Edward Cullen (original) (raw)

Twilight
When Edward first meets Bella in Twilight he is overwhelmed by the scent of her blood, to the point of contemplating slaughtering Bella on the spot, along with twenty other schoolchildren to avoid any living witnesses. To prevent calamity he temporarily runs away to Alaska, but eventually returns to Forks. Determined not to allow Bella to disrupt the life he and his family have created in Forks, Washington, Edward starts to converse with Bella in class. The day after his return, he risks exposing himself as inhuman by using his supernatural speed and strength to save Bella from being hit by a van. She witnesses his abilities and becomes suspicious, but Edward denies having done anything out of the ordinary. The two become friends and eventually fall in love. On a trip to the La Push reservation, Bella learns from Jacob Black that the Cullen family is supposedly a coven of vampires who existed during his great-grandfather's time, and who feed on animal blood.

Being with Edward is a lethal risk for Bella because he must always fight his desire for her blood. He constantly warns Bella against being with him, trying to instill in her a healthy fear for her life which he perceives as continually at risk if she continues to associate with him. However, Bella's love and confidence in Edward's restraint is such that his warnings fall on deaf ears, even after his worst fears are justified when through her association with Edward and his family, Bella becomes the target of a "non-vegetarian" vampire, James. With his family's help, Edward is able to save Bella from James' predations, but the question of how to assure Bella's continued safety remains an open one.

New Moon
The story of New Moon begins with Bella being very upset by her 18th birthday, because it will make her "older" than the permanently 17-year-old Edward. During her birthday party Bella accidentally cuts herself, and his brother Jasper's instinctive hunger for Bella's blood reminds Edward of the continual danger their relationship puts her in. In a misguided attempt to protect Bella, he convinces her that he does not love her anymore and moves away with his family, leaving her heartbroken as if her life as she knew it ceased to exist.

Although Edward lived as a vampire without romantic love for nearly a century before meeting Bella, he finds it difficult to live without her, becoming severely depressed at the prospect of an infinitely long and meaningless life. After he mistakenly learns from his sister Rosalie that Bella has committed suicide, Edward attempts to convince a group of Italian vampires, the Volturi, to kill him. Together with his sister Alice, Bella rushes to Italy and stops Edward before the Volturi can destroy him.

After he and Bella return from Italy, Edward explains why he left and apologizes to Bella. She forgives him entirely, and they continue on with their relationship as if Edward had never left. Upon realizing that their current situation– fear for Bella's humanity while they are together– is untenable, Bella successfully seeks the support of Edward's family for the idea of turning her into a vampire. Edward becomes furious at the thought of Bella losing her humanity in order to be with him, but later agrees to change her himself if she agrees to marry him first.

Eclipse
Eclipse continues the drama of Bella and Edward's relationship. Edward explains that he is reluctant to change Bella into a vampire because he believes that vampires are soulless creatures who have no place in heaven. Bella, whose opinion of marriage is jaded by the early divorce of her own parents, agrees to marry Edward on the condition he will make love to her while she is still human. He initially refuses, saying that he could easily lose control in the heat of the moment, however, seeing how important it is to Bella, he agrees to try and make love to her while she is still human, but only after they are married.

The plot is driven by the machinations of the vampire Victoria, who first met Bella and the Cullens during the first book, Twilight. Victoria, seeking revenge for the death of her mate James, is hunting Bella and creating new vampires to build an army. To combat this threat, a grudging truce is made between the Cullens and the Native-American werewolf pack led by Sam Uley and Jacob Black, a friend of Bella's who was there for her when Edward broke her heart. However, the truce is endangered when Bella, despite her engagement to Edward, realizes Jacob means more to her than she thought. Ultimately, Edward accepts that Bella cares for Jacob and successfully destroys Victoria, and Bella acknowledges that Edward is the most important person in her life, agreeing to tell her father of her and Edward's engagement. Edward tells Bella that they can sleep together before they get married, as he realizes that she spends too much of her life trying to please other people. However, she refuses his offer and says that she will do everything the right way: marriage, making love, and then becoming a vampire.

Breaking Dawn
Near the beginning of Breaking Dawn, Edward marries Bella in a beautiful ceremony orchestrated by Alice. They spend their honeymoon on Isle Esme, a small island that was given to Esme as a gift from Carlisle. They consummate their marriage, but Edward's passionate lovemaking sparks a fight between the newlywed couple: Edward is horrified that he has bruised and battered his new wife, but Bella insists that she is fine and wants Edward to lie with her again. He vows not to make love to her again whilst she is still human, but eventually gives in. Soon afterwards, Bella becomes very sick, and realizes that she is pregnant.

Edward falls into a state of shock and rushes Bella off the island to see Carlisle, who, as a doctor, confirms that she is expecting Edward's child. Edward goes half-crazy with worry as the rapidly growing fetus begins to drain Bella, and he tries to coerce her into having an abortion in order to save her own life. However, Bella feels a bond with her unborn child and insists on giving birth. Edward comes to feel love for the baby as well, after he hears its thoughts and learns that the baby loves Bella in return.

Bella nearly dies giving birth in an emergency c-section, but Edward successfully delivers his baby girl and then injects Bella's heart with his venom, thus healing her wounds by turning her into an immortal vampire. During Bella's painful transformation, Jacob imprints on their baby daughter, Renesmee.

After a vampire named Irina mistakes Renesmee for an immortal vampire child, a creation that is forbidden in the vampire world, the Volturi arrive to destroy the Cullens. Edward stands with Bella and their allies to convince the Volturi that Renesmee is not an immortal child and poses no threat to their existence. Once the Volturi leave, Edward and Bella feel free to live their lives in peace with their daughter.