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Chapter 23
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Twilight, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Love and Lust
Self-Restraint and Morality
Good, Evil, and Perspective
Family
Summary
Analysis
Bella opens her eyes in a bright hospital room. She lifts a hand to rip a tube out of her nose, but Edward catches her hand. Bella immediately starts apologizing and asks what happened. Edward says that Mom is here, and that he’s also informed Charlie; Edward told them that Bella fell down two flights of stairs and then went through a window. Edward tells Bella that she has many injuries and broken bones.
Bella shows again how selfless she is—or, if read a different way, how self-abnegating—when the first words out of her mouth are apologies. It’s an indicator of how much Edward wants to protect and care for Bella that he’s the one both to keep her from pulling the tube out of her nose, and the one to tell her what happened.
Themes
Bella asks how Edward “did it.” Edward takes Bella’s hand and says it was almost impossible to stop—but he did, so he must really love Bella. Bella apologizes for tricking Jasper and Alice, but Edward insists he understands. Then, Edward says that Emmett and Jasper “took care” of James in the other room; they couldn’t handle Bella’s blood. Alice was able to stay, along with Edward and Carlisle. Edward adds that Alice has seen the tape.
Edward has seen himself as evil because of his instincts. That he sees his love of Bella as giving the power to restrain himself shows how he sees his love for Bella—and Bella herself—as redeeming, as allowing him to be who he wants to be. That such restraint was in fact necessary is made clear by the fact that Jasper and Emmett had to be in a different room from Bella as the only way to control themselves. The news that Alice has seen the tape adds more meaning to what Bella has done—she wasn’t just tricked by James; her self-sacrifice also led to Alice learning about her lost past.
Themes
Bella asks what their story is—she needs to be able to tell Mom the right thing. Edward says he came to Phoenix to try to convince Bella to return to Forks, but Bella tripped in the hotel. Bella insists there’s no evidence, but Edward grins—Alice had lots of fun breaking windows. Now, Bella just has to heal. Edward strokes Bella’s cheek and the heart monitor beeps quickly. Grinning, Edward kisses her and then pulls back—Mom is coming. He pretends to take a nap in the recliner.
Bella’s clumsiness here becomes not just a liability; it can be used as a way to protect her as well. Even injured as Bella is, Edward’s kiss still gets her heart pumping.
Themes
Mom enters the room, hugs Bella, and cries. Bella is shocked to learn that it’s Friday—she’s been asleep for several days. Mom glances suspiciously at Edward and says she had no idea Bella had good friends like Alice and Edward in Forks. Changing the subject, Bella asks about Phil. Mom shares that he got signed to a baseball contract in Florida. She says Bella will love Jacksonville, but Bella interrupts to say she’s staying in Forks. She’s settled and has friends there, and Charlie needs her. Mom is bewildered and asks if this is about Edward. Unable to lie, Bella says it is.
Bella went to Forks as a sacrifice to give her mother time with Phil, but Bella never believed or felt like Forks was her home. Now her mother is giving her a way out of Forks. But because of Edward—and to a lesser extent both the family of the Cullens and Charlie—Bella here realizes that Forks is her home.
Themes
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Mom says they need to talk about Edward, since she’s sure Edward is in love with Bella. Bella agrees and says she’s crazy about Edward too. Flustered, Mom attempts to sound like a “parental authority” and insist that Bella’s too young, but Bella assures her it’s just a crush. Mom glances at the clock; Phil is supposed to call soon. Bella tells her to go take the call and is aghast when Mom then says she’s been sleeping at the hospital. Mom insists it’s not a big deal. There’s been some crime in her neighborhood anyway; someone burned down the neighborhood dance studio and left a stolen car out front.
This scene seems to imply that, for Mom, there is a feeling of loss in that Bella is forming a chosen family with a romantic partner. Bella is able to thread the needle by both acknowledging her relationship with Edward but also playing into her mother’s belief that she is too young to have a true adult relationship. Even as she is misleading her mother, Bella is also caring for her.
Themes
Bella shivers and winces, but she assures Mom she’s fine here with Edward to keep an eye on her. Once Mom leaves, Bella asks Edward if he really stole a car. He says he did and he’s not sorry at all. He admits he’s surprised Bella doesn’t want to go to Jacksonville, but Bella notes that in Florida, Edward would only be able to come out at night, like a “real vampire.” Without smiling, Edward says he’d stay in Forks, where he can’t hurt her. When this sinks in, Bella’s heart races and she begins to hyperventilate. A nurse walks in and offers Bella more pain meds, but Bella refuses.
Edward clearly blames himself for what happened to Bella. In his mind, their love is intoxicating and all-consuming, but it’s dangerous. He suggests that the best thing he can do for Bella is to leave her, where she won’t be put in another situation like the one she found herself in with James. That his news affects Bella physical in a way that causes the nurse to ask if she needs more pain meds attests to just how profoundly important being near Edward is to Bella.
Themes
Edward tells Bella to calm down once the nurse leaves, but Bella begs him to not leave her. He promises to stay as long as she needs him. Having him close seems to soothe Bella’s breathing, and Edward mutters something about Bella overreacting. Almost shaking, Bella asks if Edward wants her to leave. Edward insists that’s silly; he just doesn’t want to put Bella in danger. Bella points out that if it weren’t for Edward, she’d have died months ago. But as though he didn’t hear her, Edward says the worst part was believing he was going to kill Bella. Bella reminds him that he didn’t kill her.
Edward here suggests two ways that he is dangerous to Bella: because of what he might expose her to (i.e. other vampires such as James) but also because he himself is a danger to her because of what he is. Bella refutes both arguments: first pointing out that Edward has saved her from the normal external dangers of life (Tyler’s van) but also, and more importantly, because in the very moment when he would have been most likely to kill her he was able to refrain. She continues to judge him not by what he is but by what he does.
Themes
Panicking, Bella asks Edward to make her a vampire. He responds that he supposes she’ll get her way at some point, but he refuses to promise that he’ll do it. Bella asks why he didn’t let her turn into a vampire this time. By Edward’s reaction, Bella can tell that Alice hasn’t let on that she told Bella about the details of vampire transformations. Bella insists that she needs to be able to save Edward sometimes, and she wants to be Superman. Edward assures Bella that she doesn’t want to be a vampire—but Bella argues that Edward is her life now, and it will hurt her to lose him. Still, Edward refuses to do it.
With Edward still unmoved, Bella now attempts a different tactic to stay with Edward—become a vampire himself. Saying that Edward is her life now mirrors what Edward said earlier in the novel, and it drives home that Bella would rather sacrifice her mortal life than consider an existence without Edward. Further, she shows here an interest in shifting her role from the one who always needs saving to someone who herself could do the saving. Edward’s refusal suggests that he is still not past the belief that vampires are inherently bad, and so he can’t make Bella, whom he loves, into something bad.
Themes
Edward asks what Bella is going to do about Mom and Charlie. Bella doesn’t have a good answer, but she mutters that they’d want her to make her own choices and live her life. She reminds him that regardless, one day she’s going to die—she’s going to keep getting older. Edward responds that this is how it’s supposed to be, and that he shouldn’t even exist. He tries to end the conversation, but Bella insists that it’s not over. She knows other vampires, like Alice. She asks if Alice has already seen Bella as a vampire and says she’ll never bet against Alice. They stare at each other for a minute, until Edward calls the nurse to give Bella more pain medication.
In Bella’s mind, what Edward thinks is best for her doesn’t matter. Her comment about Mom and Charlie makes clear that she is focused on making her own choices about what she wants. The only way to be with Edward forever is to become a vampire. And given how consumed with each other Bella and Edward are, this is the only option Bella sees. Earlier, Edward suggested that perhaps vampires are supposed to exist—that they were created alongside humans as humans’ predators, just as killer whales prey on seals. When he says here that he shouldn’t exist, it reflects his deeper belief in the fundamental badness of vampires (which perhaps has been amplified by the encounter with James).
Themes
Bella starts to panic again and admits that she’s afraid of closing her eyes; Edward might leave. Edward promises he won’t leave as long as Bella is still happy. Then, the nurse comes in with a syringe. Almost immediately after the injection, Bella’s eyelids droop. Edward returns to her side and says they can keep arguing when she wakes up. Before Bella loses consciousness, she says she’s betting on Alice.
The only thing that is important to Bella is being with Edward. That is her sole focus, and while one might argue that such a singular focus is a bit unhealthy, it is also a testament to the profound depths of her love for him. At the same time, Bella here is also making clear to Edward that he is not her only path to becoming a vampire. Edward, as much as he loves Bella, has also ben controlling towards here. In this scene Bella is asserting her power to make her own life (or un-life, as the case may be) choices. That Alice—who sees the future based on people’s choices—is Bella’s other current root to vampire-hood amplifies her insistence on her ability to make her own choices.
Themes
