The Twilight series has had a recent resurgence that some fans have termed the “Twilight Renaissance.” While the series was first coming out from 2005-2008, Stephenie Meyer recently announced that she is publishing Midnight Sun which has led many old fans to be excited again.
Bella Swan is the main character of the series, and she goes through a lot during the books. She has moments where she’s surprisingly inspiring but also times where fans felt bad for her.
Inspiring: How much she tried to protect Charlie
While Bella was mostly raised by her mom, when she goes to live with her dad in Forks, it’s clear that they have a good relationship. She cares about his well being and worries that her involvement with so many supernatural beings will cause him harm.
Her concern for her dad is very relatable, and it’s inspiring that she does care a lot about her family.
Felt Sorry: When James nearly killed her
While Bella might just be a regular person, her life gets turned upside down when she falls in love with a vampire. The way James goes after her is really terrifying, and when he nearly kills her, it’s one of the most intense moments in the series.
Given that Bella is rather defenseless against him, it’s definitely a moment where fans felt bad for her.
Inspiring: How she was determined to stay close to Edward and Jacob
When Edward comes back to Forks, things are pretty tense as Bella has become close to Jacob. The long-standing history between the vampires and shape-shifters makes this fact difficult for everyone to deal with.
While Bella struggles with how to handle the situation, it’s inspiring that she makes up her mind to have close relationships with them both in different ways. She’s clearly very stubborn about keeping people she cares about in her life.
Felt Sorry: When she thought she’d have to choose to give up all her family and friends
Given that Bella clearly commits a lot of the people she loves, one of the saddest choices she faced was giving up all of her family and friends for Edward.
This was clearly a difficult thing, and she would have to lose Jacob, her parents, her high school friends, and everyone else she knew. While she clearly loved Edward, having to give up everyone else you know wouldn’t be an easy thing to do.
Inspiring: When she learned how to protect her loved ones with her special vampire power
While Bella might be somewhat helpless for most of the series, this all changes after she becomes a vampire herself. As a newborn, she’s extremely strong, but she also is revealed to have a special psychic ability that no other vampire has. She can shield herself and others from other psychic abilities.
This seems to be because of her protective nature and love of others and that is inspiring.
Felt Sorry: When she had to figure out how to be friends with the vampires and werewolves
Being the only human who knows about both the shape-shifting wolves and the vampires of the Pacific Northwest would be quite a lot to handle. It’s clear that being so close to both sides was a big strain on Bella, and she was always worried about everyone.
She didn’t want them to fight or for anyone to get hurt, and seeing her have to try to mediate was definitely stressful.
Inspiring: Dropping everything to try to save Edward
Bella could stand to have a bit more self-preservation and to look out for herself more, but it is admirable how willing she is to do whatever it takes to protect those she cares about.
Even though she doesn't think Edward loves her anymore, she loves him, and so she drops everything to go to Italy to protect Edward from the Volturi.
Felt Sorry: When she nearly died giving birth
Some of the most upsetting things that ever happened to Bella happen while she is pregnant with Renesmee. She goes through a lot of physical pain as the fetus drains her life force.
Then, the scene where she gives birth is especially traumatic and even violent. It was hard to deal with what Bella was going through and listening to the pain she was enduring was hard for many fans.
Inspiring: When she was willing to die to save her mother
At the end of the first Twilight book, Bella believes that in order to save her mother she will have to give herself over to James. This would be terrifying to do as James was a bloodthirsty and malicious vampire who was all about the sadistic game of killing.
However, Bella was willing to die to save her mother, and this takes a lot of courage and bravery.
Felt Sorry: After Edward left her
When Bella leaves Edward, it clearly breaks her heart. This sends her into an intense and long-lasting depression. While nobody can relate to losing a vampire boyfriend, many fans could relate to heartache and also to being depressed.
However, it was also hopeful to see how with time Bella was able to heal and find happiness in her life again.