What makes Bella — and other heroes — “good?”
Author: Admin
Bella saving Edward, the vampire, the “monster” — one kiss at a time.
In our previous posts, we’ve looked briefly at why people like stories that offer truthful insights into life. We decided that a major theme of the Twilight saga is how to grow up well, and we looked at some real-life elements to Bella Swan’s personality we can all relate to — or at least, should be able to relate to. So, what other themes does the Twilight series offer?
Most readers would agree that Bella is a good person. Yet describing what it is that makes her good may be a more difficult to describe.
After all, she secretly sleeps with her boyfriend (only literally, but still), takes cold medicine to get to sleep (more on that one later |-\ ), risks her life for all sorts of reasons, and gets married and has a baby while still rather young. Yet, even her (and Stephenie Meyer’s) harshest critics’ most damning criticism is primarily that she’s sort of, well, boring. Ordinary. Like you and me. And of course Bella, herself, would whole-heartedly agree (which, nonetheless, I totally disagree with).
But all that still doesn’t satisfy the question, “What makes Bella into a good person, a real hero?”
She is a very passionate, thoughtful, and an articulate young woman, who delightfully surprises her loved ones, friends & associates (and readers) at every turn. She’s also observant, perceptive, and bright. That’s very important. And, by all accounts — other than her own — she is a lovely girl besides. Yet while those qualities are all very nice, they aren’t quite the same thing as good, as in ethically, morally, and heroically good.
Bella Swan shares another quality which some would say all great characters share, which notably distinguishes her, and other heroes like her. She is committed to her principles. Although her friends might, on occasion, think of her as stubborn, she isn’t just demanding her way because it’s her way, as all truly stubborn and selfish people do. It is because she will not yield on her principles.
Bella has a concrete set of principles she adheres to — primarily, her devoted love for others, her willingness to sacrifice on their behalf, and her overall sense of responsibility. Â As her mother, Renee notes, commitment was never her problem.
Bella’s commitment to her principles provides the iron rod that her moral fiber clings to — and which guides the story forward. Every positive, major decision she makes is based on her principles, and each positive, major event is in turn based upon those decisions. For example, her devotion to Edward leads her to decide to become a vampire, and helps her overcome her fears of the pain (and in a sense, her death) which would accompany her rebirth into the immortal realm.
Bella’s internal monologue shows her continually measuring herself and her actions in comparison to her principles. And while she adapts her principles to her changing circumstances, with her actions changing in response, the principles themselves remain constant. For example, she weighs her devotion to Edward and Jacob carefully before telling the vampires or werewolves the other’s secrets, even after Edward had abandoned her.
In the end, it is her commitment to principles — her constance — which not only preserves her life but ennobles her character. An example is her willingness to risk harm to herself in order to save others, as in the battle with Victoria and Riley, just like her personal hero, the Third Wife.
Of course, Bella is far from perfect. Her reflexive anger in certain circumstances often causes her regret. For example, whenever someone challenges her as acting irresponsibly, no matter how much she loves them, she inevitably and angrily defends herself. A good example may be when Edward manipulates her into agreeing to visit Renee; first, by suggesting that she requires parental custodial care, and then, by triggering another challenge to her responsibility from Charlie — that she can’t be trusted to be alone with boys. (Edward is brilliant. Conniving, but brilliant.)
Yet the reader continues to appreciate, if not admire, Bella in her mistakes because she does at least try to reason through whether or not the (foolish) action would be a principled one. The most obvious example may be her jumping off the cliff. In her distress, her reasoning is flawed, ill-thought out, and shows a dangerously foolish amount of impatience. But we forgive her for this, not only for her sincere regret afterwards, but because she truly thought it would be the right thing to do, given the current circumstances.
Bella’s principles are so important to her that all of the people she loves most — her father, Edward, Jacob, Alice — reinforce and encourage her in her principles. And the people she likes least, such as Lauren, Jessica, and Leah, challenge them. For examples, look at whenever someone tells Bella what Bella is like.
So, why is this a big deal? What makes her commitment “good?”
The Wisdom Cycle
If you carefully examine every story you’ve ever heard — books, movies, ballads, myths, TV shows, folk tales, whatever — you will detect a common pattern. The thing that makes a character, trapped in an unhappy situation, into a true hero is that they follow these steps:
1. Knowledge: First, they decide they need to learn more, and seek it out. Eventually, they gain the knowledge they seek, like when Bella tries to figure out who/what Edward is at the start of Twilight.
2. Belief: Next, based upon what they’ve learned, they assert their hypothesis, their faith, their trust, their hope — and act on it. Just as Bella did when she decided that Edward was good, and it didn’t matter whether he was a vampire or not.
3. Change: Nobody’s perfect (and although some may except themselves, even Hannah Montana knows that to be true). Plus, everything is always changing, in some way or another. So, heroes change themselves as they act on their new knowledge and beliefs, adapting to the changing needs around them. In Twilight, Bella changes, and falls in love with Edward, counting him dearest among those she is most devoted to, and decides to save him — to help him discover that he is a good person, and not a “monster.”
4. Commitment: Finally, when the hero realizes that their new knowledge, beliefs, and changes are good, they decide to continue and remain true to what they have learned to be true. They commit. And when they do, they become a different person: a true hero. This is when their knowledge transforms into wisdom. This is the often the hardest step, since it represents the culminating step in their progress. For example, when Bella decides to protect Edward and the others she loves by sacrificing herself to a true monster, the antithesis of Edward: James.
I’ll give you a minute to think about those four steps, found in every story you’ve ever heard. Or a few weeks, or months, or years. Go ahead; it’s kind of important. I’ll still be here, waiting for you.
Okay, you’re back? Great. I told you I’d still be here.
You see how this pattern shows up in every story you’ve ever heard? Good — because either the hero follows this “Wisdom Cycle” pattern, or they ultimately fail to become a hero.
So why is that important?
It’s important because the Wisdom Cycle isn’t just how stories work.
It’s how life works.
And you, my dear friend, are that hero. The hero of the story. Your story.
Follow the Wisdom Cycle, and become the hero of your own story, or fail at life. The choice is yours. But please remember that I think you will succeed, or you wouldn’t be here, admiring such a wonderful hero, Bella Swan. She sacrificed her humanity to show you how to overcome all things. Don’t let her sacrifice be in vain.
You can do it. And, you will. I’m sure of it.
Well, that was a long one. I think I’ll need a break to recuperate. But there is more to come.
And, in the meantime, be safe.
