This Subtle But Brilliant Detail In The Twilight Saga Proves Bella Was Always Going To Be A Cullen
The Twilight Saga saw Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) go from mortal to vampire and part of the Cullen family, and one detail repeated throughout the saga proves Bella was always going to be a Cullen. In 2005, Stephenie Meyer changed the vampire genre with her debut novel Twilight. In it, Meyer shared her unique world where vampires, humans, and werewolves coexist, but vampires and werewolves aren’t like everyone knew them. Twilight was the beginning of a series of four books chronicling the problematic romance between vampire Edward Cullen and mortal Bella Swan.
Thanks to the books’ popularity, it didn’t take long for them to be adapted to the big screen, and though the Twilight Saga was controversial, it was also immensely popular. Surely, the Twilight Saga brought to light the biggest flaws of Meyers’ stories and characters, but at the same time, it highlighted its strengths and subtle connections and details between the movies and even some moments of foreshadowing. Among these is one detail throughout the whole Twilight Saga that further proves Bella was always meant to be a vampire, but more specifically, a Cullen vampire.
Bella Experienced Key Parts Of Each Of The Cullens’ Backstories In The Twilight Saga
The Cullens Suffered Before Becoming Vampires
Throughout the Twilight Saga , Bella went through threatening situations that either recreated or mirrored key moments each Cullen member went through before or after their transformation.
As mentioned above, the vampires in the world of Twilight are unlike the classic image of them, but they keep the basic characteristics of vampires. Twilight’s vampires also feed on blood, but unlike classic ones, they don’t die when touched by the sun – instead, their skin glows as if it was made of tiny diamonds. The eyes of Twilight’s vampires change color depending on whether they have recently fed or not and on whether they drink human or animal blood, and every vampire has special abilities or “powers”. One important shared characteristic, though, is that they can turn mortals into vampires.
The Cullen family was started by Carlisle, with Edward being the first one he turned into a vampire as he was looking for a companion. Next was Esme, who Carlisle had met before Edward and met again when Esme was agonizing. Carlisle later turned Rosalie and Emmett, and Alice and Jasper later joined the Cullen coven, though they were already vampires.
Bella was the last one to join the family, but before she did, she experienced key parts of the backstories of each Cullen member (via Reddit). Throughout the Twilight Saga, Bella went through threatening situations that either recreated or mirrored key moments each Cullen member went through before their transformation, the situation that led to their transformation, or a key part of their vampire journey.
After leaving the Volturi, Carlisle became a doctor and worked at a Chicago hospital during the Spanish influenza epidemic. There he met Elizabeth Masen and her son, Edward, both of them dying of influenza. Elizabeth begged Carlisle to save Edward, and so Carlisle decided to do so by turning him into a vampire. Although the author of the Reddit post explaining these parallels admits it can be a stretch, Bella’s pregnancy and how fragile her health was through it can be reminiscent of Edward’s influenza, and just like Edward’s illness, Bella’s pregnancy led to her long-awaited transformation.
Unlike many, Carlisle was aware of the existence of vampires and werewolves before he became a vampire. Carlisle was the son of an Anglican pastor who led hunts for werewolves, witches, and vampires to rid the world of evil and sin. Carlisle took over the raids at one point and found a coven of vampires living in the sewers and went after them, but the vampires attacked him, bit him, and left him to die in the street. In Twilight, Bella was attacked by James, who bit her wrist, but luckily, Edward and the rest arrived right on time to save her.
Esme had jumped off a cliff in an attempt to kill herself after the death of her newborn child.
Carlisle met Esme when she, then a teenager, broke her leg. A decade later, Carlisle smelled Esme’s blood and found out she had been taken to the hospital morgue as she was believed to be dead. Esme had jumped off a cliff in an attempt to kill herself after the death of her newborn child, and she was found in such bad condition that there were no attempts to revive her, but Carlisle saved her by turning her into a vampire.
In New Moon, when Bella was depressed after her break-up with Edward and was trying to find risky activities so she could see visions of Edward, she jumped off a cliff into the sea. Although they had completely different intentions and contexts, Bella ended up mirroring Esme’s most tragic and vulnerable moment.
Alice had promotions since she was a child, and years later, she was sent to a mental asylum by her father, who she had seen in a vision conspiring to kill her. There she befriended a vampire who worked there, and she told him about her vision of James coming after her, prompting her vampire friend to turn her so James wouldn’t attack her. In Twilight, Bella was also targeted by James and was protected by other vampires, and in New Moon, Bella had visions of Edward warning her about dangerous situations.
Rosalie Cullen Was Sexually Assaulted On The Street
Rosalie has one of the darkest backstories in Twilight. Rosalie was engaged to Royce King II, the son of a bank owner, but their attraction was merely physical. A week before their wedding, and realizing how loveless her relationship actually was, she came across her drunk fiancé and his also drunk friends, who beat her and sexually assaulted her, leaving her to die on the street. In Twilight, Bella was followed by a gang in Port Angeles who had no good intentions, but luckily for her, Edward showed up right in time to save her.
Emmett Cullen Was Attacked By A Bear
mmett was being mauled by a black bear in the mountains of Tennessee when he was found by Rosalie, who took him to Carlisle so he could save him. Carlisle ended up turning Emmett into a vampire, and Emmett and Rosalie fell in love with each other. Bella wasn’t attacked by a black bear, but in New Moon, she was almost attacked by angry Paul as he transformed into a wolf.
Jasper Cullen Fought In The Southern Vampire Wars
Before becoming a vampire, Jasper was a major in the Confederate Army, and was set up by vampire Maria, who wanted to seize his training and experience to create an army so she could reclaim her territory from other covens. Some time later, Jasper commanded Maria’s army of newborn vampires in the Southern Vampire Wars, which is why he trained the Cullens in Eclipse as they prepared to face a newborn army. Although she didn’t fight the newborns, Bella was in the middle of the conflict in Eclipse.
Midnight Sun Revealed Edward Always Knew Bella Would Become A Vampire
Midnight Sun Is Twilight Told From Edward’s Perspective
Edward saw different outcomes involving Bella: one where he killed her, one where he left her, and one where she became a vampire.
In 2020, Meyer published Midnight Sun, a companion novel to Twilight as it’s a retelling of it told from Edward’s perspective. As such, Midnight Sun made some interesting reveals about the events of Twilight and Edward and Bella’s relationship, including that Edward knew Bella would be a vampire someday. Edward’s close bond with Alice is also explored in Midnight Sun, as he can read people’s minds and Alice can see the future, so he can see what Alice sees in her mind.
Thanks to this, Edward saw different outcomes involving Bella: one where he killed her, one where he left her, and one where she became a vampire. Alice and Edward worked through these possible outcomes and realized the only one that could truly be was Bella becoming a vampire, though knowing this also made Edward’s actions in the rest of the Twilight books even more manipulative.
How These Scenes Make The Twilight Saga (& Bella’s Story) Better
The Twilight Saga Has Been Heavily Criticized
The story of the Twilight Saga has been endlessly criticized and with good reason, but not everything about it is bad. These small details and moments, like Bella experiencing situations similar to or reminiscent of key moments in the lives of each Cullen member, are subtle but clever ways of connecting Bella to her future family.
These could have also made Bella more aware and empathetic towards the tragedies of the Cullens, while preparing her for her own, inevitable tragedies when she became a vampire. Bella was always meant to be a vampire in the Cullen family, and she went through a lot before she finally became one.
