Esme Cullen

"I hope you haven't been showing off — it's rude."

- Esme to Edward Cullen

Esme Cullen (born Esme Anne Platt in 1895 and later known as Esme Anne Evenson), is a vampire and the matriarch of the Olympic Coven. Esme is wife to Carlisle Cullen and the adoptive mother of Alice, Emmett Cullen, and Edward Cullen, as well as to Rosalie and Jasper Hale, and the adoptive grandmother of Renesmee Cullen.

In 1921, after losing her child, Esme attempted suicide, though she was transformed into a vampire by Carlisle Cullen. Some time later, the pair fell in love and married; before building a family of like minded "vegetarian" vampires around them. Esme possessed an unparallelled ability to love those around her passionately, which allowed the members of her adoptive family to consider her as the greatest maternal figure in their lives.

Early Life
Esme was born sometime in 1895. Little is known about her very early life, but that she lived near the outskirts of Columbus, Ohio. She met Dr. Carlisle Cullen for the first time when she was 16 and had just broken her leg climbing a tree. He soon moved out of town, but Esme never forgot the experience. While she initially wanted to move West to become a school teacher, she was pressured by her parents to remain and marry. At the age of 22, she married Charles Evenson, hoping to please her parents and willing to attempt to be happy, but soon realized her husband was an abusive man. Her parents coached her to keep face, and much to her relief, her husband got drafted during World War I.

A while after he came back she found out that she was pregnant, which gave her motive to run away. She fled north to become a teacher, and in 1921, her son was born, and subsequently died a few days later of a lung infection. After the baby's death, Esme felt that she no longer had any reason to live. She tried to commit suicide by jumping off a cliff, and was presumed dead when she was brought into the morgue, but her heart was still beating. Dr. Cullen was working in the area at the time and recognized her as the happy, beautiful young girl he treated ten years earlier. Carlisle did not want Esme to suffer any longer so he decided to change her into a vampire as she was dying anyway.

Then after the transformation she and Carlisle fell in love. Esme then married Dr. Carlisle Cullen, and she joined the Cullen's coven in 1921. She welcomed Bella as a part of their "family" because of her warm nature, and has always treated the rest of the Cullens like this, too. She has a special spot in her heart for Edward because he was the first of her adoptive children.

Physical appearance
She is described as being 5'6", with caramel colored hair. She also has gold/black eyes, pale skin that sparkles in the sunlight, and purple circles under her eyes like the rest of the Cullens. However, these fade when she is well-fed. She has a heart-shaped face and her figure is described as being slender but rounded.She is described to be extremely beautiful, like the other vampires. Bella describes her as being similar to "one of the ingenues of the silent movie era". She is also described to be having delicate eyebrows. Carlisle describes her to be "utterly stunning, as desirable as a goddess". When Bella first sees her, she says that Esme reminds her of Snow White.In the books,Bella is always amazed by Esme's youthfulness and beauty.

Personality and traits


Esme is an extremely warm individual who is gifted with the ability to love passionately. She always has a maternal ache in her, which is why she is able to open her heart to her adoptive children and Bella. This was caused because her first and only child died when it was only a few days old. Esme is very family motivated. She loves Carlisle, her adoptive children, Bella and Renesmee dearly and is very protective of them.Esme is also described to be intelligent and spiritual like her husband, Carlisle.

Relationships
Esme is the mother figure of the Cullen family. Though she won't admit it out loud, Esme thinks of Edward as a son more than the other Cullen children because he was the first 'son' she had. Many people think that Esme has a bigger relationship with Jasper than the other Cullen 'kids' as she feels the need to comfort him when he remembers his past.

Charles Evenson
According to the Twilight Lexicon, in Esme's human life, she was married to Charles Evenson. Esme was indifferent to Charles but decided to marry him, to please her parents, in 1917. She soon regreted the decision as Charles became increasingly violent and abusive towards her. In 1920, Esme ran away from him after discovering she was pregnant with their first child.

Carlisle Cullen
Esme first met Carlisle, at the age of 16, after breaking her leg while playing in a tree. She was instantly taken with Carlisle, so after this meeting, no man was ever able to measure up to the standards set by the handsome doctor. Later, Carlisle would save Esme from her failed suicide attempt and make her part of his vampire family. The Carlisle-Esme relationship is one built on a strong spiritual and intellectual bond. Only aiding the relationship is the fact the pair are completely in love with one another. Obviously, Esme has never regreted becoming a vampire as she is able to spend eternity with the man/vampire of her dreams.

Film portrayal
It was announced on February 19, 2008 that Elizabeth Reaser would play Esme in the Twilight movie.

Etymology
Esme means "love or to be loved". This could refer to Esme's unparalleled ability to love those around her passionately.

Appearances

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