Jasper Hale

"I didn't have quite the same... upbringing as my adopted siblings here. My beginning was something else entirely."

- Jasper Hale on his past

Jasper Hale, born Jasper Whitlock in 1844, is a vampire who participated in the great vampire wars of the south, but later became a member of the Olympic Coven. He is the husband of Alice Cullen and the adoptive son of Carlisle and Esme Cullen, as well as the brother of Rosalie Hale. Jasper is the adoptive brother of Emmett, Edward and Bella Cullen and the uncle of Renesmee Cullen.

After becoming a major in the Confederate Army, Jasper was beset 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 disillusioned with this violent 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
Jasper Hale was a Texas Major who became a vampire by Maria and then left her and found Alice.

The Cullens tell humans that Jasper is Rosalie Hale's twin brother due to their physical similarities; for this purpose, they both use Rosalie's surname of "Hale". 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. Edward Cullen states that all human blood is equally tempting to Jasper, unlike the rest of the family, who can notice the variations in blood scent in different humans.



Physical Description
Jasper is 6'3" and has golden honey blond hair. He is muscular but lean. Like the other Cullens, he has pale, marble-like skin and bruise-like purple shadows under his eyes, which appear gradually as his thirst increases. He has golden eyes, like all animal-feeding ("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 says the scars "screamed dangerous." She also says "How many vampires had tried to kill Jasper? The same number that had died in the attempt."

Personality
Jasper could be mistaken for cold because of his highly analytical and military mindset. In the movie he is described by Jessica as 'looking like he is in pain.' However, his relationship with Alice displays his warmer side. The fact that he suffered depression after his years in Maria's service suggests a strong sense of conscience and grief over his perceived wrong-doings. When he was human he was described as being extremely charismatic, and therefore very likable. He has also been shown to be a strong and forceful leader through his rapid ascent through the ranks of the Confederate Army. The fact that he is always a soothing presence shows that he wishes others to feel well and at ease, and will do his best to make that occur. Jasper is highly intuitive but also never takes advantage of his miraculous gift, showing that he is not malicious and chooses not to manipulate others. While the Cullens are gone in New Moon, Jasper studies philosophy at Cornell University. In the opening chapter of the yet to be published Midnight Sun, Jasper is shown as being deeply ashamed of his urge to drain the life from the humans around him. He also believed that a newborn vampire's instability is natural and unavoidable, and therefore had lower expectations for himself and his control. However, when Bella demonstrated very high levels of self-control as a newborn, Jasper's ideas were challenged and he was forced to review his theories and raise his self-expectations.

On a softer note, Jasper is unconditionally in love with Alice, and, despite her precognitive abilities, would do anything for her and 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. Jasper also shows his love for Alice again in Midnight Sun's (yet to be released) draft, saying that he would not allow Alice to be put to harm, no matter how slight the possibility is.

Powers and Abilities
Some vampires have extra abilities beyond normal which are an amplification of an ability they had as a human (e.g. an intuitive mind could be able to read minds as a vampire). Because he was charismatic as a human, Jasper can feel and manipulate the emotions of others. Like all other vampires he also has super strength and speed, granite hard skin, immortality, and a keen sense of smell and hearing. In Eclipse, during the training Jasper gives the Cullens and Quileutes, it is noted that Jasper was on par with Edward's skills, despite Edward's mind reading ability. This is seen during their sparring, which only stopped when Carlisle told them to, suggesting that it could have continued perhaps indefinitely.

Family
Jasper is thought by Bella at least to being on the fringe of his adoptive family. As Carlisle did not change him he doesn't have the same connection with him as Esme, Edward, Emmett and Rosalie do. He has always thought of himself as the weakest link due to his former background and is comforted by Edward on this fact. He, Emmett and Edward enjoy play wrestling with each other, and hunting together on a regular basis, they would seem to be real brothers. Many people think that Jasper has a bigger connection with Esme than the others because of his past and she feels the need to comfort him for it. Rosalie and Jasper are never mentioned too much together, beside the fact that they are twins in the Cullens elaborate cover story. Jasper and Carlisle are as before not connected as well as the others in the Cullen family, but Carlisle still feels a fatherly bond toward Jasper. His connection with Alice is quite remarkable, proven by the fact that meeting her has completely changed his way of life. His connection to the Cullen family as whole is very firm, but as he is quiet and very reserved, it can be mistaken that the connection is quite dull.

Alice Cullen
"It's ok Jasper, you won't hurt her."

- Alice Cullen to Jasper, upon him meeting Bella

Jasper first met Alice after escaping the vampire wars he had been involved in. She was sitting on a stool in a diner in Philadelphia waiting for him, having used her ability to see into the future to foresee 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 Swan 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.

Etymology
Jasper is an exclusively male name. It is a Persian name meaning "treasurer", and is one of the names traditional given to one of the Three Wisemen or Magi. Jasper is also the name of a precious gem. The gem is believed to stabalise emotions, and 'ease emotional stresses', which fits in with Jasper's ability to manipulate emotions, in particular to calm.

Behind the scenes
American actor Jackson Rathbone played the role of Jasper Hale in the Twilight film.

Appearances

 * Twilight (First appearance)
 * Twilight (film)
 * Midnight Sun
 * New Moon
 * Eclipse
 * Breaking Dawn