Edward Cullen

Edward Cullen (born Edward Anthony Masen) is a fictional character in Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series. He is currently featured in the books Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn. He will also appear in the upcoming book, also by Stephenie Meyer, Midnight Sun, which will be a retelling of the events in Twilight from Edward's point of view.

Early Life
Edward Cullen was born Edward Anthony Masen on June 20, 1901 to Edward Sr. and Elizabeth Masen. He and his parents contracted the Spanish influenza during an epidemic that devastated Chicago, Illinois in 1918. Orphaned and nearly dead from the disease, Edward was changed into a vampire by one of the physicians caring for him, Carlisle Cullen, acting on the directions from his loving, dying mother to "save him". From that point onward, Carlisle raised Edward as his son, instilling in Edward a morality unusual among the vampires of Meyer's fictional universe. Central to this way of life is a refusal to consider humans as food. Edward had a rebellious period near the beginning of his life as a vampire, and used his mind-reading abilities to prey on only the worst of society. However, after a few years he became guilt-ridden and returned to Carlisle and his way of life. In the series, Edward and his vampire family, which includes his parents Carlisle and Esme and siblings Alice, Jasper, Rosalie and Emmett, often come into conflict with other vampires as a result of this morality, which goes against their natural vampyric nature. A particular source of conflict is Edward's relationship with the human Isabella "Bella" Swan.

Twilight and Midnight Sun
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.

One night, Edward sneaks into Bella's room while she was sleeping. When she says his name in her sleep, Edward realises he has fallen in love with her. Edward becomes friendlier with Bella, but he doesn't tell her how he really feels. Meanwhile, 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. When Edward learns that Bella knows what he is, he is amazed that she still wants to be around him. Edward realises that she has also fallen in love with him.

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. His worst fears are eventually 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.

Physical appearance
Like all the vampires in the Twilight series, Edward is described by Bella as being impossibly beautiful. At various points in the series, she compares him to the mythical Greek god Adonis. His skin is "like marble"– very pale, ice cold, and sparkles in the sunlight like diamonds. She describes his facial features as being perfect and angular - high cheekbones, strong jawline, a straight nose, and beautiful, full lips. His hair, which is always in casual disarray, retains the unusual bronze shade that he inherited in his human life from his biological mother. His eyes, once emerald green, are now described as a liquid, golden topaz. His fingers are described often as slender and he is said to have a dazzlingly crooked smile. His appearance changes if he goes long without feeding: his eyes darken, becoming almost black, and purple bruises appear beneath his eyes. Edward stands at 6'2", and he has a slender but muscular build.

Personality and Traits
Edward is described in the book and by Bella as being charming, polite, determined, and very stubborn. He is very protective over Bella and puts her safety, humanity and welfare before anything else. He often over-analyzes situations and has a tendency to overreact, especially in situations where Bella's safety is at risk. He retains some of the traditional mindset and outdated speech from his human life in the early 20th century, and can be very romantic. The development of the Edward Cullen character was influenced by Gilbert Blythe, Fitzwilliam Darcy, and Edward Rochester– particularly the latter, who, like Edward Cullen, sees himself as a "monster".

Edward is also musical, able to play the piano like a virtuoso. He enjoys a wide range of music, including classical, jazz, progressive metal, alternative rock, punk rock, but dislikes country. He prefers indie rock to mainstream, and appreciates rock and classical music equally. He mentions in Twilight that he likes music from the fifties better than the sixties, and dislikes the seventies entirely.

A hobby of Edward's is collecting cars. He owns a Volvo S60 R and an Aston Martin Vanquish as a "special occasion" car. He also gave his sister Alice a Porsche 911 Turbo as a gift in Eclipse. He bought a motorcycle to ride alongside Bella, but gave it to Jasper after Bella didn't believe she could keep up with Edward's bike.

Vampiric Traits
Edward, like all vampires in the Twilight series, possesses superhuman beauty, strength, speed, endurance, and agility. His scent and voice are enormously seductive, so much so that he occasionally sends Bella into a pliant daze entirely by accident. In Twilight, Edward explains that like other vampires, he does not need to breathe, though he chooses to do so out of habit and because it is helpful to smell his environment. He cannot digest regular food, and compares its attractiveness for him to the prospect of eating dirt for a regular person. As well, like other vampires, Edward is not able to sleep.

In addition to the traits he shares with his fellow vampires, Edward has certain abilities that are his alone. He is the fastest of the Cullens, able to outrun any of them. Perhaps as a result of a talent for empathy in his human life, Edward can also read the mind of anyone within a few miles of himself; Bella is the sole exception to this rule, which Meyer has stated is due to Bella having a very private mind.

Bella Swan
Bella Swan is Edward's first and only girlfriend, though they generally use the term "soul mates." Edward has a strong attraction to Bella's blood, making it extremely difficult for him to even be in her presence. Early on in Twilight, Edward struggled to stay away from Bella in an attempt to protect her, but he eventually fell in love with her despite his apprehensions. For this reason Edward sees himself as selfish, knowing that he should stay away from Bella for her safety but not being able to bring himself to do it. As much as he loves her, Edward is adverse to changing Bella into a vampire, despite her strong desire to become one, because of his belief that vampires are damned and soulless creatures. However, in Eclipse he agrees to do so after they are married, and she eventually accepts his proposal. Bella and Edward marry during Breaking Dawn, and Edward later changes her into a vampire to keep her from dying in childbirth.

Rosalie Hale
Rosalie Hale was changed into a vampire by Carlisle Cullen after he found her near death in the street. She has blonde hair and is described as the most beautiful woman in the world. Carlisle had originally hoped that she would be a daughter to him and a romantic companion for Edward. However, their feelings for each other remained those of loyal siblings, and Rosalie eventually fell in love with Emmett Cullen instead.

Tanya
Tanya is a strawberry-blonde vampire who lives in Denali, Alaska with her family, the only other known group of vampires who, like the Cullens, have chosen not to feed on the blood of human beings. She expressed an interest in Edward when they first met, but he turned her down in a characteristically gentlemanly way. Edward later tells Bella that Tanya poses no threat to their relationship, teasing Bella that he prefers brunettes.



Movie portrayal
Stephenie Meyer claimed on her website that "The only actor I've ever seen who I think could come close to pulling off Edward Cullen is Henry Cavill." She also felt that any actor who portrayed him must be younger than 21. Amongst the fans on her site, Hayden Christiansen was the most popular choice for an actor, and Robert Pattinson was second. However, as she notes there, neither she, nor they, could choose the actor.

In the end, Robert Pattinson was cast as Edward Cullen in the film adaptation of Twilight.