Twilight Saga Q&A #4

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Openhome
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Re: Twilight Saga Q&A #4

Post by Openhome »

In both Eclipse and Breaking Dawn, fires are started in order to kill the vampires. In New Moon, the wolves ripped him apart, but then they phased back to burn Laurent. If you remember, Seth played fetch and helped Edward pick up the pieces of Riley and Victoria so that they could be burned in a fire Edward started.
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Re: Twilight Saga Q&A #4

Post by Lirpa »

:D Yeah I remember that part I even told him that Seth was the werewolf with Edward....Don't know why I did not put it together though....Thanks for the help :D We have debates about Twilight often and I always win, but this time I drew a blank and I don't like to loose...he is very difficult when it comes to all things Twilight, calls the vampires "cold ones" because "real" vampires don't sparkle...At least he is willing to talk about it, THANKS again!!! :)
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Esme echo
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Re: Twilight Saga Q&A #4

Post by Esme echo »

Openhome wrote:I have to agree. Bella was willing to simply be around the Cullens, which was rare for a human. She noticed not only the beauty, but the oddity of their looks, and even mentioned that the other kids didn't notice. I think the family's loneliness must have been incredible, especially Alice's. They were treated as pariahs by the others, so when Bella didn't run, I think it made Edward truly look at her and was definitely a reason for why he fell for her.
For most vampires, humans were nothing more than cattle; obviously, the Cullens had more feeling for humans than that, but I never got the impression that they suffered any degree of isolation or loneliness towards humans. Edward openly mocked the humans they were forced to associate with (pre-Bella). I think they had as much contact as they wished for . . . and as far and Emmett, Rosalie, Jasper, and Alice were concerned, maybe even more than they wished for.
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Re: Twilight Saga Q&A #4

Post by VirginiaMay »

Esme echo wrote:
Openhome wrote:I have to agree. Bella was willing to simply be around the Cullens, which was rare for a human. She noticed not only the beauty, but the oddity of their looks, and even mentioned that the other kids didn't notice. I think the family's loneliness must have been incredible, especially Alice's. They were treated as pariahs by the others, so when Bella didn't run, I think it made Edward truly look at her and was definitely a reason for why he fell for her.
For most vampires, humans were nothing more than cattle; obviously, the Cullens had more feeling for humans than that, but I never got the impression that they suffered any degree of isolation or loneliness towards humans. Edward openly mocked the humans they were forced to associate with (pre-Bella). I think they had as much contact as they wished for . . . and as far and Emmett, Rosalie, Jasper, and Alice were concerned, maybe even more than they wished for.
I think you have a point. No, for the most part the Cullens weren't lonely as a group before Bella came along- perhaps with the exception of Edward. But, how many times have we heard how people don't realize something is missing from their lives until the emptiness has been filled?

It's a silly example, but when I got my glasses for the first time I really realized how much I was struggling to see clearly. Up until then, I had no idea what i was missing. I couldn't have known until after the problem was corrected, just how big of a problem it was. Does that make any sense at all?
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Re: Twilight Saga Q&A #4

Post by Esme echo »

You make perfect sense, VirginiaMay. I was an extremely myopic 9-year-old when I got my first pair of glasses. I think Edward certainly had an empty space in his life -- which is why Esme worried about him so much -- but I think the rest of the family had pretty full lives, emotionally and physically. They were a well-balanced family.
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Re: Twilight Saga Q&A #4

Post by Tiger_kitten »

Jumping in on your guys' conversation... :?

I think we saw in Midnight Sun (in you read it) that Edward was lonely without a partner. But I also think Edward was probably the most irritated with people and wished most to be away from them.

People are splendid, but if I had to hear their every thought... think of how selfish and petty we all are in our heads, no matter how we are on the outside. We have some horrid thoughts... and if I had to hear them all I think I would despise humanity.

Surely there are a handful of people in the world he would like, but I am sure those people are few and far between.

He longed for a partner, like we all do, it's in our core to want to be with another person, but I think he prefered being away from people.

Does that make sense? Ha ha.
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Re: Twilight Saga Q&A #4

Post by Jazz Girl »

Tiger-Kitten~ May I first say what a splendid siggy that is. Ahh, Jackson, how I adore thee. Anywho, I think it makes total sense. One of the common questions around the threads is whether Edward would have loved Bella if he could read her thoughts. I am always one of the people who says yes. But, that's a different issue. I think Bella gives Edward the best of both worlds. In being silent to him, she gave him exactly what he needed in a partner; someone he could just be with. I believe that Edward was so used to working to make sense of the thoughts around him, so used to working to quiet the din, that that is one of the major reasons he shuts himself down. Yes, he feels the need to separate himself to protect their secret, and to protect others. But, he also suffers the thoughts and voices of every person he's around. His family, at least, makes an effort to alleviate some of his struggle by controlling their thoughts around him, or helping him block them out. So, in addition to EVERYTHING else Bella gives him, she gives him peace, literally. With Bella, he can finally enjoy the company of another person, the benefits of opening himself to his feelings and his thoughts for the first time in so long, without having to be constantly on guard in saying or doing something based on thought reading rather than actually listening (well, as much as Edward can ever let his guard down at least at first). She gives him a quiet place to be himself. I can't imagine the gift that is to him.
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Re: Twilight Saga Q&A #4

Post by Esme echo »

I got the impression from Edward's Midnight Sun comment, "my two brothers and two sisters . . . were so used to the lack of privacy in my presence that they rarely gave it a thought," that Edward's family did not make any special effort to control their thoughts around him -- except when they were consciously trying to conceal something from him.

I also think Edward spent most of his time successfully tuning out the babble around him. As he described his talent to Bella: "It's a little like being in a huge hall filled with people, everyone talking at once. It's just a hum--a buzzing of voices in the background. Until I focus on one voice, and then what they're thinking is clear. Most of the time I tune it all out." (Except when Rosalie is mentally shouting at him, of course!)

I was tempted to agree with JazzGirl that being with Bella would give Edward relief from the never-ending mental babble he has to deal with, but then I remembered how hard it was for Edward to learn how to communicate with a mental mute, and how consistently he was dying to know what Bella was thinking! Hearing others is a natural part of Edward, not just an inconvenience. It is an integral part of his every relationship, every encounter, every attitude. It's who he is. I would compare Edward losing that ability to you or I losing the ability to hear. We could still communicate, but not through our preferred medium. That's a very imperfect example, but all I have time to come up with at the moment! :) Gotta run!
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Re: Twilight Saga Q&A #4

Post by Jazz Girl »

Esme Echo~ True, true. But, I think there's a huge difference between having the thoughts of others thrust upon you and desperately wanting to know what someone is thinking. Edward classified the thoughts of most humans, particularly the students by which they were surrounded daily as mundane, boring, typical etc. I always saw him as almost desperate for a moment of peace, away from the constant completely monotonous and self-serving thoughts of the vast majority of the humans. But, when Bella comes along and he can't read her mind and she is always surprising him, doing exactly the opposite of what 99.9% of the rest of the humans would do, not only does he have a quiet place to concentrate on, he WANTS to concentrate on it to try and puzzle out her behavior.

As for Edward's ability to tune out the din, well, honestly, I'm of the opinion that he never truly reveals to Bella just how hard he has to work to do it. Edward's tendency for self sacrifice is legendary. He might be most happy in a quiet, isolated town, away from the constant barrage of mental communication. But, his family lives in populated areas and attends high school or college to keep their charade. So, so does Edward. And, when he meets Bella and is finally able to express to her who and what he is and can do, he's not going to just blurt out that he suffers from constant mental exhaustion in trying to tune out the massive amount of input he gets daily. He has had decades to hone his skill at dulling that roar down to a buzz in the background.

Finally, the family makes no conscious effort to manage their thoughts around Edward, no. But, there's a difference between adjusting to a lack of privacy and being mindful of your thoughts. I always saw it almost like a family with a member who has a disability. At some point, whatever accomodation or modification that family makes to what would be typical functioning just becomes ingrained and they never even think about it. It' becomes their new typical. So, at first, it is a "special effort" for them to clear their minds around Edward or what have you. But, by the time we meet them, it's just a normal behavior that they always engage in around him. But, in the end, no matter what, you can't stop thinking. Thus, they are still a mental presence, a constant buzz. With Bella, there is only blissful quiet.
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Re: Twilight Saga Q&A #4

Post by Esme echo »

We'll have to agree that we don't agree on this topic. I don't get the feeling that Edward is a tortured soul, suffering from a constant, unwelcome barrage of mental noise (please forgive the hyperbole!).

Another reason I feel the way I do is that when Edward was first changed, he didn't even realize he had this extra ability. It's true that he wasn't around a lot of people at that time--being a newborn!--but hearing Carlisle's thoughts was not the least bit odd, and apparently wasn't making him nuts.

Perhaps fans are considering this gift in light of how we--as humans--might feel about something similar, but Edward is a vampire, with a vampire's mind . . . which has all that room to think of lots of things at the same time! Read again how Bella felt about all the room in her head after her transformation was complete, then consider how Edward might regale unwelcome mental noise to the back of his consciousness--the same way Bella was able to shove her thirst to the back when she was . . . distracted.
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