Bella Swan

"About three things I was absolutely positive. First, Edward was a vampire. Second, there was a part of him—and I didn't know how potent that part might be—that thirsted for my blood. And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him."

- Bella Swan

Isabella Marie "Bella" Swan (later Cullen), was born to Charlie Swan and Renée Dwyer on September 13, 1987, and is the main protagonist of the Twilight series. In Twilight, she is a 17-year-old girl who transfers schools from Phoenix, Arizona to Forks, Washington to live with her father, Charlie, where she meets and falls in love with a vampire, Edward Cullen. In Breaking Dawn, she marries Edward and becomes a full member of the Olympic Coven. She is transformed into a vampire by Edward after nearly dying giving birth to their daughter, Renesmee Cullen, a vampire/human hybrid. Bella is the daughter-in-law of Edward's father and Elizabeth Masen, as well as the adoptive daughter-in-law of Carlisle and Esme Cullen. She is the adoptive sister-in-law of Alice Cullen, Emmett Cullen, Rosalie Hale and Jasper Hale.

As a human, Bella possessed a natural immunity to the mental powers of vampires. After her transformation into a vampire, she develops it into the ability to project a mental shield she can use to protect others from the mental powers of other vampires. Kate and Zafrina were pivotal in her mastery of this skill.

Early life
Isabella (Bella) Marie Swan was born on September 13, 1987, to Renée and Charlie Swan, a young couple living in the small town of Forks, Washington. Her parents divorced when she was only six months old, and Renée took Bella with her to Downey, California, to live with her difficult grandmother, before moving to Riverside after her mother got her educational degree and landed a job. When Bella was six years old, they moved to Phoenix, Arizona. During most of her childhood, she would spend a month to visit her father in Forks every summer, and also spent time with Rachel, Rebecca and Jacob Black, the children of Charlie's best friend, Billy Black. The climate in Forks was unpleasant to Bella, though, and in 2002, it became Charlie who visited her in Phoenix instead.

Bella briefly took piano lessons, which she complained about until her mother let her discontinue them, and having a few pet fish. It is also known that she used to take ballet lessons in a studio near her house, and that she wasn't much good; she was always placed, to her relief, in the back at recitals. The ballet studio will later be the site of a fight between Bella, Edward, and James. Bella never quite fit in with her peers in California or Arizona. She had always had the feeling of being out of place with people - even her mother, the one person she was closest to due to their opposite personalities. At an early age, she took over most of the household responsibilities. When not being the adult, Bella preferred quiet pastimes like reading, in part because she was extraordinarily clumsy. Her naturally responsible nature carried over into her schoolwork, where Bella usually received A's. Her plan for the future was to get a degree in education and teach, like her mother. Renée's career was the one thing that Bella truly respected about her mother. However, she intended to teach at the high school level.

When she noticed that her mother felt lonely by the lack of romance in her life, Bella encouraged her to date more. Eventually, she fell in love and married a minor league baseball player named Phil Dwyer. While Phil traveled for his job, Renée stayed home with Bella, but she was unhappy. Bella noticed that and chose to move in with her father in Forks so Renée could go on the road with Phil during baseball season.

Twilight
"I've never given much thought to how I would die. But dying in the place of someone I love seemed like a good way to go."

- Bella's first quote in Twilight

At the start of the first book, Bella's mother had recently married Phil Dwyer, a minor league baseball player who is much younger than herself. Phil travels a lot due to his profession, and Bella notices how much her mother wants to follow him in his travels. So, to make it easier for them, Bella moves back to her birth town of Forks, Washington, to live with her father Charlie Swan. She enrolls at Forks High School in the middle of her Junior year. She does not notice the physical attraction she holds for the males at the school. She makes a few new friends, including Jessica Stanley, Angela Weber, and Mike Newton, the latter of whom she later discovers is very interested in her.

The one group of people at Forks High School that truly intrigues Bella are the Cullens, a mysterious family consisting of five adopted children. Edward Cullen, in particular, captures her attention. His adopted siblings being Alice, a petite girl with black, pixie-cut hair, who has the ability to see the future; Jasper, her husband, who has the hardest time in the family abstaining from human blood; Emmett, a broad, extremely muscular vampire, who is married to Rosalie, a beautiful, self-absorbed woman. Edward soon finds himself being overprotective to Bella because of her uncanny attraction to accidents.

When a car was about to hit Bella, Edward shoves her away and pushes away the car. She soon confronts him in the hospital after realizing that he was four cars away and it was impossible for him to get to her so fast, as well as being able to push away a heavy car. She is convinced afterwards that Edward wasn't just an ordinary human being.

As the story progresses, a family friend, Jacob Black, informs Bella that the Cullens are supposedly vampires. However, they are different from other vampires in that they are "vegetarians", meaning they live off animal blood instead of human. Edward and Bella get to know each other better, and it turns out that it is hard for Edward to be near her, since he is particularly drawn by the scent of her blood. He must constantly control his desire, and he also finds that his mind reading capabilities do not work on her.

In another event, Edward rescues her from a gang of men in Port Angeles. While driving home, Bella told him about her theories on what he really was.

Despite his desire for her blood, Edward and Bella fall passionately in love. Edward introduces her to his family, and soon after she is invited to watch their baseball game. During the 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. He tricks her into coming to her old ballet studio with the sound of her mother's voice, and the Cullen family must rush to Bella's aid. They destroy James before he can kill her, though the other vampires of his coven, Victoria and Laurent, run and survive. 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 will to become a vampire. The reasons behind his intentions are revealed in New Moon.

At the end of the novel, Edward takes Bella to their high school prom, despite her broken leg and angry protests. There are high levels of tension as he turns to action, caused by Edward and Bella's differences of opinion about turning Bella into a vampire. Bella is determined to be with Edward forever, but at the age of 17. Edward wants her to have a normal human life, in other words saying that he will love her at any condition, mortal or not. Eventually, they put the arguments aside for the time being, but Bella knows the conversation is not over.

New Moon
"These violent delights have violent ends." "And in their triumph die, like fire and powder." "Which, as they kiss, consume."

- Bella's quote of Romeo and Juliet in New Moon

The events of New Moon begin on Bella's 18th birthday. Bella is especially upset because it is the day that she becomes older, physically, than Edward, who will always be 17. It didn't help that she also had a nightmare, where she was with who she thought to be her Grandma Marie, but who turned out to be herself. Edward came to her side in the dream and was just as young and flawless as always. Edward persuades her to come to his house on the evening of her birthday for a party thrown by his sister, Alice. Bella receives a paper cut while opening one of her gifts, drawing a single drop of blood and causing Edward's brother, Jasper, to try to attack her. Edward, in the process of defending Bella from Jasper, throws her into a table filled with crystal, which results in Bella getting a deep cut from her wrist to her elbow. Although Bella's injuries are not life-threatening, Edward later decides that she would be safer without him, his family, and his dangerous lifestyle, so he deceives Bella into thinking that he does not love her any longer and leaves Forks with his family.

Bella sinks into 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 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 with perfect clarity. With this discovery in mind, Bella seeks out Jacob and convinces him to fix a motorcycle for her and teach her how to ride. Jacob and Bella become friends, when suddenly Jacob refuses to answer any of her calls and asks her not to come to his house anymore. It is not until two weeks later that Bella learns what has happened to her friend: he has become a werewolf and is avoiding Bella for her own safety. She also learns that Victoria has returned to kill her, out of revenge for Edward killing Victoria's mate, James, in Twilight. Bella and Jacob reconcile, and she assists his werewolf pack in hunting down Victoria.

To hear Edward's voice again, Bella attempts cliff-diving and nearly drowns. When Alice, 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 adopted sister, that Bella is dead. Alice finds Bella and tells her that Edward is going to Volterra to ask the Volturi to kill him, because he believes Bella to be dead. Bella and Alice quickly pursue Edward to Italy, and stop him from being killed. Afterwards they are brought to speak with the Volturi, where they make a promise to change Bella into a vampire so that they can be let free.

Back in Forks, Edward explains why he had to leave and begs her forgiveness. He confesses his true feelings and promises to never leave her again. She forgives him, and they continue their relationship as if Edward never left. When Edward once again refuses to transform Bella into a vampire, she decides to let his family decide whether she should be changed and thus join their family. All except Edward and Rosalie vote affirmatively for her to be changed. Although initially outraged by his family's decision, Edward later agrees to change her himself if she agrees to marry him first. Later, Jacob meets with Edward and Bella to remind Edward and his family of the treaty made between the Cullens and the La Push werewolves, which states that no Cullen may bite a human. Bella is thus left in a difficult position: if she does not become a vampire, the Volturi will come to kill her. However, if the Cullens do make her into a vampire, they will have broken their treaty with the La Push werewolves, which would start a war with the Cullens. To make her father ground her, he turns in her motorcycle.



Eclipse
"Some say the world will end in fire, some say in ice." "From what I've tasted of desire I hold with those who favor fire." "But if I had to perish twice, I think I know enough of hate to say it for destruction ice is also great and would suffice."

- Bella quoting Fire and Ice in Eclipse

Eclipse serves as a rite of passage for Bella's maturity as her days of humanity are coming to an end. She is forced to fully realize the outcomes and consequences of her decision, as well as her options and desires before becoming an immortal.

The story begins with Bella reading a letter from Jacob that says that they can't be friends anymore. She is upset about this, but her mood greatly improves when Edward comes to visit her. While she is still grounded by her father, Edward is allowed into the house until nine o'clock. He continuously tries to convince Bella to fill out more application forms for Dartmouth after getting accepted to the University of Alaska, but Bella thinks that college is pointless since she will become a vampire soon anyway. Edward then sees an article in the newspaper about a series of mysterious killings in Seattle and explains to Bella that these killings are most likely caused by a newborn; a recently turned vampire who is unable to control its thirst. Bella tries to make things right with Jacob, to which Edward strongly objects, stating that werewolves are unstable and that they could hurt her. Later on that day in school, Bella witnesses Alice having a vision: Victoria is coming back to Forks to hunt her. Edward denies what he saw and talks Bella into leaving town to visit her mom for the weekend, saying that it might be her last chance to see her before she graduates. When she returns, Jacob confronts Edward and Bella finds out that Victoria was back.

Ultimately, Edward must go hunting and leave Bella alone. For fear of Bella putting herself in danger, he bribes Alice with a yellow 911 Porsche Turbo 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 to see Jacob. While staying at the Cullens' house, Rosalie tries to convince her to stay human by telling her human background story. Edward returns early for the weekend. He is not upset that Bella ran away, and realizes that he has been overprotective. Bella thanks Edward, and he begins occasionally taking her to the La Push line for regular visits with Jacob. During one of the visits, Jacob admits that he is in love with Bella and forcefully kisses her. Bella is furious and punches him in the face, succeeding only in breaking her hand. Edward later threatens to break Jacob's jaw for Bella if he ever kisses her without her permission again.

She later finds out that the killings in Seattle is caused not just by newborns, but an entire army of them. Jasper presents his past and experience with newborns. They suspect that the army is directed toward them, but decide to play it by "ear".

Meanwhile, Bella still has her heart set on joining Edward and his family as a vampire. But, after little consideration, she decides that there is one thing she would like to do while still human: she wants to make love with Edward. Edward immediately refuses this demand, explaining that although he wants her as much as she wants him, he could easily kill her if he lost control. Bella insists that he would never allow himself to let that happen. Eventually, Edward agrees to try, but she must marry him first. Bella reluctantly agrees and becomes Edward's fiancée.

Moments before Bella's graduation, she realizes that the army of newborn vampires are under the control of Victoria and therefore will be coming after her. Having no other allies since the Denali coven refused to get involved in the fight, the Cullens and the La Push wolf pack join forces to battle Victoria and her army in order to protect Forks and Bella.

Before the battle, Jacob overhears Bella and Edward discussing their engagement and becomes very upset. He tells Bella that he will go in battle with the intentions of dying because she won't love him back. Bella asks him to kiss her so he will think she loves him back, but as she kisses him, she realizes that she does love Jacob after all. She feels terrible after doing so, but Edward isn't angry. Despite realizing her feelings for Jacob, Bella knows that those feelings could never compare to the intense love she has for Edward.

Soon after this, Victoria and Riley, another vampire, find their hiding spot. With Edward outnumbered, it at first looks like Victoria will be successful in killing Bella. But Seth, another shape-shifter, arrives to assist them. Seth kills Riley, and Edward beheads Victoria seconds later. After a brief confrontation with several Volturi soldiers, Bella goes to visit Jacob, who was wounded in the battle. She tells him that, while she does love him, she has chosen Edward. Jacob reluctantly agrees to stop trying to come between Edward and her, and assures her that he'll be there if she ever needs him. Later that night, Bella cries about having to reject Jacob, while Edward comforts her through the night. She vows that she'll never let Edward see her shed a tear for Jacob again.

Bella realizes that she needs to take responsibilities for the choices that she has made, to properly say goodbye to her friends and family and tie herself to Edward in every human way, and later allows Alice to plan the wedding, with few limitations and makes her maid-of-honor. Bella and Edward then go to their meadow, and they agree to tell Charlie about their engagement.

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner
Bella does not appear in this novella until the end, when Edward brings her into the battlefield after the battle was over. At first Bree believed that she was a vampire until her face was revealed. Although she was tempted by Bella's blood, Carlisle manages to talk her into composing herself. Bella observes the newborn's frantic, blood-craving expression and begins to realize what problems she may have to face after she becomes a vampire.

Before her appearance, Riley brought clothes with her scent to the newborns while telling them about the Cullens, saying that they are out to get them to reclaim the city of Seattle and that Bella is kept as their pet.

Breaking Dawn
"In truth, young Bella, immortality does become you most extraordinarily. It is as if you were designed for this life."

- Aro commenting Bella on being a vampire

In the first chapter of Breaking Dawn, it is revealed that Bella and Edward have told both of her parents about their engagement and both given their blessing, though Charlie is still slightly resistant to the thought of their marriage. Alice is busy making preparations for the wedding, which is only a few days away. Meanwhile, Edward has bought her a Mercedes Guardian (S600 Guard), which she sees as either a sign of compassion and caring or as over-protectiveness and worry about her safety. This car is for temporary use until she is changed into a vampire, when she will not need the protection, and then he will replace it with a red Ferrari. Meanwhile, Bella feels guilty about Jacob, believing that her rejection caused him to run away.

The wedding goes smoothly, and Bella meets the Denali Coven for the first time. Jacob arrives at the party despite her rejection of him, and Bella is so relieved that Jacob has decided to come after all. However he gets into an argument with Bella about her wanting to make love with Edward while she is still human (luckily, only the werewolves and the Cullens hear the argument). Edward and Bella leave for their honeymoon to Isle Esme, where they consummate their marriage. Edward is horrified when he sees that he bruised Bella while doing so. He vows not to make love with her again until she has been turned, but Bella succeeds in getting him to do so. Bella later notices that she is getting unusual illnesses and changes of appetite, but does not make anything of it. After seeing a bag of unused tampons, she realizes that she is pregnant with a half-human half-vampire offspring. Edward immediately takes her back to Forks where he and Carlisle can abort the baby, but Bella asks Rosalie to protect her as she has already learned to love the child.

Her baby develops at an extremely fast rate, and she becomes very sick. She becomes unable to adjust food, and is dying slowly. Edward asks Jacob to try to convince her to kill the baby that was killing her, but Bella refuses, because she loves it. Through Jacob's joking, Edward then suggests for Bella to drink donated human blood, and she quickly becomes stronger, but it also makes the baby so strong that it breaks her ribs by accident. Soon after, Edward realizes that he can hear the baby's thoughts now that it has developed enough of its brain, and starts to love the baby when he hears that it "absolutely adores Bella." Jacob remarks that Edward could never hate anyone who loved Bella, which is why Edward did not hate him. Also, after going against Sam's orders to kill Bella and her baby, Jacob forms his own pack (with Leah and Seth Clearwater) to protect her and the Cullens.

After having a typical Bella moment, which includes dropping a cup full of blood, the hardened placenta detaches, and Edward, Rosalie, and Jacob are forced to perform an emergency surgery since Carlisle is hunting with Esme. Bella's body is nearly destroyed in the process - with several ribs broken, she loses vast amounts of blood, and her spinal cord is snapped. Seeing the baby is a girl, Bella decides to name the baby "Renesmee" right before her heart stops beating. Edward then injects her heart with some of his own venom and bites her body in several places, turning Bella into a vampire. Jacob goes to kill Renesmee since he believes she killed Bella while she was giving birth, but imprints on her instead.

Bella wakes up two days later, now a vampire. She claims that she can notice how everything is different when she became a newborn. Her senses were improved by great lengths. She explains her new eyesight, laying her new eyes first on a light on the ceiling, claiming to see an "eighth" color emanating from it—UV light. Shortly after her creation, Edward takes her out on her first hunt. She jumps out of the window (as Edward notices, "that was graceful even for a vampire"), kicks off her shoes and runs barefoot through the forest. She proves to have incredible self control when she runs away from the scent of human blood (something newborns aren't supposed to be able to do). After she is full, they return to meet Renesmee. While everyone is worried of her thirst, she manages to retain complete control and hugs her daughter. Bella later finds out Jacob imprinted on Renesmee, which makes her very angry; she calms down quickly, but not before trying to kill Jacob after also finding out that he had nicknamed her daughter "Nessie", after the Loch Ness Monster. Later, Jacob, aware that the Cullens are planning to move away, phases into his wolf form in front of Charlie (he thought Charlie was the reason they were leaving). Charlie is shocked to discover Bella has known about the mythical world for years, and tells her to tell him only what is absolutely necessary for him to know. This allows Bella to keep her father in her new life without putting him in danger. Bella adjusts to her new life extremely well, going as far as to think she was destined to be a vampire.

Months later, Bella is hunting with Jacob and Renesmee in the forest when a vampire, Irina, sees her daughter and mistakes her for an immortal child, whose creation is a heinous crime of the vampire world. When Alice learns that the Volturi and their entire guard are coming to destroy the Cullens, she flees with Jasper on a secret mission and leaves clues for Bella to find Jason Jenks to forge passports and IDs for Renesmee and Jacob if they fail to stop the Volturi. The Cullens look for other vampires to be witnesses, including nomads and other covens, such as the Irish and the Amazon covens. In the meantime, Bella finds out that she possesses the power to shield herself from the mental abilities of vampires. Kate, a member of Denali Coven, tries to teach Bella to project her power, so she could protect others from the Volturi's powers. When the Volturi arrive at the end of December, the Cullens and their allies manage to convince them that Renesmee really is half-human, but Aro, dead-set on claiming the gifts of the Cullens and some of their friends, plots every possible justification to kill Renesmee. When Edward faces Aro alone, Bella's anger triggers her shield with absolute control, allowing her to shield everyone in her surrounding. Before the Volturi declare a war, Alice and Jasper arrive with vampires Kachiri and Huilen and half-vampire Nahuel, to prove that Renesmee's future is safe to the vampire world. The Volturi have no more plots to declare a war with the Cullens, and, with the help of the shape-shifters, Alice's research, and Bella's gift, retreat to Volterra, though Irina pays for her mistake with her life. After the confrontation Bella, Edward and Renesmee return to their cottage where Bella drops her shield and allows Edward to read her mind for the first time, showing him how much she really loves him. Edward, Bella, and Renesmee feel free to live their lives. The happily ever after begins here.

Physical appearance
Bella is described as having a very pale complexion with long, straight, dark brown hair, a widow's peak, unique chocolate brown eyes and a heart-shaped face with a wide forehead. Her eyes are large and widely spaced. Her nose is thin and her cheekbones are prominent. Her lips are a bit too full for her slim jawline. Her eyebrows are darker than her hair and are straighter than they are arched. As such, even before she became a vampire and inherited god-like beauty, Bella was rather pretty, as she unintentionally attracted the attention of several boys in school, not just her soul-mate, Edward.

As for distinguishing features, Bella has a small crescent-shaped scar on her hand where she was bitten by James, a tracker vampire, in Twilight. The scar is described as being pale, always a few degrees colder than the rest of her body, and it shines like a vampire's skin when exposed to the sunlight. After Bella is changed into a vampire by Edward Cullen, she becomes extremely beautiful with even paler skin, blood-red eyes and straight waist-length hair.

Personality
Bella is described as being exceptionally clumsy, dropping and tripping over everything in sight; however this changes once she is transformed into a vampire. Bella is described as reclusive, quiet, insecure but kind-hearted, compassionate and caring towards others. She is deeply in love with Edward Cullen. She also cares for the rest of the Cullen family, her father Charlie and mother Renée, and her friend Jacob Black. When it comes to fashion, Bella is somewhat of a tomboy. She hates dressing up, saying that makeup "is a pain" and that she feels uncomfortable in impractical, elegant clothes; however, Alice doesn't care what Bella thinks and continues to persuade her to dress up and look glamorous. She doesn't like spending money on luxurious items, stating in New Moon to Edward 'not to spend a dime on my birthday', and that fast cars are unnecessary, saying that Edward gave her himself and anything else he gives her would throw their relationship too off balance. She has a very private mind, which is thought to be why Edward is unable to hear her thoughts, and she is determined to become a vampire. She is also said to possess no acting skills. Ironically, she demonstrates good acting ability in Twilight when she makes her father believe that she has dumped Edward and is leaving Forks. Her favorite expression is "holy crow". She has a habit of biting her lip, which she shares with Kristen Stewart. Bella also gets faint at the sight or smell of blood, which she says smells like rust and salt, as demonstrated in Twilight. Bella is also shown in Breaking Dawn, to have a good mood climate, and is able to run away from the smell of human blood when she goes on her first hunting trip.

Bella has a sarcastic sense of humor, and is very understanding and caring. She's also been described as stubborn, and able to block painful thoughts and memories (hence her special vampire ability). She puts Edward before herself and everybody and everything else, but several 'selfish' tendencies emerge (as when Bella asked Edward to stay with her instead of fighting the vampires in Eclipse). Stephenie Meyer has stated that Bella's "tragic flaw" in Eclipse is her lack of self-knowledge. This is most obviously illustrated in her consistent denial of any romantic feelings for Jacob Black, despite the fact that she later realizes that she is, indeed, in love with him.

Bella is also a very bad liar. According to Eclipse, Jacob and Edward saying that she's a terrible liar, are evidence to this. Besides, she also admits this throughout the whole saga.

Bella, according to Edward in Midnight Sun, has no sense of fear when she finds out Edward is a vampire. Instead of running away, as she should have, she decides to ask lots of questions with extreme curiosity. This makes Edward believe that it is not bad luck that follows her around, but that she has no sense of self-preservation.

Powers and abilities
"I realized now that I'd long ago given up any aspirations of shining at anything. I just did the best with what I had, never quite fitting into my world. So this was really different. I was amazing now - both to them and to myself. It was like I had been born to be a vampire. The idea made me want to laugh, but it also made me want to sing. I had found my true place in the world, the place I fit, the place I shined."

- Bella on her new life

After becoming a vampire, Bella explains that she has a clearer view of the world, and was impressed with her new family and her husband Edward. As a newborn vampire, she demonstrates a very high level of self-control, being able to run away from the scent of human blood on her first hunting trip and later, restrain herself from attacking her father; this is unusual for newborn vampires, because they are new to their bodies and powers, and thus usually have a hard time controlling their urges and desires. This led her to believe that her self-control was her gift when it was really her mental preparation and maturity that produced her control. Eleazar corrects this when he discovers her true gift. Bella appears to be talented at being a vampire, as she learns to control her new abilities and urges very quickly, even saying that she felt like she was born to be one, and is very graceful in her new state. Several people, including Aro, Felix, and Edward, have also commented that immortality fits her perfectly.

In Breaking Dawn, Bella can detect minor changes in Renesmee's physical appearance, such as her hair growing a couple of millimeters.

Mental Shield
"In truth, categorizing talents is a subjective, haphazard business; every talent is unique, never exactly the same thing twice. But you, Bella, are fairly easy to classify. Talents that are purely defensive, that protect some aspect of the bearer, are always called shields."

- Eleazar explaining Bella's power

Bella's special gift is to shield her and those around her from supernatural powers that affect the mind (such as Edward's and Aro's telepathy, Jane's illusionary pain, Alec's sensory paralysis, Eleazar's ability identification, Kate's electric shock, and Zafrina's illusion), which explains why most of their powers were useless against her when she was still human. In the first three novels, it has been speculated greatly of what her gift might be after she was changed. This power comes from her subconscious desire to protect her mind above everything else, and as long as she holds on to that desire, it makes the shield more difficult to extract. In Breaking Dawn, Bella uses her shielding power as a giant dome to protect her family and friends when the Volturi attempt to make a move on them, when she was enraged by Edward facing danger alone and she is forced to stay behind (with an antagonistic smile emitted from Jane to push her anger further). As long as she is free of her desire to protect herself, she is able to shape her shield in any way she wants, whether to create a giant protective bubble or make wrap it around her targets like plastic bags. When she shields others, her mind will form an extra shield to protect herself. Those she shields will also become a part of her, allowing her to feel them in range without having to look. Bella can also remove her shield completely and let vampires' mental powers work on her if she so chooses, though it is more difficult than pushing it out.

Though her shield is powerful, it has great limitations: it has no effect against a physical attack, which makes it easy for an enemy to invade her intangible shield and use his power on those she protects. Additionally, it has no effect on Alice's power of premonition, Jasper's power to affect her mood, Benjamin's power to control the elements, Charles' power to read truth, and Marcus' power to feel relationships, since her shield can only block powers connected to the mind. The only person who is truly immune to her shield is Renesmee, as she picked up her ability and twisted it to penetrating shields.

Aro, the leader of the Volturi who "collects" vampires with useful talents, was so intrigued that Bella could block out mental powers (even as a human) that he twice offered her a place among his guard. She refused both times. Because of her shield, Bella is considered one of the most powerful vampires alive.

Relationships
Bella is the wife of Edward Cullen and the mother of Renesmee Cullen, as well as the daughter of Charlie Swan and Renée Dwyer and the stepdaughter of Phil Dwyer and the daughter-in-law of Edward and Elizabeth Masen. She is the adoptive daughter-in-law of Carlisle and Esme Cullen and the adoptive sister-in-law of Alice and Emmett Cullen, and Rosalie and Jasper Hale. She is also the granddaughter of Geoffrey and Helen Swan, as well as Marie Higgenbotham.



Edward Cullen
"About three things I was absolutely positive. First, Edward was a vampire. Second, there was a part of him - and I didn't know how potent that part might be - that thirsted for my blood. And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him."

- Bella on Edward Cullen

Edward Cullen is Bella Swan's soul-mate and husband (later on in the novels). He is a vampire, who has renounced from drinking the blood of humans and has chosen to survive on animal blood like the rest of the Cullen family. When Edward and Bella first realize their strong feelings for each other, Bella loves him unconditionally, believing Edward to be absolutely perfect, and does not believe or consider herself as being worthy of his love. Edward first became fascinated with her due to his inability to read her mind. She often describes him as "God-like" in physical appearance, comparing him to the Greek hero Adonis, and hopes that by becoming a vampire, she will become beautiful and graceful like him and the rest of his family, the Cullens. Edward disapproves of this greatly and always tries to reassures her that she is more than worthy of his love, and that she has his heart forever. Bella sometimes thinks of Edward as an angel. Edward proposes to Bella in New Moon and she eventually accepts in Eclipse, looking down on the prospect of marriage but not entirely opposed to it. As part of a deal with Edward, she promises to marry him if he promises to make love with her and then change her into a vampire. She sees this as the only part of the marriage to look forward to.

In Breaking Dawn, Bella overcomes her fear of marriage and happily marries Edward, becoming "Bella Cullen". During their honeymoon on a private island, Isle Esme, Edward and Bella consummate their marriage and conceive a vampire-human hybrid child. During the birth, complications occur and Edward, after delivering their baby via caesarean section, injects Bella with his venom by biting her, thereby transforming her into a vampire, to help save her life.

After Bella's transformation, she and Edward become equals on all levels and can experience a vastly easier life together, though they find it very hard to satisfy their sexual desire for each other. At the end of Breaking Dawn, Bella learns to remove her mental shield to allow Edward read her thoughts for the first time, which brings them even closer together. At the series' end, Edward and Bella live happily together, presumably forever, as husband and wife with their daughter, Renesmee.

Renesmee Cullen
"The sound of her cry, the familiarity of her eyes, the way she seemed even more impatient than I did for this reunion - all of it wove together into the most natural of patterns as she clutched the air between us. Suddenly, she was absolutely real, and of course I knew her. It was perfectly ordinary that I should take that very last step and reach for her, putting my hands exactly where they would fit best as I pulled her gently toward me."

- Bella describing her reunion with Renesmee

Renesmee Cullen is Bella and Edward's biological daughter, conceived on Isle Esme in Breaking Dawn.

According to myths and legends on the south, the mothers of this particular kind of children had never survived the pregnancy. Knowing this, Edward tries to convince Bella to save her life by having an abortion, but Bella refuses, as she has come to love the child. To protect the baby, she has Rosalie be her guardian, and Emmett and Esme side with her. Edward's hatred ceases when he hears the child's thoughts to find that she already loves her parents, and that she has been hurting her mother by accident, and tries hard not to hurt her again. Bella originally believed that she was carrying a boy and named her "E.J." (Edward Jacob), but saved up the name "Renesmee" in case it's a girl, which proves to be true. After a painful childbirth and transformation, Bella is taken to hunt before she can meet her daughter, because she has blood of her own and Bella cannot guarantee not to hurt her. After she was done, she finally reunites with her daughter without hurting her in any way. She later learns that Jacob has imprinted on Renesmee, which angers her. She later accepts it when she learns Jacob's imprinting is involuntary, and that Renesmee loves Jacob as well, though she finds this annoying. She tries to attack Jacob when she finds out that he has nicknamed her "Nessie", which is nicknamed after the Loch Ness Monster. Though everyone else in her family has grown used to the nickname, she continues refers to her by her real name. She ultimately gives in after three months.

Renesmee, having inherited her power from Bella and flipped its usage, can implant images and thoughts in her mind without being blocked by her shield.

Before the arrival and judgment of the Volturi, Bella gives Renesmee a golden locket (inscribed with the words "plus que ma propre vie" which means "more than my own life" in French). Bella puts her love for her daughter on an equal level as her love to Edward.



Jacob Black
"Why wasn't I stopping this? Worse than that, why couldn't I find in myself even the desire to want to stop? What did it mean that I didn't want him to stop? That my hands clung to his shoulders, and liked that they were wide and strong? That his hands pulled me too tight against his body, and yet it was not tight enough for me? The questions were stupid, because I knew the answer: I'd been lying to myself. Jacob was right. He'd been right all along. He was more than just my friend. That's why it was so impossible to tell him goodbye - because I was in love with him. Too."

- Bella's thoughts while kissing Jacob

Jacob Black, a Quileute and the son of Charlie Swan's friend, Billy Black, is Bella's best friend since she came to live in Forks. He falls in love with Bella after some time and spends a lot of time with her during the period of Edward's absence. While Edward was away, Bella found that Jacob's presence soothed the "hole" in her chest that resulted from Edward leaving her. Being around Jacob brought a measure of happiness back to Bella's life, though he was unable to replace Edward. Bella felt that Jacob was a good friend, and that he was her own "personal little sun" which would beam happiness in every direction wherever he went. When Jacob underwent his transformation into a werewolf, it put a distance in their friendship.

In Eclipse, Jacob acts upon his romantic feelings for Bella, and tries to convince her to leave Edward for him. Jacob thinks that, since he is more human than Edward, he will be safer for Bella to have a relationship with. Edward sees this, but is still willing to fight for her. Jacob forcefully kisses Bella, resulting in her punching him, breaking her hand and almost ending their friendship. Sometime later, Jacob overhears that Bella and Edward are engaged and makes Bella kiss him, saying that if she doesn't he will get himself killed. She does so, and realizes that she is in love with Jacob. But Bella soon realizes that her love for Jacob is not as strong as her love for Edward. She later tells Jacob that she has chosen Edward over him, breaking his heart.

A devastated Jacob remains at odds with Edward and Bella after this. Eventually, Jacob imprints on Edward and Bella's daughter, Renesmee, ridding him of his heartache for Bella. Bella and Edward were furious and, after hearing that he nicknamed her Nessie, after the Loch Ness Monster, Bella lost control of her anger and tried to kill Jacob. But she soon regained self-control, and Bella, Edward, and Jacob made peace. She comes to accept Jacob's imprinting on Renesmee during the Volturi crisis, and they remain best friends. In addition, Jacob continues to think of her as just Bella rather than a vampire with a powerful gift.



Renée Dwyer
"Mom... I miss you."

- Bella to Renée

Renée Dwyer is Bella's mother. Bella is very close to her mother, though she sometimes feels like she is the mother and Renée is the child. Her mother has always put her relationships with men first, although has been very clear that she wants Bella to remain independent. Bella was born in Forks but raised in Phoenix with her mother, as Renée left Charlie soon after Bella was born.

When Bella first moved back to Forks, Renée is the main reason, as she renders her unhappy every time her new husband, Phil Dwyer, is away due to his job. She then decides to move back to Forks so that her mother wouldn't have to stay home with her.

She visits her mother in Eclipse after Edward talks her into using the plane tickets she'd got from his parents, and finds herself in torment as her time as a human is shortening by the day. Despite being childish and naive, Renée loves her very much and wishes her to be happy.

She supports her daughter's choice to marry young wholeheartedly when she first tells her about the engagement, despite her great dislike of young marriage, and attends her daughter's wedding. After Bella was changed into a vampire and has a daughter with Edward, she decides to keep these facts hidden from Renée to protect her, as these facts are not easy to for the fainthearted to accept. Also, she combines her name with Esme's, naming her newborn granddaughter "Renesmee", in honor of her mother and mother-in-law.



Charlie Swan
"See you tomorrow, Bella. I mean, it's not like you don't look... good. I'll get used to it."

- Charlie on Bella's change

Charlie Swan is Bella's father. Bella's relationship with her father is also very odd. After Renée took her away to Phoenix, the only times Bella would see Charlie was in the summer. Even at a young age it became clear that Bella hated Forks, and when she visited Charlie would take her fishing, which Bella also hated. Bella moved to Forks to live with her father in Twilight to give her mother space with her new husband, Phil. She finds it much easier to live with her father, since he respects her privacy. Her father is very protective and therefore very suspicious of Edward Cullen, for having caused great emotional pain to his daughter. Among other "Bella moments" he has shown great concern for her when she has been in the hospital for her broken leg, in Twilight, and a check-up.

After Bella became a vampire and mothered a half-vampire half-human child, Jacob told Charlie about the mystical world to keep the Cullens in Forks. Though Charlie was shocked by the sudden information, he adjusts it very quickly and demands to be told as little as possible about the supernatural in order to keep Bella and her in-law family in Forks. Renesmee's middle-name of "Carlie" is derived from a combination of Carlisle and Charlie to honor them.

It seems likely that Bella inherited her personality and power from Charlie, who has a similar, though less powerful, mental defense.



Carlisle Cullen
"Bella is already a daughter to me. A beloved daughter."

- Carlisle about Bella

Carlisle Cullen is Bella's adoptive father-in-law. Like Esme, he was worried for Edward's sake about lacking happiness, therefore he is very grateful to Bella when she brought him to life. From then on, he thinks of her as part of the family and welcomes her with his heart. In New Moon, he tells Bella of Edward's last moments as a human, and later agrees to let Bella join their family as a vampire in order to protect Edward from committing suicide.

When she became pregnant with Renesmee, Carlisle and Edward wanted to abort the child for her health, but Esme, Emmett and Rosalie siding with Bella compels him to think otherwise.

In the movie of New Moon, Bella comforts him that he cannot be damned to be a vampire. Renesmee's middle name of "Carlie" is derived from a combination of Carlisle and Charlie to honor them.



Esme Cullen
"Edward was the first of my new sons. I've always thought of him that way, even though he's older than I, in one way at least. That's why I'm so happy that he's found you, dear."

- Esme to Bella

Esme Cullen is Bella's adoptive mother-in-law. Esme loved Edward so much that she wished for him to find happiness that he was lacking. When he fell in love with Bella, Esme discovered the change in him and was grateful to her for it. Despite her family's partial protests, she wholeheartedly embraces Bella as one of them.

She agrees to let Bella become one them during a family assembly in New Moon.

Bella combines her name with her mother's to name her daughter "Renesmee" in honor of her mother and Esme.



Alice Cullen
"I love you like you were my own sister." "To me, Alice, you are my sister."

- Alice and Bella on each other.

Alice Cullen is Bella's adoptive sister-in-law. Aside from Edward and Renesmee, she is the closest to her in the Cullen family. Alice has been eager to become her friend after she saw their united future, she eventually gets her wish after Bella became romantically involved with Edward. Alice likes to dress her up and provide any kind of fashion to make her look pretty, although Bella dislikes the idea of fashion.

Bella allows Alice to arrange her wedding after her endless pleading and made her maid of honor, although she retains veto-power on the guest list.

When the Volturi prepare to end their family, Alice runs away with Jasper but leaves clues for Bella to find a lawyer named Jason Jenks to help her arrange legal paperwork for Renesmee to escape. Alice and Jasper return with a half-vampire, half-human hybrid named Nahuel. They arrive just on time to prevent the confrontation from turning into an ugly fight and save their family from slaughter. That same night, Bella angrily confronts her for leaving her cryptic clues that caused her endless mental pain.



Rosalie Hale
"You have a choice. I didn't. None of us did, but you do and you're choosing wrong."

- Rosalie to Bella's decision

Rosalie Hale is Bella's adoptive sister-in-law. Rosalie initially disliked her for the attention she was receiving from Edward, and later for wanting to become a vampire; something she would never have considered if she'd had a choice. Her dislike of Bella began to fade a little bit after she risked her life to save Edward from committing suicide, but she still wanted her to remain human.

Rosalie tells her life story to Bella in Eclipse, hoping to make her consider her options before making her decision. Although she still chose immortality over mortality, Rosalie volunteered to help do Bella's hair on her wedding day.

When Bella was pregnant with Renesmee, she asked Rosalie to be her guardian, knowing that she would side with her. During pregnancy, Rosalie cared for and protected Bella, though she mostly focused on the baby. After Bella gave birth to Renesmee, they shared genuine love for the baby and became close sisters at last.



Emmett Cullen
"Bad-ass. You'll be one tough little newborn."

- Emmett on Bella

Emmett Cullen is Bella's adoptive brother-in-law. Bella found him intimidating but fine to be with, describing him as the kind of big brother she'd wanted but much more horrifying.

When Edward saved Bella from a car accident, Emmett was upset that he had exposed their family secret, but quickly warmed up to her involvement after finding out that Edward had fallen in love with her. He likes to make Bella blush.

He votes in her favor of becoming one of them in New Moon, despite Edward's suggestion of hiding Bella and fighting the Volturi in the process.

After she became a vampire, she challenged Emmett to an arm-wrestling match and won the right to prohibit him from joking about her sex life with Edward. He demanded several rematches, only to fail. When he is put in charge with training Bella to fight, she quotes that he's using the opportunity as a vendetta.



Jasper Hale
"She's one of us now."

- Jasper on Bella

Jasper Hale is Bella's adoptive brother-in-law. Jasper wanted to kill Bella after Edward used his strength and speed to save her, but Jasper waited until the Cullens had a talk about it, and in the talk Alice says that Bella is going to be her friend, and convinced Jasper to let her be. Jasper initially disliked Bella for her involvement with the family, but later warms up to her, though he keeps in distance to avoid losing control of his bloodlust, which happens in New Moon, when Bella cuts her finger. He tries to attack her, but Edward and Emmett are able to stop him.

He votes in her favor to become one of them, partly because he wants to stop the constant urge to kill her, but also because he already thinks of her as part of their family, like the others. On occasion, Jasper would use his power to calm Bella.

They become closer to each other after Bella became a vampire. He initially expected her to act like any newborn vampire; vicious and uncontrollable by thirst, and was always near her side to immobilize her; however, to his surprise, she is very in control of her new instincts. This allows him to re-evaluate his view on newborns.



Angela Weber
Angela Weber, kind and shy yet insightful, is among the human friends Bella made after moving to Forks. Although she is a minor character in the books, she becomes Bella's best human friend, comforting Bella during her depression in New Moon and attending Bella's wedding in Breaking Dawn. Her kindness towards Bella also appeals to Edward. Bella always finds Angela better to be around than Jessica, though she would avoid her sometimes to save her worries.

In Breaking Dawn, Angela is the one who catches Bella's wedding bouquet at her reception. Also, Angela appears in a nightmare Bella had in Breaking Dawn as one of the victims of an immortal child who kills Bella's mother, father, Mike Newton, Ben Cheney, and Jessica Stanley.



Mike Newton
"You and Cullen, huh? You and the freak. I guess, if a rich guy is that important to you... I gritted my teeth at his degrading assumption. That’s none of your business, Mike. Defensive. So it’s true. Crap. I don’t like it. "You don’t have to, she snapped." Why can’t she see what a circus sideshow he is? Like they all are. The way he stares at her. It gives me chills to watch. "He looks at you like… like you’re something to eat."

- Edward reading Mike Newton's thoughts in Midnight Sun

Mike Newton is a generically popular boy at Bella's new high school who is instantly attracted to Bella. He is friendly and Bella thinks he possesses traits like a golden retriever: his happiness and loyalty in walking her to class and speaking with her every day. Mike frequently tries to ask Bella out, but she always declines. He becomes jealous when he realizes that Bella and Edward Cullen are dating.

In New Moon, after a movie date with Bella, Jacob and Mike, Mike has seemingly given up on Bella, and tells her that "girls are cruel". Mike develops a new romantic relationship with Jessica Stanley when he accepts that Edward is Bella's boyfriend. In New Moon, Bella tries to rekindle their friendship after four months of "being a zombie" after the Cullens left Forks. Mike becomes her friend again, although not with the same enthusiasm and also never forgets his fondness of Bella.

Mike apparently never got over his infatuation for Bella. At Edward and Bella's wedding reception, Edward commented that Mike was having improper thoughts about her again.



Tyler Crowley
"I'm so sorry, Bella."

- Tyler apologizing to Bella after almost crushing her

Tyler is Bella's schoolmate in Forks.

After nearly killing Bella in a car accident, Tyler feels obliged to make things even. After Bella declines, insisting that she must be in Seattle that day, he insists on taking her to prom. He tells the whole school and convinces most of the students that he is taking Bella to prom, much to her annoyance. He shows up at Bella's house on prom night, only to be told over the phone by Edward that she would be unavailable every night as far as anyone but himself was concerned.

They drifted apart after Twilight.



Eric Yorkie
Eric, like Mike Newton, immediately took an interest in Bella when she arrived in Forks. Bella described him as being the "overtly eager" chess club type, and he was one of the three boys (Mike, Tyler and himself) who asked Bella to the spring dance, though she declined all three. He develops a rivalry with Mike Newton, and later a dislike for Tyler as well. His friendship sways and mostly falls after Bella goes through a depression in the absence of Edward and the rest of the Cullen family. He later develops a romantic relationship with a redheaded junior by the name of Katie Marshall, who lives next door to Bella, as stated in New Moon.

In the movies, he begins a relationship with Angela Weber after she asked him to be her prom date.



Jessica Stanley
Jessica has an on and off friendship with Bella, particularly since Edward and Bella started dating. She was 'practically' the first person Bella had a full conversation with in school as well as being her first friend, although Bella initially disregarded her as "superficial". In New Moon, Bella hangs out with Jessica to avoid her father, but ends up angering her by putting herself in danger and ignoring Jessica. Jessica later ignores Bella and starts hanging out with Lauren. She tends to get overtly excited, such as on graduation day, where she states that they were friends right away, even though at one point she ignored Bella for most of the semester. This allowed the two of them to end their relationship on friendly terms. She was later invited as a guest at Bella and Edward's wedding. Jessica has an on-and off-relationship with Mike, though is seemingly jealous of Mike's affection towards Bella.

Bella and Jessica have a closer friendship in the movie adaptations than the books.

Jason Jenks
J. Jenks is a lawyer who forges papers for people. Jasper has been working with him for over twenty years. He knows nothing of vampires, but he is well aware that Jasper and the rest of the Cullens never age and that he is dealing with the supernatural whenever they are involved.

In Breaking Dawn, Alice sends Bella to Jenks to forge documents for Renesmee and Jacob to escape the Volturi's slaughter. After that, Bella decides to take over Jenks's business relationship with Jasper to spare him a heart attack.

Criticism
Bella has received negative reception from critics.

Publishers Weekly states that, after her transformation into a vampire, "it's almost impossible to identify with her" in Breaking Dawn.

Lilah Lohr of the Chicago Tribune compares Bella's character to the story of the Quileute wolves and describes it as "less satisfying."

During Twilight, Kirkus Reviews stated that "Bella's appeal is based on magic rather than character", but that her and Edward's "portrayal of dangerous lovers hits the spot." In the review of New Moon, Kirkus Reviews said that Bella's personality was "flat and obsessive."

Laura Miller of salon.com said, in regards to Edward and Bella, "neither of them has much personality to speak of."

Entertainment Weekly's Jennifer Reese, in her review of Breaking Dawn noted, in regard to Bella, "You may wish she had loftier goals and a mind of her own, but these are fairy tales, and as a steadfast lover in the Disney princess mold, Bella has a certain saccharine appeal", and that during Bella's pregnancy "she is not only hard to identify with but positively horrifying, especially while guzzling human blood to nourish the infant."

Washington Post journalist Elizabeth Hand noted how Bella was often described as breakable and that "Edward's habit of constantly pulling her onto his lap or having her ride on his back further emphasize her childlike qualities", continuing to write that "the overall effect is a weird infantilization that has repellent overtones to an adult reader and hardly seems like an admirable model to foist upon our daughters (or sons)."

Gina Dalfonzo, in an article posted on the National Review website, calls Bella "self-deprecating" before her transformation into a vampire, and afterwards she is "insufferably vain." Dalfonzo also states that Bella gets what she wants and discovers her worth "by giving up her identity and throwing away nearly everything in life that matters."

Etymology
Bella is a short form of Isabella. The word Bella means "beautiful" in Italian, while Isabella means "my God is a vow." Stephenie Meyer said on her website that Isabella is the name she had planned to name her daughter, if she had one.

Film portrayal
On November 16, 2007 it was announced that Kristen Stewart was to play the role of Bella in the Twilight film. Meyer stated that she was "very excited" to see Stewart play the part. She reprised her role in both New Moon and Eclipse, and will be returning in Breaking Dawn. Since she has green eyes, brown contacts were required to match Bella's eye color.

The young Bella in Twilight was played by Catherine Grimme.

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