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Chapter 4
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 is in such a daze after her conversation with Edward that she barely notices that she’s late for class. Though Mike and Eric are a bit curt with her, Mike still invites Bella to the beach this weekend—it’s supposed to be nice. The rest of Bella’s morning passes in a blur. She’s frightened by the time lunch rolls around; how is Edward going to act? But Edward isn’t sitting with his siblings. Disappointed, Bella buys a lemonade and sits down with Jessica. A moment later, though, Jessica hisses that Edward is staring at Bella and is sitting alone. Once Bella meets Edward’s eyes, he beckons to her. Bella makes an excuse to Jessica and hurries to Edward.
As Bella spends more time with Edward, she becomes increasingly tuned in to his every move. He is starting to fill her entire world. But this doesn’t mean that her interest is entirely positive: she is simultaneously drawn to Edward and aware of being somewhat gas-lighted by him. His erratic behavior has her constantly nervous about how he will act toward her, and it seems as if part of her enjoys that nervousness as a kind of thrill.
Themes
Bella sits down, awed by Edward’s beauty. She remarks that them sitting together is odd, but Edward says that if he’s going to hell, he should “do it thoroughly.” He doesn’t explain what he means, but he does say Bella’s friends are mad that he “stole” her. He says that he might not give Bella back and then explains that he’s giving up. He’s tired of trying to stay away from Bella, and he’s not going to be good again. Bella is extremely confused and asks if they’re friends. Edward says they can try, but he won’t be a good friend. If Bella is smart, he says, she’d avoid him.
Edward is being purposefully cagey, but he still makes one thing very clear: he shouldn’t be associating with Bella. His reasons are still a mystery, but he nevertheless makes clear that he both believes that being around her makes him bad , but that he can’t resist. It’s also interesting that Edward refers to inviting Bella to sit with him as “stealing” her. His word choice objectifies her and could indicate controlling behavior, but Bella doesn’t seem to see this as a bad thing.
Themes
Bella looks down, more confused than ever. When Edward asks what she’s thinking, she says she’s trying to figure out what he is. Her theories are too embarrassing to share. Edward deems this frustrating—but Bella snaps that it’s frustrating when someone speaks cryptically, saves your life “under impossible circumstances,” ignores you, and then never explains anything. Bella hates double standards. After a few tense moments, Bella asks Edward if, in the future, he’d warn her before ignoring her again. He agrees, but he asks for one of Bella’s theories in return.
It's telling that Edward doesn’t object to or take issue with Bella trying to figure out what he is—this confirms that he might be something other than human. Bella also tries to make it clear to Edward that his actions do have consequences: being so evasive and cryptic is maddening and feels mean, especially when he then won’t respect Bella’s desire to keep her own secrets.
Themes
After some coaxing, Bella asks if Edward was bitten by a radioactive spider. He scoffs, but Bella vows that she’s going to figure it out. Edward asks her not to—he could be the bad guy, not the superhero. Some things suddenly make sense, and Bella asks if Edward is dangerous. He just stares at her with an odd look, and Bella says she doesn’t believe he’s bad. Edward says Bella is wrong. Bella stares at Edward in silence until she realizes the cafeteria is nearly empty. She’s going to be late for biology. Edward says he’s not going today and tells Bella goodbye.
Bella makes an important distinction here: things (or people) can be dangerous without being bad. In other words, just because someone or something has the ability to do harm doesn’t mean they’re evil. It seems likely that Bella comes to this conclusion in part because she’s so intrigued by Edward, but this nevertheless shows Bella gathering information and making an informed decision (rather than making assumptions). In contrast, Edward seems to believe that his being dangerous naturally makes him bad. Bella’s comment about Edward getting bitten by a radioactive spider is funny because she means it as a silly joke and yet it is so close to being true.
Themes
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Bella races to class. Moments later, the teacher comes in with some boxes. He hands out supplies and explains that they’re finding out their blood types today in preparation for a blood drive. Bella puts her cheek against her desk and tries to stay conscious. She tells the teacher she knows her blood type and is feeling faint. Mike offers to take Bella to the nurse. Outside, Bella asks to sit down. She slumps until her cheek is on the concrete. She hears Edward’s voice asking Mike what happened. Edward insists that he’ll take Bella to the nurse, and before either Bella or Mike can protest, he scoops Bella up.
Mike presumably offers to take Bella to the nurse because he has a crush on her. The ease with which Edward swoops in establishes him as not even a rival with Mike for Bella’s attention—he’s on another level than Mike. Meanwhile, Edward missing class when they are checking their blood types is another clue about him. Bella’s seeming aversion to blood similarly raises the stakes around blood.
Themes
Edward seems amused that Bella faints at the sight of blood. He carries her to the office and into the infirmary, settling her on a cot. When the nurse tries to send Edward back to class, Edward insists that he’s supposed to stay with Bella. Just as the nurse returns with an ice pack for Bella, the secretary, Ms. Cope, says there’s another fainter coming in. Feeling better, Bella hops up and stands aside so that Mike can help another classmate in, who is bleeding from the science experiment. She complies when Edward tells her to leave the room immediately, and leaves himself. Outside the infirmary, she explains that she listened to him because she could smell the blood, but Edward is skeptical. When she describes the smell as rusty and salty, he stares at her with an “unfathomable expression.”
Even if Bella wasn’t thrilled about Edward helping her when he picked her up, his willingness to help her is more evidence that Edward isn’t bad or evil. Rather, he seems to honestly care about Bella’s wellbeing. His expression when Bella describes the smell of blood also offers some clues as to what he might be—someone (or something) that is, perhaps, more attuned to the scent of blood than the average person. Bella’s own attunement to blood further indicates a kind of match between her and Edward.
Themes
Just then, Mike appears to check on Bella, and she insists she can’t go back to class—she’ll just faint again. Mike looks disappointed, but he asks if she’s coming to the beach. Bella assures him that she’s coming and notices Mike throwing Edward dirty stares. Finally, Mike leaves. Bella groans that she has gym next, and Edward says he can fix that. He tells Bella to sit and look pale. Then, Edward softly tells Ms. Cope that Bella isn’t well enough to stay at school; he’d like to take her home. Ms. Cope agrees.
It's important to Mike to make sure Edward notices that Bella is accepting his invitation to the beach—and that Mike is very purposefully not inviting Edward. As Mike does this, though, he’s still ignoring the fact that Bella doesn’t want to date him, thereby prioritizing his own wants over hers. When Edward rescues Bella from gym class, he again shows that he’s caring and not a bad guy. It also once again shows that Mike is no rival to him for Bella’s attention.
Themes
Outside, Bella asks Edward if he’s joining the beach group. It isn’t until Bella shares that they’re going to First Beach in La Push that Edward declines. As they reach the parking lot, Edward grabs Bella’s jacket to stop her from going to her truck. He promises that his sister Alice will drop the truck off later; he’s taking Bella home. Edward drags Bella to his Volvo by her coat and she stumbles against the car. Angry, but aware that she can’t outrun him, Bella gets in.
Edward’s refusal to go to the beach once he realizes where exactly they’re going is another red flag; what is it about La Push that Edward doesn’t like? Then, the way this passage describes Edward forcing Bella to take his car illuminates the power imbalance between them. Bella can be angry and upset with Edward, but she can’t physically get her way.
Themes
Edward cranks the heat and turns the music down. Bella is surprised that it’s Debussy’s Claire de Lune, one of her favorite songs. Edward reveals that it’s also one of his favorites. As they drive, he asks Bella what her mom is like. Bella describes Mom as pretty, eccentric, and her best friend. Sounding frustrated, Edward asks Bella how old she is. Bella says she’s 17, but Edward insists she sounds older. Bella laughs that Mom jokes that Bella was born middle-aged. For that matter, she notes, Edward doesn’t seem much like a 17-year-old, either. Edward asks if Bella approves of Phil, and if Mom would let Bella make her own choices about partners. They joke that Bella can’t choose someone too scary—and Edward asks if he’s scary. Bella says he could be, but she’s not afraid.
As they spend more time together, Bella and Edward learn that they have more in common than they thought. They both enjoy classical piano music, and they’re both mature for their age. This offers hope that Bella might be able to connect with Edward where she struggles to connect with other kids her own age. Edward also seems oddly intent on figuring out if and how much Bella is afraid of him. His interest suggests that he sees himself as frightening—and is, perhaps, surprised that Bella doesn’t entirely agree.
Themes
To change the subject, Bella asks Edward about his family. Curtly, he explains that the Cullens adopted him after his parents died. Then, he says he has to hurry back to school to pick up his siblings. He wishes Bella a good time at the beach and says he’s skipping school tomorrow; he and Emmett are going hiking. Before Bella gets out of the car, Edward tells her to be careful—she seems like the kind of person who “attracts accidents.” Bella hurries out of the car, annoyed, and slams the door.
Edward seems oddly unwilling to talk about his family, but he nevertheless seems to corroborate what Charlie said about the Cullens: that they’re close-knit and stick together. He also shows again that he cares for Bella and doesn’t want her to get hurt, even if his concern doesn’t go over so well with Bella herself.
Themes
