Isabella Swan
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Full name: Isabella Marie Swan
Physical Appearance:
Height: 5'4"
Hair color: Brown
Eye color: "Large, chocolate-brown, and menacingly sweet"
Background:
Birthdate: September 13, 1987
Birthplace: Forks, Washington
Childhood: Lived in California and Phoenix, Arizona with her mother, who fled from Forks, Washington with Bella as a baby. Has always been the parent in her relationship with her mother.
Mother: Renee Dywer, divorced from Charlie Swan, recently re-married to Phil Dwyer
Father: Charlie Swan
Interests: Classic literature, thrill-seeking and extreme sports, mythical creatures
Physical Appearance:
Height: 5'4"
Hair color: Brown
Eye color: "Large, chocolate-brown, and menacingly sweet"
Background:
Birthdate: September 13, 1987
Birthplace: Forks, Washington
Childhood: Lived in California and Phoenix, Arizona with her mother, who fled from Forks, Washington with Bella as a baby. Has always been the parent in her relationship with her mother.
Mother: Renee Dywer, divorced from Charlie Swan, recently re-married to Phil Dwyer
Father: Charlie Swan
Interests: Classic literature, thrill-seeking and extreme sports, mythical creatures
DETAILED CHARACTER DESCRIPTION:
Isabella Marie Swan was born on September 13, 1987 to Renée Dywer and Charlie Swan, a young couple living in the small town of Forks, Washington. Shortly after her birth, her mother left her father and fled Forks, the town she hates, taking Bella with her. When Bella was six months old, her mother moved to Phoenix, Arizona. Bella has always been a mature, responsible young woman, having to be a parent to her flighty mother. She has always had few friends, never quite 'fitting in' in the land of sunshine and popular, athletic high schoolers. She is also incredibly clumsy, which leads her to avoid all sports.
As the first book opens, her mother has just recently married Phil Dwyer, a minor league baseball player who is much younger than she is. Phil travels a lot due to his profession, and Bella notices how much her mother wants to be with him while he travels. So, to make it easier for them, Bella moves back to her birthtown of Forks, Washington, to live with her father, Charlie Swan.
She enrolls at Forks High School and notices that boys are immediately attracted to her, although she dismisses their advances. She makes a few new friends, including Jessica Stanley, Angela Weber, and Mike Newton. The one group of people at Forks High School that truly intrigues Bella are the Cullens, a mysteriously captivating family, consisting of five adopted children. Edward Cullen, in particular, captures her attention. At first, Bella is sure that he hates her — they are forced to sit next to each other in Biology class, and he gives her a frightening look of loathing, then clenches his fists and grinds his teeth, never speaking to her. Later on, she finds him in the office trying desperately to switch out of the class. Despite this strange behavior, Bella finds herself drawn to him, but still believes that he is trying to switch classes to avoid being near her, which puzzles and upsets her exceedingly.
Isabella Marie Swan was born on September 13, 1987 to Renée Dywer and Charlie Swan, a young couple living in the small town of Forks, Washington. Shortly after her birth, her mother left her father and fled Forks, the town she hates, taking Bella with her. When Bella was six months old, her mother moved to Phoenix, Arizona. Bella has always been a mature, responsible young woman, having to be a parent to her flighty mother. She has always had few friends, never quite 'fitting in' in the land of sunshine and popular, athletic high schoolers. She is also incredibly clumsy, which leads her to avoid all sports.
As the first book opens, her mother has just recently married Phil Dwyer, a minor league baseball player who is much younger than she is. Phil travels a lot due to his profession, and Bella notices how much her mother wants to be with him while he travels. So, to make it easier for them, Bella moves back to her birthtown of Forks, Washington, to live with her father, Charlie Swan.
She enrolls at Forks High School and notices that boys are immediately attracted to her, although she dismisses their advances. She makes a few new friends, including Jessica Stanley, Angela Weber, and Mike Newton. The one group of people at Forks High School that truly intrigues Bella are the Cullens, a mysteriously captivating family, consisting of five adopted children. Edward Cullen, in particular, captures her attention. At first, Bella is sure that he hates her — they are forced to sit next to each other in Biology class, and he gives her a frightening look of loathing, then clenches his fists and grinds his teeth, never speaking to her. Later on, she finds him in the office trying desperately to switch out of the class. Despite this strange behavior, Bella finds herself drawn to him, but still believes that he is trying to switch classes to avoid being near her, which puzzles and upsets her exceedingly.
After a week-long absence, Edward returns and speaks to Bella for the first time. He is pleasant and civil, and she notices that his eyes, which were black/onyx when she first met him, are now a beautiful shade of gold/topaz. Shortly after, Edward saves her from being hit by an out-of-control van with what seemed like supernatural speed and strength. A suspicious Bella confronts him about it at the hospital, but he refuses to talk about it, reluctantly promising to "explain later". Bella soon starts having dreams about Edward. For several weeks, they do not talk to each other. As the story progresses, Bella finds out from a family friend, Jacob Black, that the Cullens "supposedly" are vampires, or, as they are referred to by Jacob's American Indian tribe (The Quileutes), "the Cold Ones". They are supposedly different from other vampires in substituting animal blood for human blood, refusing to hunt humans.
Even as Edward and Bella get to know each other better, it is hard for Edward to be near her, because her blood "sings" to him. Although he does not drink human blood, Edward constantly lusts for it, and Bella's blood is especially tantalizing for him. The scent of her blood is so alluring that it causes him actual physical pain to be with her. He must always control his desire, and finds that his mind reading capabilities do not work on her.
Eventually, the two grow closer and declare their love for one another. Edward introduces her to his family, and she is asked to watch their baseball game. Danger reveals itself in the form of a visiting vampire coven consisting of Laurent, Victoria, and James. Victoria's mate James is a sadistic tracker vampire who has set his sights on killing Bella. Edward and his family save Bella and destroy James, although the other vampires of his coven, Victoria and Laurent, survive. Bella escapes death with broken ribs, a broken leg, multiple fractures, bruises and a permanent crescent-shaped scar on her hand where James had bitten her. Although being bitten by a vampire would have changed Bella into a vampire, Edward drew out the venom before its effects could take place. Bella spends time in a hospital with Edward constantly by her side, where he admits that his sister Alice saw a vision of Bella becoming a vampire. However, he is determined to keep her human, despite her own determination to become a vampire. The reasons behind his intentions are not known in Twilight, but are eventually revealed in New Moon.
Edward takes Bella to the prom, despite her broken leg and angry protests. There are high levels of tension as book ends, with Edward and Bella's differences of opinion about turning her into a vampire.
The events of New Moon begin on Bella's eighteenth birthday. Bella is especially upset because it is the day that she becomes older, physically, than Edward (the love of her life). Edward manages to persuade her to come to his house on the evening of her birthday for a party thrown by Alice. Though she discourages the Cullens from giving her gifts, they insist. Bella receives a paper cut while opening one of her gifts, causing Jasper (Edward's brother, and the 'newest' member of the family) to try to attack her. Edward believes that she would be safer without him, his family, and his dangerous style of life, so he and his family leave Forks. He deceives Bella into thinking that he does not love her any longer. He promises that she will have nothing to remember him by, and makes her promise to be safe.
Bella sinks into a deep depression for four months, until she is 'awoken' by Charlie, her father. He threatens to send her back to live with her mother in Jacksonville, Florida, because he is worried about her behavior. To appease her father, she tries to engage in normal, teenage-like behavior. She invites her friend Jessica to go to Port Angeles with her for dinner and a movie. While there, she carelessly approaches four men standing outside a bar. This results in her hearing Edward's voice inside her head, warning her to turn around. Bella soon realizes that whenever she puts herself in a dangerous situation, she can hear Edward's voice again with perfect clarity. This leads to her willingly endangering her life in order to bring about hallucinations of Edward.
Still depressed, she becomes better friends with Jacob Black, who fixes a motorcycle for her and teaches her to ride. Jacob, however, is completely unaware that Bella wants to ride motorcycles just so she can hear Edward's voice again. Jacob and Bella become very close, verging on the edge of romance, when suddenly Jacob refuses to answer any of her calls and asks her not to come to his house anymore. It is not until a week later that Bella learns what has happened to her best friend: he has become a werewolf. She learns that Victoria has returned to kill her (as revenge for Edward killing her mate, James), and that the werewolves have powers which rival those of the vampires.
After Jacob promises to take Bella cliff diving but doesn't show, Bella decides that she wants to hear Edward's voice again. To experience the hallucination, Bella goes jumps off a cliff and nearly drowns. When Alice, Edward's sister (who has the power to see the future), sees Bella jump, she believes Bella had committed suicide, and subsequently returns to Forks. Edward, isolated from his family by his own volition, is told by Rosalie, his other sister, that Bella is dead. Alice tells Bella that Edward is going to Volterra, Italy to be killed by the Volturi, because he could not bear to live in a world without Bella. Bella and Alice quickly pursue him to Italy.
In Italy, Bella finds Edward about to step into the sunlight in the Volturi's home city. This would make his skin sparkle like diamonds, exposing himself to humans as 'otherworldly' and earning a swift death from the Volturi. Bella convinces Edward just in time to not step into the sunlight, but they are soon cornered and taken into the 'home' of the Volturi. After demonstrating their powers 'en masse', the Volturi make Alice swear that Bella will be made a vampire, or else they will kill her. Here, it is made known that many vampiric "powers" do not affect Bella at all.
Back in Forks, Bella and Edward are together again (though Charlie has grounded Bella for a long time and hates Edward), and he promises her that he has always loved her, and will never leave her again. They also strike up a deal - he will change her into a vampire if she promises to marry him first. She doesn't want to be married, and has the backup plan of Carlisle changing her after she graduates. Later, in the woods, Jacob reminds Edward of the treaty made between the Cullens and the La Push werewolves, which states that no Cullen may bite a human. Bella is left in a difficult position: if she does not become a vampire, the Volturi will come after her to kill her. However, if the Cullens do make her a vampire, the La Push Werewolves will start a war with the Cullens.
Bella starts out at the beginning of Eclipse in her house, still grounded by Charlie for an unexplained three-day disappearance, cliff diving, and motorcycle riding. She is reading a letter from Jacob that says that they can't be friends anymore. Bella is upset about this, but her mood improves when Edward comes to visit her. Edward is trying to convince Bella to fill out more application forms for college, but Bella thinks that college is pointless since she's going to be turning into a vampire soon anyway. Bella then sees an article in the newspaper about a series of mysterious killings in Seattle and finds it interesting. Edward explains that these killings are most likely a newborn vampire, unable to control its thirst. Soon, Charlie 'un-grounds' Bella on the condition that she not spend all her time with Edward. Later on that day in school, Bella witnesses Alice having a vision: Victoria is coming to Forks to hunt Bella. Edward lies about the vision to try to protect Bella, then takes her away from Forks on a weekend trip to Florida to visit Bella's mother. The visit to Florida and the return trip proceeds without incident.
When they get back, Jacob calls Bella and confirms that she will be at school on Monday. The next day at school, Jacob is waiting for her. Bella, Edward and Jacob then get into a fight. No one is hurt, but Bella realizes the true nature of Alice's previous vision. She also finds out that there was a fight between the Cullens and the werewolves over the border line when Victoria came looking for Bella. Bella and Jacob do not spend any time together for awhile after this, and Edward considers that a good thing because of his distrust of Jacob. Eventually, Bella gets over her fight with Jacob and goes to his house, much to Edward's displeasure. Bella enjoys this getaway with Jacob, but knows her time is limited. After returning home, she discusses with Edward her belief that the werewolves are safe. Edward disagrees, and they drop the subject.
The events of New Moon begin on Bella's eighteenth birthday. Bella is especially upset because it is the day that she becomes older, physically, than Edward (the love of her life). Edward manages to persuade her to come to his house on the evening of her birthday for a party thrown by Alice. Though she discourages the Cullens from giving her gifts, they insist. Bella receives a paper cut while opening one of her gifts, causing Jasper (Edward's brother, and the 'newest' member of the family) to try to attack her. Edward believes that she would be safer without him, his family, and his dangerous style of life, so he and his family leave Forks. He deceives Bella into thinking that he does not love her any longer. He promises that she will have nothing to remember him by, and makes her promise to be safe.
Bella sinks into a deep depression for four months, until she is 'awoken' by Charlie, her father. He threatens to send her back to live with her mother in Jacksonville, Florida, because he is worried about her behavior. To appease her father, she tries to engage in normal, teenage-like behavior. She invites her friend Jessica to go to Port Angeles with her for dinner and a movie. While there, she carelessly approaches four men standing outside a bar. This results in her hearing Edward's voice inside her head, warning her to turn around. Bella soon realizes that whenever she puts herself in a dangerous situation, she can hear Edward's voice again with perfect clarity. This leads to her willingly endangering her life in order to bring about hallucinations of Edward.
Still depressed, she becomes better friends with Jacob Black, who fixes a motorcycle for her and teaches her to ride. Jacob, however, is completely unaware that Bella wants to ride motorcycles just so she can hear Edward's voice again. Jacob and Bella become very close, verging on the edge of romance, when suddenly Jacob refuses to answer any of her calls and asks her not to come to his house anymore. It is not until a week later that Bella learns what has happened to her best friend: he has become a werewolf. She learns that Victoria has returned to kill her (as revenge for Edward killing her mate, James), and that the werewolves have powers which rival those of the vampires.
After Jacob promises to take Bella cliff diving but doesn't show, Bella decides that she wants to hear Edward's voice again. To experience the hallucination, Bella goes jumps off a cliff and nearly drowns. When Alice, Edward's sister (who has the power to see the future), sees Bella jump, she believes Bella had committed suicide, and subsequently returns to Forks. Edward, isolated from his family by his own volition, is told by Rosalie, his other sister, that Bella is dead. Alice tells Bella that Edward is going to Volterra, Italy to be killed by the Volturi, because he could not bear to live in a world without Bella. Bella and Alice quickly pursue him to Italy.
In Italy, Bella finds Edward about to step into the sunlight in the Volturi's home city. This would make his skin sparkle like diamonds, exposing himself to humans as 'otherworldly' and earning a swift death from the Volturi. Bella convinces Edward just in time to not step into the sunlight, but they are soon cornered and taken into the 'home' of the Volturi. After demonstrating their powers 'en masse', the Volturi make Alice swear that Bella will be made a vampire, or else they will kill her. Here, it is made known that many vampiric "powers" do not affect Bella at all.
Back in Forks, Bella and Edward are together again (though Charlie has grounded Bella for a long time and hates Edward), and he promises her that he has always loved her, and will never leave her again. They also strike up a deal - he will change her into a vampire if she promises to marry him first. She doesn't want to be married, and has the backup plan of Carlisle changing her after she graduates. Later, in the woods, Jacob reminds Edward of the treaty made between the Cullens and the La Push werewolves, which states that no Cullen may bite a human. Bella is left in a difficult position: if she does not become a vampire, the Volturi will come after her to kill her. However, if the Cullens do make her a vampire, the La Push Werewolves will start a war with the Cullens.
Bella starts out at the beginning of Eclipse in her house, still grounded by Charlie for an unexplained three-day disappearance, cliff diving, and motorcycle riding. She is reading a letter from Jacob that says that they can't be friends anymore. Bella is upset about this, but her mood improves when Edward comes to visit her. Edward is trying to convince Bella to fill out more application forms for college, but Bella thinks that college is pointless since she's going to be turning into a vampire soon anyway. Bella then sees an article in the newspaper about a series of mysterious killings in Seattle and finds it interesting. Edward explains that these killings are most likely a newborn vampire, unable to control its thirst. Soon, Charlie 'un-grounds' Bella on the condition that she not spend all her time with Edward. Later on that day in school, Bella witnesses Alice having a vision: Victoria is coming to Forks to hunt Bella. Edward lies about the vision to try to protect Bella, then takes her away from Forks on a weekend trip to Florida to visit Bella's mother. The visit to Florida and the return trip proceeds without incident.
When they get back, Jacob calls Bella and confirms that she will be at school on Monday. The next day at school, Jacob is waiting for her. Bella, Edward and Jacob then get into a fight. No one is hurt, but Bella realizes the true nature of Alice's previous vision. She also finds out that there was a fight between the Cullens and the werewolves over the border line when Victoria came looking for Bella. Bella and Jacob do not spend any time together for awhile after this, and Edward considers that a good thing because of his distrust of Jacob. Eventually, Bella gets over her fight with Jacob and goes to his house, much to Edward's displeasure. Bella enjoys this getaway with Jacob, but knows her time is limited. After returning home, she discusses with Edward her belief that the werewolves are safe. Edward disagrees, and they drop the subject.
Ultimately, Edward must go hunting and leave Bella. Since Edward does not want Bella to spend time with Jacob, he bribes Alice with a yellow 911 Porsche Turbo (identical to the one they stole in Italy to get to Volterra) to watch over Bella while he's gone and keep her away from Jacob. Bella is furious at Edward's presumption and manages to slip away with Jacob again.
Upon returning to the Cullens' house, she encounters Edward. He is not upset that Bella ran away and realizes that he has to let go to some extent and not be overprotective. Bella thanks Edward, and he begins regularly taking her to the La Push line for regular visits with Jacob. During one of these visits, Jacob admits that he is in love with Bella and kisses her. Bella is furious and punches him in the face, breaking her hand.
Meanwhile, Bella still has her heart set on joining Edward and his family as a vampire. But, after thorough consideration, she decides that there is one thing she would like to do while human: have Edward make love to her. Edward immediately refuses this "demand", explaining that although he wants her as much as she wants him, he could easily kill her. Bella insists that he would never allow himself to let that happen. Eventually, Edward agrees that they can "try", but she must marry him first. Bella reluctantly agrees, making herself Edward's fiancée. During a fight with the newborn vampires from Seattle, Bella realizes and admits that she is in love with Jacob, but also knows that her love for Edward greatly overshadows it and she can not live without Edward. She kisses Jacob but then tells him shortly after that she can't be with him, and leaves to be with Edward. Just before the book ends, Edward takes Bella to the meadow and says that he will do whatever Bella wants without marrying her, because she is trying to make everybody else happy instead of herself. Bella refuses this and tells him that she wants to do this the "right way" (marriage, making love and then being turned), and not just for him, but for herself as well. So Bella and Edward go to break the news of their engagement to her father, Charlie.
Meanwhile, Bella still has her heart set on joining Edward and his family as a vampire. But, after thorough consideration, she decides that there is one thing she would like to do while human: have Edward make love to her. Edward immediately refuses this "demand", explaining that although he wants her as much as she wants him, he could easily kill her. Bella insists that he would never allow himself to let that happen. Eventually, Edward agrees that they can "try", but she must marry him first. Bella reluctantly agrees, making herself Edward's fiancée. During a fight with the newborn vampires from Seattle, Bella realizes and admits that she is in love with Jacob, but also knows that her love for Edward greatly overshadows it and she can not live without Edward. She kisses Jacob but then tells him shortly after that she can't be with him, and leaves to be with Edward. Just before the book ends, Edward takes Bella to the meadow and says that he will do whatever Bella wants without marrying her, because she is trying to make everybody else happy instead of herself. Bella refuses this and tells him that she wants to do this the "right way" (marriage, making love and then being turned), and not just for him, but for herself as well. So Bella and Edward go to break the news of their engagement to her father, Charlie.