Jasper Hale

"Alice has made all the difference, this is a climate I enjoy."

Jasper Hale (born Jasper Whitlock in 1844, in Houston, Texas) is one of the few surviving vampires of the Southern vampire wars, who later joined the Olympic Coven. He is the husband and soul mate of Alice Cullen and the adoptive son of Carlisle and Esme Cullen, as well as the adoptive brother of Rosalie Hale (in Forks, he and Rosalie pretend to be twins), Emmett and Edward Cullen. Jasper is also the adoptive brother-in-law of Bella Cullen and the adoptive uncle of Renesmee Cullen.

After becoming a major in the Confederate Army, Jasper was set upon by the vampire Maria, who proceeded to turn him. After the transformation, Jasper aided Maria in her creation of a newborn vampire army which successfully conquered the feeding grounds of Texas. However, Jasper became tired of this violent and bloodlust life and eventually became a nomad. Fortunately, he was eventually found by Alice, the love of his life and with her began a life with the peaceful coven of the Cullen family.

Early life
"I didn't have quite the same upbringing as my adopted siblings."

- Jasper on his early life.

Jasper Whitlock was the youngest major in the Confederate Army in Texas until he was turned into a vampire by Maria and two other female vampires, Lucy and Nettie, who had recently lost their territory. Maria used him and other newborns to reclaim her place and later claim dominance over others'. Nettie and Lucy were later destroyed by Jasper when they tried to rebel against Maria and take over. Jasper and Maria seemingly shared a short romantic relationship but she never got over her first mate. When he became a vampire, he gained the ability to feel and manipulate people's emotions, which was very useful in controlling the younger newborns. Jasper commanded Maria's newborn army that participated in the Southern vampire wars. Since Maria wouldn't keep vampires that proved useless after their first year, Jasper was responsible to dispose of them, which he did feel remorse for. While in the army, he befriended a newborn named Peter, who Maria decided to keep. When Peter ran off with Charlotte, a newborn that they were supposed to kill, Jasper let them go. After a few years living as nomads in the Northern U.S, Peter and Charlotte came back and told Jasper about the way vampires could coexist in the North, and he left with them. A few years later he left their company, as he was still not happy, since he could feel everything his human victims were feeling while he killed them. He was also reeling from his years with Maria, which had almost turned him into a savage.

Later, he met Alice in a diner in Philadelphia, and fell in love with her. As it turned out, she had been waiting for him. With the help of Alice's 'sight', they searched for Carlisle Cullen and his family. She also told him about the ability to survive off of animal instead of human blood. He didn't know such a thing could exist but he followed her. When he became a member of the Cullen family and while attending high school, Jasper changed his surname of Whitlock to his adoptive sister Rosalie's surname of "Hale" and poses as her twin due to their physical similarities such as hair color. Out of the whole coven, Jasper has the hardest time being around humans, due to his untrained upbringing as a young vampire in an army environment. He was not taught to control or how to regulate his blood lust.

Throughout his time with the Cullens, he has attended high school and university many times, and earned degrees in history and philosophy.

Sometime in the 1980s, he started doing business with a lawyer who forged illegal documents to help his family provide new identity certificates. After the lawyer retired, his apprentice, J. Jenks, took over.



Twilight
In Twilight, Jasper is a senior in Forks High School, along with Rosalie and Emmett. When Edward saves the new girl, Bella Swan, from a car accident with his supernatural strength and speed, Jasper is very upset with his act because he has given away their secret. He later learns to come to terms with Edward's new involvement with Bella when they begin dating, though he needs to constantly keep in distance to stay in control.

During a baseball game, Bella gets unwanted attention from the tracker vampire, James. Jasper assists Alice in taking Bella to Phoenix in order to escape James. While hiding in a hotel room, he senses Bella's guilt of putting them in danger and tries to convince her to not feel guilty, but to no avail. At the airport, Bella takes Jasper to go find a place to eat. Really it was just a ploy to get lost in the crowd and go meet James at her old ballet studio. When they find her, Jasper assists Emmett in ripping James apart and burning the pieces. After James' death and the escape of his mate, Victoria, he returns to Forks and attend the school prom with Alice as his date.



New Moon
In New Moon, the Cullens throw an 18th birthday party for Bella. In the movie adaptation, Jasper uses his empathy to manipulate Bella's mood to make her feel comfortable enough to attend her birthday party.

While opening a gift, she cuts her finger lightly and starts bleeding. Since Jasper is the newest vegetarian vampire in the family, he is overcome by his bloodlust and tries to attack Bella, only to be stopped by Edward, though Emmett puts Jasper in an unbreakable grip. Edward pushes Bella away and she is not bitten, but is injured further when she crashes into broken glass, requiring stitches. After Jasper nearly bites Bella, he and his family move away from Forks in an effort to protect her from their world. After Bella saves Edward from committing suicide, Jasper returns to Forks with the rest of the Cullens.

At the end of New Moon, Bella gathers the Cullens to vote whether for her to become a vampire or stay human, and he casts his vote to make Bella a vampire.

Eclipse
"They'll fight like children. The two most important things you'll need to remember are, first, don't let them get their arms around you and, second, don't go for the obvious kill. That'll all they'll be prepared for."

- Jasper's knowledge on newborn armies.

The events in Eclipse focus more on the newborn attacks caused by Victoria's creation of her newborn army in Seattle. Bella is introduced to the term "newborn" for the first time, and Jasper, who was involved with newborns in his early life as a vampire, explains them to Bella. This is how she learns about some of the issues she will have to deal with when she herself becomes a newborn. After following news coverage of several unexplained supernatural murders and disappearances, Jasper is the first to suspect that someone is creating an army of newborn vampires, but dismisses it for awhile because he thinks he has read the signs wrong, until his suspicions are proven correct.

Since Jasper has a great deal of past experience with the newborns, including combat knowledge, the Cullens turn to him for guidance in preparation for the upcoming battle against Victoria and her savage army. He helps train both the Cullens and the Quileute wolves by putting on sparring demonstrations, and pointing out the strengths and weaknesses of newborns for both groups. Jasper's military background helps him coordinate a strategy between the Cullens and Quileutes, which ends up working perfectly. Jasper, however, attempts to be everywhere at once during the battle, helping his family and the wolves fight while protecting Alice, and gets bitten by a few newborns in the process.

Jasper also tells Bella about his early life in the Confederate army, how he was turned, his involvement with Maria, Nettie and Lucy, and his role in helping to form Maria's newborn army, as well as how he met Alice.

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner


In The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner, Jasper attempts to kill Bree the moment he sees her, but Carlisle and Esme come to her defense. He finds their protection troubling because the Volturi will arrive soon to interrogate them and probably dispose of the "criminal", and that they will be dragged into it if they continue to defend her, but they manage to persuade him to spare her life. He decides to keep an eye on her, telling her to close her eyes to keep her from seeing the wolves, which will get them into trouble as well.

Breaking Dawn
In Breaking Dawn, Jasper feels Bella's nervousness about her wedding with Edward and is able to calm her for a short period of time before going on a private bachelor "party" with Edward and Emmett. When Bella became pregnant with Renesmee, he is one of the family members who wish to abort the child for her health, but because some of them are against the idea, he can only be near to observe. While Bella is a newly turned vampire, Jasper is always standing beside her to make sure she wouldn't lose control and hurt anyone. He is shocked by the fact that she is able to retain self-control, something that most newborns aren't able to do. This causes him some dismay over his own struggles with self-control, even as a mature vampire, and also prompts him to re-evaluate his view on newborns.

When the Cullens realize that the Volturi are coming as a result of Irina's wrongful accusation about Renesmee, Jasper flees with Alice to South America in hopes to find someone more connected to his adoptive niece's species. It is revealed that Jasper has a secret business relationship with a lawyer in Seattle named Jason Jenks after Alice leaves Bella clues to find him. Jasper has been employing him and his former partner to make legal documents for the Cullens whenever they move to a new place, and this connection allows Bella to forge fake ID's, passports, and a driver's license made for Renesmee and Jacob. Jasper and Alice's search leads them to South America where they find a human/vampire hybrid named Nahuel in Chile. They bring him and his biological aunt, a vampire named Huilen, back to Forks in time to prevent a fight between the Cullens, the other vampires (nomads and covens), the wolf packs, and the Volturi. After the peaceful outcome of the situations, Jasper and Alice are welcomed back into the Cullens. Bella decides to take over Jasper's relationship with J. to save him heart attacks.

Physical appearance
"He was blond, like the first, but taller and leaner. His skin was absolutely covered in scars, spaced most thickly together on his neck and jaw. A few small marks on his arm were fresh, but the rest were not from the brawl today. He had been in more fights than I could have imagined, and he'd never lost. His tawny eyes blazed and his stance exuded the barely contained violence of an angry lion."

- Bree Tanner on Jasper

Jasper is 6'3" and has golden honey blond hair. He is muscular, but lean, unlike his brother Emmett Cullen. Like the other Cullens, he has pale, marble-like skin, inhumane beauty and bruise-like purple shadows under his eyes, which appear gradually as his thirst increases. He has golden eyes, like all vegetarian vampires, which turn darker, eventually becoming black, as he grows thirstier.

He has many crescent-shaped scars on his body, face, neck and jaw from the bites of vampires he fought on Maria's behalf. The white scars are invisible to humans unless contrasted by a strong light, but when viewed by a vampire they are said to be his most dominant feature, causing defensive reactions in vampires who don't know him. In Breaking Dawn, Bella thinks the scars "screamed dangerous." She also asks herself, "How many vampires had tried to kill Jasper?", and answers, "The same number that had died in the attempt."

In the Twilight movie, Jessica Stanley calls him "the blond one who looks like he's in pain."

Personality and traits
Jasper can sometimes pass as cold, because he has a very militaristic mindset from his time as a human in the Confederate army and later as a vampire in Maria's army. However, the truth is that he is a very kind, polite, gallant and simply good person. He is described by Alice as 'a good Southern gentleman'. He doesn't abuse his talent, instead uses it to soothe the people around him, or help the Cullens stay focused around humans. Jasper also uses his control over other people's emotions to calm situations that could turn into fights for example in Eclipse when the Cullens and the werewolves were hunting down Victoria, Emmett accidentally crosses the border and lands on Paul. The situation is quickly calmed down by Jasper. Jasper is also very protective of Alice and the other Cullens. We see this in Breaking Dawn when Jacob tells Edward that the pack wants to kill Bella. Edward says in a flat tone that Jasper and Emmett think he means Jacob and Seth, he and Emmett jump right on his sides to protect Bella, even if they disagreed with her decision to keep Renesmee.

Jasper is completely in love with Alice and he's often a lot more open when he's with her. He would also do anything to protect her. An example of this was when Jasper was trying to be 'everywhere at once' to protect Alice as they had their show down with the newborn vampires in Eclipse. Alice also is very protective of Jasper, which is the original reason that everyone thinks Alice and Jasper leave in Breaking Dawn when Alice sees that the Volturi are coming.

Jasper has the least control over his thirst and would occasionally find human blood tempting, making him uncomfortable around humans, as proven when he tried to attack Bella after she bled from a paper cut. To keep him in check, Edward and Alice would team up to help him, though he finds it irritating. Because of this, he would feel smug whenever someone else in his family is having the same hard time; for example, he expected eagerly for Bella to lose control of her thirst when she became a vampire in Breaking Dawn, and in Midnight Sun, he was smug at Edward's annoyance over their supervision. However, Bella's remarkable control as a newborn made Jasper question himself and eventually begin to expect more control of himself, and revaluate his view on newborns.

Powers and abilities
In the Cullen family, Jasper is the best fighter, the second fastest (after Edward), and the second strongest (after Emmett). In Eclipse, during the training Jasper gives the Cullens and Quileutes, Jasper is noted that he was unable to beat Edward thanks to his ability to read minds; neither was able to defeat the other (but without Edward's mind reading ability, Jasper would have defeated him). This was shown during their sparring, which only stopped when Carlisle told them to, suggesting that it could have continued indefinitely. As shown in Breaking Dawn, the Quileute wolves consider Jasper the largest threat to the pack above all the other Cullens, describing him as "power and speed and death rolled into one."



Pathokinesis
"Jasper is very interesting. He was quite charismatic in his first life, able to influence those around him to see things his way. Now he is able to manipulate the emotions of those around him - calm down a room of angry people, for example, or excite a lethargic crowd, conversely. It's a very subtle gift."

- Edward on Jasper's gift

Some vampires have extra abilities beyond normal, an amplification of an ability they had as a human. Because he was charismatic as a human, Jasper can feel and change the emotions of others as a vampire, though must be careful not to constantly manipulate those around him, so as not to create a false reality of others simply feeling what he wants them to feel. His gift is one of few that can affect Bella without getting blocked by her mental shield, because his power can actually influence people's feelings rather than create an illusion. Jasper also becomes very connected to Bella in Breaking Dawn because of her constantly joyful mood as a vampire.

He mainly uses it to calm down people who have been angered, to end a situation peacefully. During his years with Maria and her coven, his power allowed him to control the newborn vampire soldiers better, which is what made him Maria's favorite. He could constantly sense the pain of those he killed, either for disposition or sustenance. This experience made him emotionally damaged as he found killing the only way for survival, until he met Alice and started satisfying his thirst to animal blood.

Although his power is useful, the mood he inflicts can only last for as long as he is around.

Relationships


Jasper is the husband of Alice Cullen and the adoptive son of Carlisle and Esme Cullen, the adoptive brother of Rosalie Hale (in Forks, he and Rosalie pretend to be twins), Emmett and Edward Cullen. Jasper is the adoptive brother-in-law of Bella Cullen and the adoptive uncle of Renesmee Cullen. Jasper is thought, by Bella, to be on the fringe of his adoptive family. As Carlisle didn't change him, he doesn't have the same connection with him as Esme, Edward, Emmett and Rosalie do. Over the years, he has grown fond of his adopted family but does not share the deep bonds with them that Alice does. He chose to live with the Cullens in order to stay with Alice, and because the "vegetarian" lifestyle freed him from the negative emotions that had depressed him over the century. He, Emmett and Edward enjoy playing wrestling with each other, and hunting together on a regular basis, they would seem to be real brothers. His connection with Alice is quite remarkable, proven by the fact that meeting her has completely changed his way of life.



Alice Cullen
"I was just relieved. I thought you were never gonna show up."

Alice Cullen is Jasper's wife and true love. Jasper first met Alice after facing almost a century long depression to walk into a diner waiting for him. She was sitting on a stool in a diner in Philadelphia waiting for him, having used her ability to see into the future to see that they would meet there. Jasper, a little taken back by her knowing him, apologized sheepishly to her when she teased him about how long she had been waiting for him by "bowing his head like a good Southern gentleman" and answering, "I'm sorry, ma'am." as Alice had said when Jasper was telling his story to Bella in Eclipse. Alice then, offered him her hand in a silent request to leave the diner and start a new life together. Jasper accepted (as quoted from Eclipse, "For the first time in almost a century... I felt hope"). They fell in love and eventually found the Cullen family together. Alice helps Jasper regulate his blood lust by looking into the future or calming him down. They have been a part of the Cullen family ever since.

It is stated throughout the Twilight series that Alice and Jasper have a special, somewhat private relationship. They were both never complete until they met each other, and they are the only members of the Cullen family who were not turned into vampires by either Carlisle or Edward. Their distinctly understanding love is what separates them from the other couples in their family. They aren't as flamboyant about their relationship as Rosalie and Emmett are. The two are very committed and protective of each other, and have been married legally once, while Rosalie and Emmett tend to do so often when they move to a new place. It is obvious that Jasper is in love with Alice and would do anything for her. He has quite a protective nature toward her, as Carlisle with Esme, Edward with Bella, and Emmett with Rosalie.



Maria
"I hope you survive. You may be of great use to me."

- Maria to Jasper



Maria is Jasper's creator and leader of a Mexican vampire coven. Jasper was found by Maria during the Southern Vampire Wars. At this point, he was a major in the Confederate Army, and Maria was looking for humans that she could turn to vampires to create a newborn army, using the idea given by Benito, in order to get revenge for her destroyed coven. After she turned Jasper, she found that he was extremely useful to her, because he was able to control the emotions of the vampires around him, and make them work together. With her and her sisters, Nettie and Lucy, she was able to take over many Mexican territories previously owned by other vampire clans. During their time together, Jasper and Maria became close and she rewarded him, particularly for helping her defeat her sisters when they rebelled. However she never considered him equal and never moved on from her mate. One night, Maria ordered him to get rid of the newborns that showed no potential. It made him sick to do this, and so later ran away with two other members of Maria's army, Peter and Charlotte.

In Midnight Sun, Edward mentions that Maria once sought out Jasper in Calgary; her arrival caused a great deal of damage and the Cullens were forced to move again. Jasper politely told her to keep her distance in the future, though he wishes her well.

In the film Eclipse, it is suggested that Maria and Jasper were romantically involved. It is not mentioned in the book, though it is possible that Maria controlled Jasper by pretending to be in love with him, similar to Victoria's manipulation of Riley, as is hinted in Bella's dream (in the movie).



Rosalie Hale
"The Hales are brother and sister, twins - the blondes - and they're foster children."

- Jessica telling Bella about the Cullens

Rosalie Hale is Jasper's adoptive sister, and uses her last name to ease the confusion they cause to the people around them about their relationships to Alice and Emmett Cullen.

Due to their similar physical features, Jasper and Rosalie pose as twins who have been adopted by Carlisle and Esme Cullen while attending high school in Forks.



Carlisle Cullen
Carlisle Cullen is Jasper's adoptive father. He first joined their family with Alice in 1950s.

While some vampires find Carlisle's choice of lifestyle disgraceful to their nature (for instance, Caius), he finds it humane and reassuring to a normal life, although he has trouble controlling his thirst around humans.



Esme Cullen
Esme Cullen is Jasper's adoptive mother. Her passionately loving personality brings comfort to Jasper, and Jasper loves her very much as a mother.

When he and Alice return from their secret quest in Breaking Dawn, Esme embraces both of them tightly, welcoming them back. This shows that Esme and Jasper are really quite close to each other, as with the rest of their family.



Emmett Cullen
"Don't hold back." "Not in my nature."

- Jasper and Emmett, during training

Emmett Cullen is Jasper's adoptive brother. The two of them are very close, along with their eldest brother Edward. Whenever the three of them are together, they would wrestle, compete and often go on hunting trips together. Jasper and Emmett also like to bet on things they find interesting, as well as play chess. In Midnight Sun, Edward explains that Emmett prefers to play chess with Jasper and Rosalie rather than him and Alice, because their "extra" senses give them an advantage to participate his moves.

In Eclipse, Jasper chooses Emmett as an example of a newborn, due to his superior strength, to train his family and the Quileute shapeshifters for the fight against Victoria's newborn army.



Edward Cullen
Edward Cullen is Jasper's adoptive brother. He is extremely close to this brother, along with Emmett. Whenever the three of them are together, they enjoy wrestling, and often go on hunting trips together. Since Jasper is the best fighter and Edward has telepathy to back him up, their fighting techniques are very well-matched, which is demonstrated in Eclipse when they train themselves for a battle against Victoria's army.

When Edward accidentally exposes his speed and strength to Bella Swan, Jasper is upset with the potential danger she poses to Alice and plans to kill her, prompting Edward to plan a head-on strategy to stop him and almost cause a rip in their brotherhood. This doesn't happen, however, as Alice has a vision of her involvement with them turning positive and is able to convince him to leave her be.

When they leave Forks in New Moon to protect Bella from themselves, Jasper feels saddened by Edward's heartbreak over leaving Bella behind. Jasper sometimes finds his brother annoying due to his using telepathy and Alice's vision to help him maintain his bloodlust. He considers himself as the weakest link in the family, and Edward often comforts him on this.



Bella Swan
"I can feel what you're feeling now - and you are worth it."

- Jasper to Bella

Bella Swan is Jasper's adoptive sister-in-law, married to Edward. Jasper initially worried for their family secret when Edward saved her, and subsequently revealed his vampire nature, and plotted to kill her, but Edward stopped him and Alice convinced him to drop the thought. After Bella and Edward began dating, Jasper warms up to their relationship, though he often has trouble keeping his thirst in control. In New Moon, Bella gets a paper cut and the blood overwhelms him, causing him to attack Bella. Edward manages to shove her aside, but also accidentally worsens her injuries. Emmett and Rosalie manage to stop Jasper before he hurts Bella. He also votes in favor of her joining their family as a vampire.

In Eclipse, when Victoria creates an army of newborn vampires to destroy the Cullens, Jasper gives Bella a preview of what she may be like if she becomes a vampire by telling his life history before he met Alice and the Cullens. He also expresses that he thinks of her as one of them.

After Bella became a vampire, Jasper expected her to act exactly like a newborn vampire should: vicious, instinctive and lack of control, and wanted to find comfort in the fact that he wouldn't be the only one having problems with his thirst. However, she succeeds in keeping herself in control, which causes Jasper to re-evaluate his opinion on newborns and his own control. After that, he becomes increasingly connected to Bella, due to her constant happy moods, which drags him towards her without thinking.

Renesmee Cullen
Renesmee Cullen is Jasper's adoptive niece, biological daughter to Edward and Bella. Jasper worried for Bella's safety when she was pregnant with Renesmee, but does nothing to help, as Rosalie, Esme, and Emmett sided with her while Edward and Carlisle wanted to abort the baby. He merely acted as the family's guard when Sam's pack planned to attack them.

After Renesmee was born and Bella became a vampire, Jasper was always at their side. On one occasion, he misinterprets Bella's thirst to wanting Renesmee's blood and immediately immobilizes her while handing the baby to Edward.

It is unknown how close Jasper is to his niece after her birth since they never shared a moment together. But as they are members of the same family, it is suggested that they do care for each other.

Peter
Peter is Jasper's former teammate from Maria's Coven. They worked together for three years. On one occasion, Peter was assigned to kill Charlotte, but instead they fled to North America together. Jasper allowed them to flee and did not follow. Five years later, Peter and Charlotte returned, and told Jasper about the civilized life that was possible in the north. This prompted Jasper to leave Maria's coven and find a new life in North America. He stayed with them for a few years before leaving and meeting Alice in Philadelphia.

After he joined the Cullens, Peter and Charlotte would occasionally visit Jasper.

In Breaking Dawn, Jasper seeks them out while in South America and sends them to Forks where they could help witness for his family against the Volturi. He is not happy about it, however, and reluctant to expose them to danger.

Charlotte
Charlotte is Jasper's former teammate from Maria's Coven. After her year mark as a newborn, Peter was assigned to kill Charlotte, but instead they fled to North America together. Jasper allowed them to flee and did not follow. Five years later, Peter and Charlotte returned, and told Jasper about the civilized life they led in the north. This prompted Jasper to leave Maria's coven and find a new life in North America. He stayed with them for a few years before leaving and meeting Alice in Philadelphia.

After he joined the Cullens, Peter and Charlotte would occasionally visit Jasper.

In Breaking Dawn, Jasper seeks them out while in South America and sends them to Forks where they could help witness for his family against the Volturi.

Jason Jenks
"I'm curious - why is J. Jenks scared stiff by just the sound of your name? It's just been my experience that some kinds of working relationships are better motivated by fear than by monetary gain."

- Bella and Jasper

Jason Jenks, better known as "J.", is a lawyer and forger of illegal documents, and Jasper is his foremost client. Jasper knew his former partner fifteen years before they met. Whenever his family needs new legal paperwork, he would come to J. for forgery.

J. is very intimidated with Jasper due to his knowledge of Jasper's immortality. In Breaking Dawn, Alice gives Bella clues to lead her to J. to help her forge passports and ID's for Renesmee in case they need to escape the Volturi. Afterward, Bella decides to take over Jasper's business relationship to J. to ease his stress.



Film portrayal
American actor Jackson Rathbone played the role of Jasper Hale in the Twilight film. He addressed himself as "Jasper Cullen".

He reprised his role in New Moon and Eclipse, and has been confirmed to return once again in Breaking Dawn.

Appearances

 * Twilight
 * Twilight (film)
 * New Moon
 * New Moon (film)
 * Eclipse
 * Eclipse (film) 
 * Breaking Dawn
 * Breaking Dawn - Part I
 * Breaking Dawn - Part II
 * Midnight Sun
 * The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner

Behind the Scenes
Stephenie Meyer has said on her website that Jasper's name was originally "Ronald". Sometimes when writing her books she would accidentally refer to him as such and confused who ever was reading it.

When filming the birthday scene in New Moon, Jackson got so into his character, that Peter Facinelli and Kellan Lutz really had to hold him tight.

During the fighting scenes in Eclipse, there was an accident when Kellan accidentally hit Jackson in the face. Jackson remained on his feet, but used an ice pack. In the Eclipse production DVD, he is also seen getting hit on the head by Kellan.