While the Twilight series might be a romance, it’s worth remembering that Bella Swan is the protagonist and hero of the series. It’s true that she might have many moments of being a damsel in distress, but she also has times where she makes heroic choices and protects other people around her.
Bella might not be a particularly beloved character in pop culture, but she does make quite a few good decisions during the course of the saga. But, on the other hand, she can also make some pretty awful choices that lead to bad mistakes.
10 Worst: Nearly killing herself just to hear Edward’s voice
The way Bella acts in New Moon overall is pretty problematic, and she makes many mistakes during this time of her life. She clearly was depressed and struggling, and she definitely didn’t get the help she needed.
The fact that she was willing to do so many dangerous things just to hear Edward’s voice in her head, a voice that she made up at that, was really disturbing to read about. She definitely needs much more support for her mental health than she was getting.
9 Best: Picking Edward over Jacob
When the books were first coming out, the issue of Edward versus Jacob was a big deal, and it’s still talked about today. While honestly both Jacob and Edward did some pretty awful things, and she’d probably be better off without either of them, Edward was the right choice between the two.
She clearly loved him more, and Jacob never really respected her decisions. Plus, with the whole imprinting on Bella's daughter aspect, their relationship wasn’t right.
8 Worst: Losing her identity to the men around her
One of the biggest and most valid critiques about Bella from fans and critics is that she doesn’t have much of an identity or personality outside of the boys she likes. While this might not be completely accurate, the truth is that she does let the men around her consume her life.
She gets way too invested in both Jacob and Edward, but especially Edward, and it’s a bad mistake to not care enough about her own self.
7 Best: Saving Edward form the Volturi
When Alice shows up in Forks to tell Bella what Edward is planning to do, it might seem rash for her to drop everything to go to Italy to try and save him from the Volturi. However, it was still the right decision. Bella never would have forgiven herself if she hadn’t tried to save his life.
Whether or not they had the best relationship, she did still love him, and without her making that decision, Edward definitely would have died.
6 Worst: Wanting to have Renesmee even if it killed her
This is probably the most controversial point on this list because whether or not to have a baby under such dire circumstances is a personal decision.
However, the way that Bella cared so little about her own life was rather disturbing. This choice in the books seemed like a fairly obvious narrative to reflect the author’s political beliefs, and while thankfully she was able to survive, it was a bit upsetting that she was so willing to discard her own life.
5 Best: Refusing to pick sides between vampires and shapeshifters
After Bella becomes close to the werewolf pack and gets to know many of them better, she refuses to completely side with either the vampires or the werewolves.
She was right to make this decision as neither the Cullens nor the Quileute Tribe was bad. By trying to show that they could all work together, Bella was doing what she could to keep everyone safe and alive.
4 Worst: Her overreaction to Edward leaving
This is a bit of a complex point because in many ways Bella didn't’ have total control over her reaction here, so it’s hard to define it completely as a decision. However, the way that she had refused to invest in any other relationship besides with Edward was a mistake that led to her reaction.
Her life had become imbalanced, and this aspect of her relationship with Edward wasn’t healthy. She needed to let other people in her life instead of hyper-focusing on him.
3 Best: Getting mad at Jacob for imprinting
Probably one of the most disturbing aspects of Twilight as a series is the idea of imprinting and especially of imprinting on a child. No matter how it’s explained it just comes off very weird.
So, when Bella freaks out at Jacob, it makes total sense. The only problem is that she eventually accepts the strange relationship Jacob has with Renesmee when ideally she should have kept Jacob away for good.
2 Worst: Being willing to leave her family and friends behind for Edward
Because the stakes of Twilight never really are that high and Bella basically ends up with everything she wants, she doesn’t really have to make a decision in the end.
However, she does do so when she marries Edward and becomes a vampire, and it’s only through narrative hand waving that she gets to have her parents in her life. Bella was totally willing to give up everyone else for Edward, and this is kind of messed up.
1 Best: Taking measures to protect her parents
While Bella’s relationship with both of her parents could be a bit distant at times, it’s clear that she did love them both a lot. She is willing to sacrifice herself to save her mother from James, and she’s also willing to hurt Charlie emotionally if she has to in order to keep him safe.
Her willingness to make hard choices to protect others is definitely admirable.
from ScreenRant - Feed https://ift.tt/3hhdSld
No comments: