, today, he's been alright but as they talk about the weekend. Disposing of whether or not Charlie is going to be around he asks a question, "And if you don't come home, what will he think?"
Alright, I keep saying sociopath and here's evidence that even fans of the series can't argue against (if you're reading this go ahead and try). They are making their plans for their weekend date and the above quote is him wondering what her father will do if he fucking kills her and her body is never found. This it the type of person that you don't get in the car with, the type of person that probably killed Natalee Holloway, the type of warning from an individual that is predisposed to thinking these thoughts is one step closer to doing it then every other person.
Her response? She just makes excuses. Being so smitten with his angelic looks that she reminds herself that it doesn't matter, it doesn't matter that he just told her she could die on Saturday. Then again, why should it? This isn't the first time he's done it.
In one way I kind of get it, the bad boy shtick works on women. Funny and nice doesn't, especially in high school but at what point would even a naive high school girl realize that someone is crossing the line?
"His anger was much more impressive than mine." Is it even worth continuing on at this point? Even his anger is impressive?
Getting past all of that we are still in the lunchroom and finally Bella notices that Edward's family is also in the room with them. They disapprove of their relationship, and I think that it is fairly obvious why this is so. It's actually the smartest move the Cullens have made toward anonymity so far in the book. I mean it's clearly against heir usual attempts of inconspicuousness like driving expensive sports cars, wearing designer clothes, and never interacting with anyone else. When Bella sees them, "I peeked quickly behind me at his family. They sat staring off in different directions."
I also picture them whistling in the air and twirling their hands on the table. Clearly they were just busted spying on their conversation. It's a complete non-sequitor only written to remind us that there will be a coming conflict. Look, this isn't an Elizabethan tragedy about gang warfare written by Shakespeare, so we don't don't need to be reminded that there are "two houses." There isn't, Charlie doesn't know what is going on and it's still doubtful if he would disapprove. Edward knows this, he's probably using it to hook her even further. Not only is he the dangerous type, but even his family doesn't approve of him dating her.
When we finally meet one of his sisters, Alice it gets odd. Alice, the one that doesn't dislike the relationship comes over to grab Edward so he can snack up before the date, but unlike everyone else in the book (save Mike) she's cordial and says, "It's nice to meet you Bella."
Which is normal. Alice's politeness and ability to act like a decent person earns her a dark glance from Edward. Obviously there are illusions that must be held up here we can't have the bad boy tolerating such decency in front of his woman.
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