A guy reads Twilight by Stephenie Meyer (2009-2011)

Reading Twilight: Chapter 23 (The Angel)

The song for this chapter is 24 Hours by Athlete

[audio:https://twilightguy.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/24hours.mp3]

As I sat down to read the chapter before the last in Twilight, a little voice in my head reminded me of an important fact that a lot of you have been asking:

New Moon?

I had totally forgotten that as the ending of Twilight looms, I should actually have a copy of New Moon with me in order to make the due preparations to continue in the series. This was something I had completely overlooked. But rest assured: the moment of panic is over, and I will be blogging about the next book in due time! For now: The Angel.

This chapter, as all surely noticed, was only six pages, though what happens inside of it is truly the climatic point of the novel. In the rush and confusion surrounding Bella it is obvious that somehow, the Cullens have arrived to save her, just in time as she was slipping towards her death. I’m not very clear on what happened to James, but right now, that doesn’t really seem to matter much.

However, I do know that James has bitten Bella. This happened somewhere when Bella was unconscious, and the fiery poison seeping through her veins is already doing it’s work. Also, the strongest part of this chapter: there is only one way to save Bella, and Edward is the only one who can do it.

Seeing the great lengths that Edward has taken for so long to avoid human blood – how hard it has been for him to keep from tasting Bella’s – strikes me when I read that his only choice to save her is to suck the venom out of her hand. Does it drive him insane to taste it, when he has worked so hard to avoid it for so long? Being that close to her must be nearly overpowering him, but somehow he finds the strength to do it.

There is an underlying meaning to this scene that anyone just flipping through would not see if they had not read the whole book, because they would not have seen and felt how long and hard of a struggle it has been for Edward to resist tasting Bella’s blood. He has every power and ability to do so, and give in to his vampire instincts. But he has held himself from it the entire book, fighting the senses that threaten to overpower him.

In this scene, specifically, is perhaps the most powerful example of who Edward is and his sincerity towards caring for Bella. Since meeting her he has had to fight his instincts. Simply sitting next to her at the school was nearly enough to drive him insane. But the fact is that he loves her enough so that he is able to fight his maddening, driving vampire instincts in order to save her; even coming as close as physically tasting her blood.

The power in this scene is that Edward, closer than he has even been to Bella, makes himself stop. It is so powerful that when he finishes, he cannot at first answer Bella:

“Edward,” I tried to say, but I couldn’t hear my voice. They could hear me.

“He’s right here, Bella.”

“Stay, Edward, stay with me…”

“I will.” His voice was strained, but somehow triumphant.

If Edward had been any other vampire, or Bella been any other girl, he would not have been able to stop. It is like putting an open bottle in front of a serious addict: the senses in the mind will nearly overpower reason. But Edward so truly loves Bella, and so truly wants to keep her safe, that he finds within himself the ability to resist, when he is closer than ever before to truly giving in.

I’ll be writing on the final chapter shortly.

——NOTES——-

– Forgot to announce: I’ve moved up to the number 7 Twilight site! Thanks everyone for visiting and reviewing me on TwilightTopsites

– I am now literally a full month behind on email. Don’t worry: I will answer them. I’m just overwhelmed with edits, and being bothered by trolls takes up most of my time.

– For those who have been asking: the A in my KAN signature stands for Allen. It’s at the bottom of the page on all my sites.

– Voting for the song for Twilight will continue until this weekend, when I post my final thoughts on the book and write on the epilogue.

Share:

Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
LinkedIn

58 Responses

  1. *you’re happy 🙂

    and another thing… what about songs for New Moon chapters? do you accept those??

  2. Wow. This is why I love to read your blogs. You analyze the chapters SO well. You actually get what it is that makes girls love Edward. Most guys are like, you’re just an obsessive mob of girls. My own brother read them, liked them, but still thinks I’m crazy for loving Edward so much. You’re a great analyst, keep it up! Can’t wait to hear your thoughts on New Moon, they should be very interesting, because there is a lot to look into.

  3. Do you know why Bella says at then end of this chapter that she smells gasoline?, after telling Alice that James knew her and to watch the video.

  4. May-
    in the end of the chapter i think she smells gasoline because they tear james apart and rip him to peices. then they burn him in the dance studio. she smells the gasoline coming from the works of making the fire to burn him.

    but don’t rely on me.. i havent read twilight in a while so im not positive but preeeetty sure….

  5. I can’t believe that there are only 54 comments on this chapter. It’s one of my favorites. I love how Bella thinks that Edward is an angel, because to her, he is and always has been. A Godsend to her, no matther what he says he is.

    Another reason that I love this chapter so much is because of something that Stephenie took out of the original Twilight. In the outtake, it’s later and Bella is safely at home, healing from James’s attack. Emmett tells her the story of when Rosalie saves him, how he thought she was an angel and how he thought Carlisle was God. You see, Emmett is the only one who can know what Bella feels for Edward, as he is the only other one to have loved a vampire when he was human. So that reference to an angel makes me love this chapter.

    🙂

  6. I know. And one of my bff's says that Edward in the movie is a total doush-bag. But in the book he acts like a total angel except for the beginning. But she's wrong he's a total angel in both. (Sigh). so me & my other bff's tease her about it. (:p

  7. I know. And one of my bff's says that Edward in the movie is a total doush-bag. But in the book he acts like a total angel except for the beginning. But she's wrong he's a total angel in both. (Sigh). so me & my other bff's tease her about it. (:p

Leave a Reply

Related Posts

Funny Video: The Twihard Journey

I was sent this hilarious video by Christine Riccio. I love the mini history of every fandom freakout moment over all these years! Get ready