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Chapter 8
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 begs Edward to answer one more question, and when he agrees, she asks how he knew where she’d gone in Port Angeles. He admits he followed her scent, and then Bella asks him to explain his mind-reading. He explains that he can hear everyone’s thoughts, except for Bella’s. It’s like being in a loud room. He wonders if Bella’s mind just works differently, which bothers Bella—it makes her feel like a “freak.” Edward prompts Bella to start talking, but Bella realizes that Edward is driving 100 miles per hour, and she shouts for him to slow down. He rolls his eyes, tells her to relax, and slows to 80.
The revelation that Edward can read minds—just not Bella’s—makes it clear that Edward is more than human. It also establishes that Bella, isn’t your average 17-year-old girl, and this specialness may in turn offer some explanation as to why Bella struggles to connect with her peers. It’s telling that Bella is afraid of Edward’s driving but not of him—her concerns are human concerns, like traffic accidents; she’s not afraid of him possibly being a vampire.
Themes
Bella admits that she doesn’t know how to begin, and that she’s afraid Edward will be angry. She says that at the beach last weekend, she spoke to Jacob Black, a family friend a member of the Quileute tribe. He told her a legend about vampires and mentioned the Cullens. Bella whispers that after that, she did some research on the internet—but then she decided it doesn’t matter. Edward is incredulous and asks if she really doesn’t care if he’s an inhuman “monster,” but Bella just sighs that Edward is angry.
Bella makes an important distinction here: she’s not afraid of Edward, but she is afraid of upsetting him. Her only concern, in other words, is to make him happy, not for her own safety. When Edward describes himself as a “monster” and as inhuman, it speaks to both facts (he’s a vampire) and to his perception of himself: he believes he’s’ a bad guy, despite so many of his actions that suggest he’s trying to be good.
Themes
Bella asks how old Edward is—17—and asks how long he’s been 17. He says it’s been a while. Then, he says it’s just a myth that vampires sleep in coffins and can’t come out during the daytime. He admits that he can’t sleep at all. Bella notes that according to Jacob, the Cullens only hunt animals and so supposedly aren’t that dangerous. Edward says the Quileutes are right about the animals, but the Cullens are still dangerous. Sometimes, they make mistakes, just like Edward is now by letting himself be alone with Bella. What they’re doing is very dangerous.
As Edward begins to tell Bella the truth about himself, he reveals the sort of vampire that he is. More precisely, he makes clear that he and the other Cullens are able to make moral choices and restrain their basic vampire impulse to suck human blood. Yet even though Edward shows such restraint, he continues to think of himself as dangerous—and he implies that Bella is a particular temptation to him.
Themes
Bella sits in silence and suddenly just wants to hear Edward’s voice. She asks why he hunts animals instead of people. Edward explains that he doesn’t want to be a monster. Living on animals is a bit like being a vegetarian, but sometimes it’s difficult. Bella says that Edward isn’t hungry now; she can tell because of his lighter eyes. Edward admits that he went hunting with Emmett last weekend, and that he knew he had to hunt but didn’t want to leave Bella. It makes him anxious to be away from her. Edward admits that he’s been home from the hunting trip since Sunday, but he didn’t go to school because he can’t go out in the sunlight in front of people.
As Edward explains his vegetarianism, he again makes it clear that he’s making choices that involve restraining his basic instincts for moral reasons. He believes that those instincts are monstrous, and he doesn’t want to be a monster. At the same time that Edward is telling Bella that he is dangerous, though, she just wants to be near him.
Themes
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Bella insists that Edward could’ve called—she notes that he knew she was safe, but she didn’t know where he was, which makes her anxious. Edward groans that this is wrong—she shouldn’t feel this way about him because he’s so dangerous. Bella reiterates that she doesn’t care; it’s too late. In a harsh voice, Edward tells her to never say that, causing Bella to tear up.
Edward wants to protect Bella, but he believes that he himself poses a danger to her and so he wants her to stay away from him. But Bella here makes clear that she already loves him and does not care about any danger he poses. From her point of view, that danger is nothing compared to the hurt she would feel if she couldn’t be with him.
Themes
Before long, Bella and Edward arrive in Forks. Outside of Charlie’s house, Edward promises to be at school tomorrow, and he asks Bella to not go into the woods alone. He says that he’s not the most dangerous thing in the woods. Bella opens the car door, but when she turns back to Edward, his face is inches from hers. His scent leaves her dazed, and it takes a moment for her to be able to get out of the car.
Given that Edward is a vampire, it perhaps isn’t surprising that he’s not the only dangerous thing in the woods—who knows what other supernatural beings populate this world. Edward continues to act as Bella’s protector—which also continues to suggest that he thinks she needs protection. It’s possible to think that Edward is being sexist, though of course he is also a vampire with knowledge of the supernatural world, and Bella for her part seems energized by his protectiveness.
Themes
Bella watches Edward drive away and then lets herself into the house. Charlie seems concerned about Bella, so she wonders what she looks like. As soon as Bella sits down in the kitchen, the phone rings. It’s Jessica. Bella asks Jessica to bring her coat to school tomorrow; she forgot it in Jessica’s car. She also promises to tell Jessica everything tomorrow. In a stupor, Bella showers and climbs into bed. As she starts to fall asleep, she’s suddenly certain that Edward is a vampire, that he wants her blood, and that she’s madly in love with him.
It's only once Bella’s defenses are weakened (since she’s falling asleep) that she’s willing to accept outright what the deal is with Edward—and that she’s in love with him. Saying this in so many words represents a choice of sorts for Bella. She decides that she doesn’t necessarily care that Edward is a vampire who wants her blood; what’s more important is her attraction to him.
Themes
