TEAM JACOB, BITCH.
Dec. 25th, 2007 03:29 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ninety6tearsAs a newcomer to the Twilight fandom who has now finished New Moon, I have been in denial, telling myself I was still pretty undecided on Edward/Bella vs. Jacob/Bella, but I was really kidding myself. I fell in love with the Jacob/Bella 'ship really fast. I thought I should introduce myself to others in the fandom with my thoughts - not so much on why the J/B relationship is more romantic or compelling or sweet than E/B, though I'm sure I could make a few points about that as well - but on how it is healthier than any possible present or future she could ever have with Edward. I hope all this babble doesn't come off as more anti-E/B than pro-J/B, but a lot of my points arguing for one required putting down the other. For that, I apologize to Switzerland.
I have only read Twilight and New Moon and ask, please, that you limit your comments to discussion that is only relevant to those books, though of course your opinion can't help but be affected by all three. Because![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
flowrs4ophelia has spent the last couple months talking my ear off about these books, I'm likely to discuss some information that isn't revealed until the third book, but please keep in mind I haven't read it.
P.S. I fully owe it toflowrs4ophelia, by the way, for getting me into these books, so you can hold her fully responsible for any of my tomfoolery.
The comparison made by Bella herself in New Moon of the complications of her love life to the story of Romeo and Juliet is an allegory that not only she gets carried away with, but perhaps the readers do as well. We must not get tangled up with labelling Edward as Bella's Romeo or Jacob as Paris simply because, while there are definitely some interesting similiarities, the stories simply do not align in any way that should influence Bella's perception of her relationship with either of these men. In William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, Romeo does not abandon Juliet in an attempt to keep her away from trouble, leaving her heart shattered and seemingly irreparable. In Romeo and Juliet, Paris is not Juliet's amazingly noble and intimate friend who is the only thing that keeps her together while Romeo is gone.
Most importantly: In Romeo and Juliet, Romeo is human. Coming from someone who is not much of a fan of the actual story of the play, the two lovers are admittedly a couple of recklessly lust-driven youth who fall in love a little too fast, but to their credit, at least they have that in common.
I am not dismissing the possibility, overall, of an immortal being relating on both an intellectual and emotional level to a human; I would consider that claim pretty unfair. In fact, Bella does seem exceptionally equipped with characteristics that would make her be able to relate to vampires. Her emotions are much more set in stone than the average person, and what Edward describes as the unpredictability of her actions might set her apart as an arguably very smart person.
So why do the star-crossed lovers have to try so hard? Ironically, because of their human flaws (yes, both of them).
Edward's problem is one that often annoys us in humans, but in his actions wraps up into a nice romantic chocolatey package of exponentially stifling sacharine nothings. We have all probably known somebody who does that whole, "No, I love you more" thing with their significant other. Edward truly believes that he loves Bella more than she could ever love him, and it's saddening that he doesn't realize the devastating handicap this places on their relationship. The funny thing is that he would probably justify this with decades of experience comparing himself to human behavior, saying that it is simply difficult to fathom how a human could love with the kind of harrowing permanence that his kind is capable of. Perhaps, after all, he and Bella are part of some romantic tragedy, and Bella's immunity to his thought-reading is the tragic flaw in their relationship that ultimately guarantees disaster. Edward maybe can't even be blamed for not giving Bella the chance to prove that she is emotionally different from thousands of other comparatively fickle mortals, but if he never does, they have no hope of being together with any kind of mutual faith in each other, save the option of Bella becoming a vampire. But this of course brings me to Bella's flaw.
Bella Swan, over the course of the first two books, has been revealed as a surprisingly insecure person. She doesn't think herself terribly revolting, but she can't be convinced that she is anything other than ordinary, particularly in the company of vampires. Bella's thoughts about the astonishing wonderfulness of the Cullens is often very appearance-oriented; she envies constantly the graceful way that they move and is always particularly jealous of Rosalie's looks. She mentions their dazzling appearances enough that it gets rather monotonous, when in the company of regular people we get maybe a description of haircolor or clothing, if even that; she even seems convinced after a time that only vampires can be attractive, as if her standards of what is considered beautiful rapidly shoots up to impossible levels, making it impossible for her to accept her own looks.
It is painfully easy to see why Bella would crave the company of her vampires. Their admiration feeds her self-image the way nothing else can, and why shouldn't it? Most anyone would feel a boost of ego for being the first human being that any of the Cullens have felt the urge to break the rules in order to get closer to. In this light, it's not hard to see why Bella clings almost as desperately to the rest of the Cullens as she does to Edward; she needs to be loved by somebody beautiful and intelligent, so that she can feel less ordinary. She wants to become one of them for the same reason: to gain their kind of beauty, and to lose her complex of insignificance next to her impossibly gorgeous boyfriend. But this illusion of inferiority contradicts the purity of their current relationship, because in becoming a vampire she seems to believe she would become deserving of the love Edward gives her, an ugly alternative to the self-acceptance she would require to realize that she deserves it now. I honestly loved when Edward popped the question to Bella to challenge her determination to become changed, because that parallel works so well in proving that she isn't ready and doesn't even want it for the right reasons. Bella's perception that joining Edward's species will make them equal is no more ridiculous than couples who get married in a rushed attempt to fix their problems. We have no reason to think this will help her actualize herself beyond accepting the surface level; given her present inability to accept her shortcomings, I'd like to see how she intends to deal with the guilt of faking her death and abandoning her family. And Jacob.
Jacob, with whom she doesn't seem to feel very self-conscious at all. From the first few pages in New Moon that Jacob and Bella's friendship began to click into place, I was sort of astonished at how different it felt from the way Edward and Bella formed a relationship, and maybe at that point already started to take Edward/Bella less seriously because of the kind of subtle, resonating tone of genuine love I now saw Stephenie Meyer was capable of writing, and didn't with Edward's development. From the beginning, their inseparable bond has more the feel of young sweethearts than star-crossed lovers, and thank God for that; because Bella isn't constantly swooning over how hunky Jacob is, her attachment to him comes off as unconditional and pure. For once, Bella is humanly acting her age, making jokes and getting into trouble, but not without connecting to a person as intelligent as she is.
More notably, she is capable of an extraordinary amount of empathy with her new best friend; Meyer seems to make a point of repeatedly conveying that Bella is surprised at how much it hurts to see Jacob sad or afraid, and unlike Edward, Jacob can't stand to cause her any pain without atoning for it within the hour. The emotional connection and trust between the two is unique, and a far cry from the kind of jumbling through misunderstandings Bella seems to experience with Edward. The relationship is just more human, even after the ironic revelation that Jacob actually isn't. I still sort of do a double take when I read a line in which we are reminded that Jacob isn't human, because I don't think being a werewolf makes him any less so. He may have the capacity to accidentally hurt Bella, but it's not fair to say that can't be overcome. Except for the obvious increased hostility towards vampires, his emotional makeup is the same. He will eventually grow old, maybe have some wolf babies, and die. This is not the image of happiness Bella is currently pursuing, but really the only reason she shouldn't is because, okay, she's in love with somebody else, big deal. I fear that she will be forced to accept that while both of these men could give her forever, only one can give her now.
And with the sole company of the reasons you left everyone else behind, forever is a very, very long time.
I have only read Twilight and New Moon and ask, please, that you limit your comments to discussion that is only relevant to those books, though of course your opinion can't help but be affected by all three. Because
flowrs4ophelia has spent the last couple months talking my ear off about these books, I'm likely to discuss some information that isn't revealed until the third book, but please keep in mind I haven't read it.P.S. I fully owe it to
flowrs4ophelia, by the way, for getting me into these books, so you can hold her fully responsible for any of my tomfoolery."When Romeo and Juliet Don't See Eye-To-Eye"
The comparison made by Bella herself in New Moon of the complications of her love life to the story of Romeo and Juliet is an allegory that not only she gets carried away with, but perhaps the readers do as well. We must not get tangled up with labelling Edward as Bella's Romeo or Jacob as Paris simply because, while there are definitely some interesting similiarities, the stories simply do not align in any way that should influence Bella's perception of her relationship with either of these men. In William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, Romeo does not abandon Juliet in an attempt to keep her away from trouble, leaving her heart shattered and seemingly irreparable. In Romeo and Juliet, Paris is not Juliet's amazingly noble and intimate friend who is the only thing that keeps her together while Romeo is gone.
Most importantly: In Romeo and Juliet, Romeo is human. Coming from someone who is not much of a fan of the actual story of the play, the two lovers are admittedly a couple of recklessly lust-driven youth who fall in love a little too fast, but to their credit, at least they have that in common.
I am not dismissing the possibility, overall, of an immortal being relating on both an intellectual and emotional level to a human; I would consider that claim pretty unfair. In fact, Bella does seem exceptionally equipped with characteristics that would make her be able to relate to vampires. Her emotions are much more set in stone than the average person, and what Edward describes as the unpredictability of her actions might set her apart as an arguably very smart person.
So why do the star-crossed lovers have to try so hard? Ironically, because of their human flaws (yes, both of them).
Edward's problem is one that often annoys us in humans, but in his actions wraps up into a nice romantic chocolatey package of exponentially stifling sacharine nothings. We have all probably known somebody who does that whole, "No, I love you more" thing with their significant other. Edward truly believes that he loves Bella more than she could ever love him, and it's saddening that he doesn't realize the devastating handicap this places on their relationship. The funny thing is that he would probably justify this with decades of experience comparing himself to human behavior, saying that it is simply difficult to fathom how a human could love with the kind of harrowing permanence that his kind is capable of. Perhaps, after all, he and Bella are part of some romantic tragedy, and Bella's immunity to his thought-reading is the tragic flaw in their relationship that ultimately guarantees disaster. Edward maybe can't even be blamed for not giving Bella the chance to prove that she is emotionally different from thousands of other comparatively fickle mortals, but if he never does, they have no hope of being together with any kind of mutual faith in each other, save the option of Bella becoming a vampire. But this of course brings me to Bella's flaw.
Bella Swan, over the course of the first two books, has been revealed as a surprisingly insecure person. She doesn't think herself terribly revolting, but she can't be convinced that she is anything other than ordinary, particularly in the company of vampires. Bella's thoughts about the astonishing wonderfulness of the Cullens is often very appearance-oriented; she envies constantly the graceful way that they move and is always particularly jealous of Rosalie's looks. She mentions their dazzling appearances enough that it gets rather monotonous, when in the company of regular people we get maybe a description of haircolor or clothing, if even that; she even seems convinced after a time that only vampires can be attractive, as if her standards of what is considered beautiful rapidly shoots up to impossible levels, making it impossible for her to accept her own looks.
It is painfully easy to see why Bella would crave the company of her vampires. Their admiration feeds her self-image the way nothing else can, and why shouldn't it? Most anyone would feel a boost of ego for being the first human being that any of the Cullens have felt the urge to break the rules in order to get closer to. In this light, it's not hard to see why Bella clings almost as desperately to the rest of the Cullens as she does to Edward; she needs to be loved by somebody beautiful and intelligent, so that she can feel less ordinary. She wants to become one of them for the same reason: to gain their kind of beauty, and to lose her complex of insignificance next to her impossibly gorgeous boyfriend. But this illusion of inferiority contradicts the purity of their current relationship, because in becoming a vampire she seems to believe she would become deserving of the love Edward gives her, an ugly alternative to the self-acceptance she would require to realize that she deserves it now. I honestly loved when Edward popped the question to Bella to challenge her determination to become changed, because that parallel works so well in proving that she isn't ready and doesn't even want it for the right reasons. Bella's perception that joining Edward's species will make them equal is no more ridiculous than couples who get married in a rushed attempt to fix their problems. We have no reason to think this will help her actualize herself beyond accepting the surface level; given her present inability to accept her shortcomings, I'd like to see how she intends to deal with the guilt of faking her death and abandoning her family. And Jacob.
Jacob, with whom she doesn't seem to feel very self-conscious at all. From the first few pages in New Moon that Jacob and Bella's friendship began to click into place, I was sort of astonished at how different it felt from the way Edward and Bella formed a relationship, and maybe at that point already started to take Edward/Bella less seriously because of the kind of subtle, resonating tone of genuine love I now saw Stephenie Meyer was capable of writing, and didn't with Edward's development. From the beginning, their inseparable bond has more the feel of young sweethearts than star-crossed lovers, and thank God for that; because Bella isn't constantly swooning over how hunky Jacob is, her attachment to him comes off as unconditional and pure. For once, Bella is humanly acting her age, making jokes and getting into trouble, but not without connecting to a person as intelligent as she is.
More notably, she is capable of an extraordinary amount of empathy with her new best friend; Meyer seems to make a point of repeatedly conveying that Bella is surprised at how much it hurts to see Jacob sad or afraid, and unlike Edward, Jacob can't stand to cause her any pain without atoning for it within the hour. The emotional connection and trust between the two is unique, and a far cry from the kind of jumbling through misunderstandings Bella seems to experience with Edward. The relationship is just more human, even after the ironic revelation that Jacob actually isn't. I still sort of do a double take when I read a line in which we are reminded that Jacob isn't human, because I don't think being a werewolf makes him any less so. He may have the capacity to accidentally hurt Bella, but it's not fair to say that can't be overcome. Except for the obvious increased hostility towards vampires, his emotional makeup is the same. He will eventually grow old, maybe have some wolf babies, and die. This is not the image of happiness Bella is currently pursuing, but really the only reason she shouldn't is because, okay, she's in love with somebody else, big deal. I fear that she will be forced to accept that while both of these men could give her forever, only one can give her now.
And with the sole company of the reasons you left everyone else behind, forever is a very, very long time.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2007-12-25 10:02 am (UTC)I would say more but after reading I was just staring at the computer screen and marveling at the fact that you put the thoughts that even I couldn't into words.
no subject
Date: 2007-12-26 06:44 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-12-26 06:55 am (UTC)Your discussion of the Romeo & Juliet parallel actually reminds me of another point I have to make but wasn't really relevant to the ideas in this post, about how I think it's weird that Bella is so into Romeo & Juliet and seems to want a love life that compares to that kind of obsessive commitment, despite the fact that the story is not at all a happy one. This would have led into some lengthy discussion of how I think Bella was raised disfunctionally (possibly an uncommon and somewhat radical opinion) and clings to a sense of escapism in fictional, larger-than-life stories of the type she thinks is materialized in her relationship with Edward. Bella is just too romanticist to function. I haven't been into such exhaustively epic and unrealistic notions of romance since I was fifteen, which is why I have little patience for all the poetic exchanges between E and B. Ugh.
no subject
Date: 2007-12-25 03:07 pm (UTC)You must read Eclipse soon and continue your analysis because I'm looking forward to reading about your thoughts. You'll see, things get even more interesting!
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Date: 2007-12-26 06:58 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-12-26 02:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-12-25 10:28 pm (UTC)Ahh, like
no subject
Date: 2007-12-26 07:01 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-12-25 11:35 pm (UTC)And the fake death. Oh man. I completely thought about writing a Charlie-Jacob fic about that, but it never really worked out. Still angsty as hell, though.
I fell for Jacob/Bella pretty fast, too! I liked Edward/Bella just fine; they weren't like, OTP status or anything and I found Edward way too perfect in the first book. Then when Jacob came along, I fell in love with him so hard. Jacob and Bella just have such natural chemistry; they aren't full of cheesy or forced lines.
Anyhoo, welcome to the fandom and I can't wait to hear your thoughts on Eclipse.
no subject
Date: 2007-12-26 07:05 am (UTC)That would be super-angsty and sad, but I can be a sucker for that kind of drama. Sounds like an interesting idea.
Thank you for welcoming me to the fandom :)
no subject
Date: 2007-12-26 11:07 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-12-27 12:37 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-12-27 01:03 am (UTC)Thank you for this!!!
Date: 2007-12-27 08:27 am (UTC)I too am on Team Jacob for precisely the reasons you wrote. The relationship is more real, more human. And that is why I believe it will work more than the Edward/Bella relationship ever will.
I'd use this word to describe Bella: IMPRESSIONABLE. That was how I was when I was a teenager, as are most teenagers, really. And Bella is highly impressionable, given her new lifestyle, her new home, her new friends, especially the vampire ones.
With being impressionable comes being easily swayed, looking at the world through rose-colored glasses, etc. Being admired by the impossible, as you have mentioned. When this all comes crashing, only accepting reality can ground you. And Jacob Black is reality. Even though he is a werewolf, he's more human than Edward can ever be.
I loved your line "while both of these men could give her forever, only one can give her now." SPOT ON!!! And that is what Bella is totally missing. I suppose while she says she doesn't like planning weddings or marriage, she IS a hopeless romantic. She is consumed by the idea of spending forever with Edward that she forgets the people who are loving her NOW. And in that forgetting, she hurts them. She is the most selfish of the three really, but I don't blame her. This is her first experience with love.
I just hope she grows up. Bella may have gone through so many crazy experiences that no other human will ever go through, but that doesn't mean they have matured her. Fine, she may be more courageous in facing the Volturi or whomever, but since Twilight, has she really grown up?
I hope she does in Breaking Dawn.
And then she'll see that Jacob could be the one for her.
That is, if Jacob doesn't imprint on someone else. Now that's another story.
Re: Thank you for this!!!
Date: 2007-12-27 07:31 pm (UTC)Probably the reason I can always forgive Bella for being so frustrating is the fact that, even though I don't always think she makes the best decisions, I don't know that I would do anything different in her situation, especially when I was her age. Maybe not even now. I think I'd never want to be a vampire, but actually deciding to leave Edward is another story entirely.
I'm really hoping that Jacob doesn't imprint. The whole idea just...squicks me for some reason. His character just doesn't seem like the imprinting type...He's the kind of guy who would want to choose his own soulmate, I think. I can't decide if he knows this and is genuinely confident it won't happen, or is just afraid that it will.
Re: Thank you for this!!!
Date: 2007-12-27 08:35 pm (UTC)The truth is I am more excited about the "Will Jacob imprint?" story than the "Will Bella become a vampire?" one. *L*
Breaking Dawn! Come out now!
Re: Thank you for this!!!
Date: 2007-12-28 11:05 am (UTC)And thank you for the...hypothetical A+, LOL
no subject
Date: 2008-01-02 04:41 pm (UTC)...I am speechless about everything you have just written about them. ♥ Especially your take/analysis on Bella. Wow.
TEAM JACOB FTW! ♥
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Date: 2008-01-03 05:32 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-08-23 02:19 am (UTC)WELLLLL...Now that I have....
This is everything I've wanted to say but didn't know how to. Thank you. Jacob/Bella ftw. <3
no subject
Date: 2008-08-28 07:10 pm (UTC)