Love Conquers All

Authors Note: This piece goes towards my goal in Main Idea/ Top ic

“First, Edward was a vampire. Second, there was a part of him - and i didn't know how potent that part might be - that thirsted for my blood.  And Third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him."

            Seventeen year old Bella Swan is a shy but curious girl who is struck by the thought of having a beautiful godlike creature to ever fall in love with her.   In the Award Winning Novel Twilight by Stephanie Meyer, Bella Swan arrives at Forks, Washington expecting to meet new people, be surrounded by the scene of unstoppable rain and green grounds and nothing more.  She never expected that by one look her life would change. As Edward approaches the cafeteria, their eyes meet. All at once, so many emotions go through her mind before she even had said a word. As she quotes in the book “For an instant, I felt a thrill of genuine fear, raising the hair on my arms, the look only lasted a second, but it chilled me more than a freezing wind, and I knew there was something more.” 

Some say, that love conquers all and love is the strongest force. Edward could have easily killed Bella at any time... but his love had overpowered his thirst and now he is just there to protect her. Love is stronger than temptation, and can be found in the most unexpected places.  It’s a huge universal theme in most books, in this particular one, it’s the main idea. Edward is drawn to Bella but has to resist the temptation. Love can overcome anything. Twilight is a story of forbidden love. Because Edward is a vampire and Bella a human, Edward technically should consider Bella his prey. While Edward does love Bella, his primal instincts lead him to thirst for her blood. Similarly, Bella's natural instincts should warn her that Edward is dangerous, that she should stay away from him, but instead she craves being near him at all times. For this couple, even kissing is dangerous, yet their passion is so intense that they each claim to have no choice but to be with each other.

            There’s a time in almost everyone’s life when you have the opportunity to fall in love. I can honestly say, this has not happened to me. Of course, I believe it will happen eventually, besides, I’m only in eighth grade. I can’t exactly compare myself to Twilight in that way, but I can say that I can compare in the theme we both share, which is choices. Personal choice pops up as a huge component of all the action in Twilight. The defining aspect of the Cullen’s; the "good" vampires, is that they've chosen to suppress their natural desire for human blood and only feed on animals. And driving the main plot, both Edward and Bella know what the safe action is for each of them – to stay away from each other – but they both struggle with how that route conflicts with their desires. Bella chooses to pursue Edward even though it's a dangerous. Edward chooses to engage in a relationship with Bella even though his instincts tell him that she's his prey. But the biggest choice hanging over the whole novel is, Will Bella choose to become a vampire, and will Edward allow that?  In reality, I believe that myths like vampires or werewolves aren’t real, but I understand why instead of running, Bella is fascinated to be with them. Imagine a life where you find basically another world, full of fairy tales, would you pass it by? I’d make the same choice Bella did and take the chance of being involved in something as spectacular as being in love with a vampire.

            There are also way more themes in this novel other than “Love” and “Choices.” Not all of them are as important, but they are still main concepts in Twilight.  Like good vs. evil, fear, isolation, communication, appearances, mortality, the supernatural, strength and skill, family, hate, sacrifice, man and the natural world, memory and the past.  Bella Swan became immune to everything that was happening around her. Her only aspect of her life was Edward Cullen. She had fallen deeply in love in a matter of days. I guess, once you fall in love, that’s all you really care about. It stood out to me how in the novel, she could be so easily satisfied. They were sitting together when she told him she loved him and Edward simply replied “You are my life now” and she was fulfilled.

            "Love is irrational. The more you loved someone, the less sense anything else made"

The main theme in the story is the love connection between Bella Swan and Edward Cullen. The minute I picked the book up, I could not set it back down. I read all 498 pages in two days, which is a huge record for me. The reason I love this book is because of their inseparable connection. The way Stephanie Meyer described their lust for each other the more it lured me in. They couldn’t get enough of each other.  Even in deep danger, Bella recites to Edward  "I love you, I will always love you, no matter what happens now." The irresistible bond is what made everything so interesting. Like I said before, when you’re in love, you only want each other, and forget about everything around you. The night Edward confessed his love he told her that, He didn’t have the strength to say away from her anymore. There love was an inspiration to all and they’ll be together forever.  Bella realized she wanted him for eternity when he quoted.  "You are the most important thing to me now. The most important thing to me ever."