Although he makes an appearance in all four books of the Twilight series, Jasper remains a mysterious figure throughout the series. Described by Jessica in the film franchise as the "one who looks like he is in pain," Jasper is hard to figure out and is especially intriguing to Bella. However, he also poses the biggest threat to Bella because of his newness to "vegetarianism."
It isn't until Eclipse where Twilight fans really start to learn more about Jasper. Readers find out about his darker upbringing than his other siblings and they gain more insight into his ability to fight and his powers. It is then that readers really start to gain sympathy for the Cullen sibling who is seemingly cold towards everyone he comes into contact with. Despite his rough upbringing, Jasper still manages to retain his bloodlust with Alice by his side to keep him calm.
Despite Jasper's lack of expression and ability to open up, he is quite an interesting character with a compelling backstory. Jasper differs in many ways to his vegetarian siblings. If there is an example of how everything happens for a reason, Jasper definitely embodies it. From meeting Alice to his eternal internal struggle with bloodlust and appreciation for human life, Jasper is a complex character. Therefore, he is definitely worth delving into his background.
For that reason, here are 20 Wild Details Only True Fans Know About Jasper Cullen.
1. Fought In The Civil War
One of the very first things readers learn about Jasper in Eclipse is his history in the Civil War. Even before his transition into being a vampire, Jasper still had experience fighting in an army. According to Twilight Wiki, Jasper first joined the Confederate Army before turning 17 by using his persuasion even in his human life. After serving for just two years, he was promoted to a major in the army; effectively becoming the youngest major in Texas.
Before turning, Jasper was put in charge of evacuating women and children from a city where Union boats had reached the harbor. After bringing the evacuees to Houston, Jasper met Maria, who would turn him, while on his way back to Galveston.
2. Newest Vegetarian
Readers also find out early on in Twilight about Jasper's struggle to join the "vegetarian" ways of the Cullen clan. Alice was the first one to introduce Jasper to this way of life. Jasper struggles the most with being around humans. Due to his violent newborn upbringing and ways in which he interacted with humans for most of his time as a vampire, Jasper finds it difficult to deter his bloodlust.
His upbringing also never taught him how to control his thirst or need for human blood. As a result of his internal struggle, according to Twilight Wiki, Jasper "[burdens] himself with the mentality of feeling weak by not being able to possess the same level or restraint as the rest of his family."
3. Why He Was Created
As Jasper explains to Bella in Eclipse he had a more violent upbringing than his adoptive siblings. Jasper was created by Maria, a vampire who had just lost her territory and the rest of her coven to enemy vampires.
To gain more ground, she purported to build an army of vampires. However, because she noticed Jasper's military uniform when they met, she thought he would be beneficial in helping her to achieve her goal. Not only was Jasper helpful because of his tactical background, but also because he had the ability to influence others' emotions, which made it all too easy to recruit vampires and humans to turn.
4. Influence Emotions
Much like other members of the Cullen clan, Jasper also has powers of his own. In Twilight readers are told that Jasper has the ability to influence the emotions of those around him. Jasper mentions in Eclipse, "People always…liked me, listened to what I had to say. My father said it was charisma. Of course, now I know it was probably something more." Edward also likens Jasper's charisma as a human to his abilities as a vampire stating in his human life he was "able to influence those around him to see things his way."
Now he is able to manipulate the emotions of those around him―calm down a room of angry people, for example, or excite a lethargic crowd, conversely." Throughout the novels, Jasper uses his gift mostly on Bella. Once, to get her to come to her birthday part, and another to calm her down when he and Emmett take Edward on his "Bachelor party."
5. How He Met Alice
Jasper's upbringing took him through many journeys, but it eventually led him to Alice. While in Philadelphia, during a storm, Jasper took cover in a local diner, where he met Alice.
Due to her gift of seeing the future, she knew he was coming and shocked him when she walked over him as they had met before. After telling him he had kept her waiting a long time, he responded with, "I'm sorry ma'am." Not only did Alice calm him, but she also brought him the feeling of hope. The two of them soon found Carlisle where they stayed for the remainder of their life together.
6. Born In Texas
Jasper didn't always live in Forks with his adoptive family. According to Twilight Wiki, Jasper was born in Houston, Texas, in 1844. His real name was Jasper Whitlock.
For his short young adult life, Jasper stayed in Texas during which time he served in the Confederate Army against the Union. Jasper stayed in Texas while helping Maria create her newborn army. Nearly 100 years later, he decided to head up North. Jasper heard from a friend that vampires were able to co-exist in the Northern region, which made the move sound appealing to him. After leaving Maria, he would soon meet Alice.
7. Same Last Name As Rosalie
Although his original last name was Whitlock as a human, Jasper did not end up changing his name to Cullen when he and Alice joined their clan.
In order to not arouse suspicion, Jasper was given Rosalie's last name of Hale. According to Twilight Wiki, the reason they were named the same was due to their similar features, Carlisle was the one to suggest this change. In that, they both had blond hair unlike the rest of the Cullens. Because of his and Alice's relationship, she was given the last name Cullen. In keeping with the ruse, Rosalie and Jasper pose as twins throughout the entirety of the series.
8. How He Got His Name
With the many different names that Stephenie Meyer had to come up with for the Twilight Saga, it is hard to imagine how she thought up that many. However, the author claims that this is one thing she puts the most time into researching.
"I’m not a huge research junkie," said in an interview on her website, "because I’m always more into creating the fantasy than the reality, but names are one of the things I do spend some research time on." For Jasper's name, she got crafty. According to the author, she actually searched roll calls for the Confederate Army in Texas. In the interview, she says that both "Jasper" and "Whitlock" appeared on the lists, but not together, so she merged the two.
9. Alice’s Influence
Twilight fans know that Jasper was the one who struggled the most with maintaining his bloodlust. In New Moon, Jasper nearly eliminates Bella after she gets a paper cut opening a present. In saying this, throughout the films, fans can see just how close the relationship between Alice and Jasper is. Due to this, Jackson Rathbone, who plays Jasper in the films, admits that if it weren't for Alice, he most likely would have taken out Bella.
In an interview with Gizmodo, Rathbone said, "I think Jasper's idea was just, if he didn't have Alice, he would have just [ended Bella], and been done with it. And been like, 'You know what? Now she's not an issue. She's gone, out of the picture.' That was a lot of his mentality. [He could have] just had a nice little snack."
10. Has Many Scars On His Arms
Jasper's time creating a newborn army for Maria didn't leave him unscathed. In Eclipse, Jasper displays the battle scars that were given to him by the many newborns that he tried to train. According to Twilight Wiki, "These scars are invisible to humans unless contrasted by a strong light, but when viewed by someone with supernatural eyesight they are said to be his most dominant feature, causing defensive reactions in vampires who don't know him."
While Bella originally thinks the scars only exist on his arms, she later discovers in Breaking Dawn that they extend to his face, neck, and jaw. Bella admits to herself that the scars "screamed dangerous" and ponders how many vampires attempted to end Jasper and answers herself saying, "The same number that had died in that attempt."
11. His Friend Peter
During his time creating newborns for Maria's army, Jasper encountered Peter. Jasper connected with Peter and told Bella that Peter was "civilized." Although Peter did not like to fight, according to Jasper, he was good at it.
Peter was tasked with the job of helping Jasper destroy the newborns who were not fit to serve in Maria's army. However, he fell in love with another named Charlotte, who he ran away with. Jasper helped them escape. When Peter came back to Jasper – Jasper was about to end Maria – he told him of a better life up north where it was less chaos and fighting. Peter convinced Jasper to leave and he did "without a backward glance."
12. Relationship With Maria
While Jasper was mostly just a pawn for Maria's master plan of creating a vampire army, the two had a short romantic relationship. However, Maria never got over her deceased mate.
Before deciding to leave, Jasper sensed Maria was scared and mistrusting of him. However, Jasper found it easy to leave her because "when you live for the fight, for the blood, the relationships you form are tenuous and easily broken." After Jasper meeting Alice and joining the Cullens, the new family went to Calgary. But soon, Maria came for them there, which in turn prompted them to move again. It was then that Jasper asked her to kindly keep her distance.
13. His Original Name
Although Meyer did extensive research to name some of her characters, Jasper was not originally supposed to be named Ronald. According to an interview on the author's website, she admits to wanting to name Jasper's character "Ronald." What's more interesting, Rosalie was also supposed to be named Carol in the first draft of the popular novel. Before looking at Confederate Army records, Meyer consulted census records to see which names were most popular at the character's given birth year.
Meyer admits that she likes the new names better than what she had originally. In the same interview, she said, "I like the new names much better, but every now and then I will slip up and type Carol or Ron by accident. It really confuses the people who read my rough drafts."
14. Private Business
When Jasper first meets the Cullen family, and sees that he needs to change his name as to not arouse suspicion, he consults the help of a lawyer. In the 1980s, he meets up with a lawyer who will be able to forge illegal documents, according to Twilight Wiki, that will help provide the Cullens with new identity certificates.
Eventually, the firm was taken over by J. Jenks after the previous lawyer retired. In Breaking Dawn Jasper leads Bella to J. Jenks to procure documents for Jacob and Renesmee. Bella discovers that J. is curious about Jasper and is intimidated by him due to his lack of aging. In order to take J. off of Jasper's trail and stop his suspicion, Bella decides to take over the business affairs to ease his stress.
15. Can Feel Others' Pain
Although Jasper has the ability to sway other people's emotions, at times, it comes with a price. While working for Maria, Jasper was in charge of taking out the newborn vampires who were not adequate enough to fight.
However, whenever he had to destroy a newborn, he would be able to feel their pain. In Eclipse he tells Bella, "I could feel everything my prey was feeling. And I lived their emotions as I killed them." Even after he left Maria and his violent life, Jasper could still feel the "horror and fear of [his] prey." Jasper describes his gift as living in a "climate of emotion." When he is in a certain environment, he can feel what everyone around him is currently feeling. This is why he was so drawn to Alice, because she exuded happiness after he had lived with "hate [as his] constant companion."
16. Best Fighter
It is no surprise that Jasper is the best fighter in the Cullen clan. With his decades of training in creating and destroying newborns, Jasper acquired the tactical skills to be the best fighter in the family.
In Eclipse, readers find out just how extensive his skills are when it comes to fighting and strategic warfare. Even when the wolves witness his abilities, they are impressed. According to Twilight Wiki, "Jacob finds Jasper's fighting skills very intense and useful." However, some think that Edward is a stronger fighter than Jasper because of his ability to read minds and advantage in seeing an opponent's next move. Although this might be true, the two are pretty much evenly matched.
17. Joined The Cullens In 1950
Jasper left Maria in the 1940s. After leaving a life of turning and eliminating newborns, he continued to live a nomadic lifestyle. Although he still battled with depression after ending many humans to fulfill his thirst, he soon met in Alice in 1948.
Alice told him of living as a "vegetarian" and about a family who lived up north who could help them. In the 1950s, the two sought out the Cullen clan. "Scared the hell out of them, too…Emmett and I were away hunting. Jasper shows up, covered in battle scars, towing this little freak…who greets them all by name, knows everything about them, and wants to know which room she can move into." Because of Alice's demeanor, the Cullens soon accepted them into the family.
18. Participated In The Southern Vampire Wars
In Eclipse, Jasper talks about his participation in the Southern Vampire Wars. According to Twilight Wiki, the Southern Vampire Wars began in the early 1800s and included the southernmost part of North America even Texas and Mexico.
The inception of the war came when a vampire named Benito created the very first newborn army to take over other covens. Jasper became involved in the latter half of the 19th century. According to Jasper, not many vampires survived; he was one of the few. In order to win back the territories they lost in the first war, Maria and her two friends, Nettie and Lucy, recruited Jasper to help her start what would become the second war.
19. Only Married Alice Once
Although Alice saw Jasper coming, there was no way of Jasper knowing that she was going to be the love of his life. However, he fell in love with her as soon as he saw her in 1948. When the two found Carlisle, he saw how in love they were.
It was under the suggestion of Carlisle that the two get married. Since the two met in 1948, they only married once. "They were both never complete until they met each other, and they are the only members of the Cullen family who were not turned into vampires by either Carlisle or Edward." One thing that makes Alice and Jasper different from the other relationships in the Cullen clan is that they have only been married once. Rosalie and Emmett have married numerous times throughout the years and are more open with their relationship than Alice and Jasper.
20. Warned Against Bella
After moving to Forks, Edward meets Bella, but because of Alice's gift, she was able to see her coming. Jasper was immediately hesitant about Edward pursuing a relationship with Bella. Twilight Wiki states, that Jasper was worried about their family secret being revealed after Edward saved her from nearly passing.
Not to mention, Jasper still struggled with his thirst for human blood and revealed his true nature in New Moon after Bella accidentally cuts herself. Jasper eventually ends up voting for Bella to become a vampire because "it would be nice to not want to kill [her] all of the time." In Breaking Dawn, Jasper and Bella's relationship strengthens after he leaves her a note to seek out help from J. Jenks, and she decides to take over his business relationship with him.
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