Bella before Edward or a period of time that is now known as BBE

So, after I read Twilight the first time I came away hating Bella.  I found her way too angsty and all too willing to let herself get lost in her relationship with Edward. These traits are to be expected for teenagers, but I don’t want to read books about them and I resent that teenage girls are looking to Bella as a role model.

Well, upon reading it a second time, I made a discovery.  Bella is actually pretty awesome… that is before her relationship with Edward.  She definitely has a Daria vibe going for her…she’s smart, likes to read, doesn’t understand other teenagers, and won’t participate in gym volleyball.  I mean the girl would prefer to go to a book store in Seattle over going to a school dance, which is obviously a way better thing to do, but I wasn’t cool enough in high school to know that…she is and it comes so naturally to her! She also writes about, “whether Shakespeare’s treatment of the female characters is misogynistic.”   Not groundbreaking, but hints at feminism.  Basically, she’s not a typical teenager.  Jessica, Mike, Angela are all the typical teens who Bella is too indifferent to say “no” to being friends with.   They are drawn to her because she’s smart, pretty, and way cooler than all of them.   Bella is not a poser (yet) and is way more comfortable with herself than most teens, yet is still growing and trying to decide who she is.  THIS IS A GREAT CHARACTER TO BEGIN A NOVEL!

I also like how Bella talks to Edward before she knows he likes her.  She doesn’t take his shit.  She talks back to him and clearly tells him when he’s being an ass. 

Then however, she and Edward declare their love for each other and it goes all downhill.  Part of this has to do with the narrative.  We are in Bella’s head…BBE there’s a lot more going on in her head to process, after Edward it’s ALL about Edward.  Here’s where I think Meyer’s started to agitate me the first time I read the book.  She created this really cool, toned down version of Daria, who is ready for adventure and then poof…she’s lost in love.  It’s all about Edward.  Edward and his family becomes her adventure, her life. I’m just waiting for Bella to have a motivation or thought that is not driven by Edward, and it doesn't come.  She  becomes a poser…she wants to be like Edward instead of being herself.  This is not the mark of a true protagonist.  What would have happened to the wizard world if Harry just followed Cho and Ginny around the whole time?  Meyer wants me to think Bella is unique/interesting/intriguing for being more scared what Edward thinks of her than being scared of him as a vampire…but in reality that train of thought doesn’t fit the character she creates in the beginning who wouldn’t be scared of either one. I can't wait for them to break up...that happens in the next book, right?