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 Esme Anne Evenson), is a vampire and the matriarch of the Olympic Coven. She is the wife of Carlisle Cullen and the adoptive mother of Alice, Emmett and Edward Cullen, as well as the adoptive mother of Rosalie and Jasper Hale. Esme is the adoptive mother-in-law of Bella Cullen and the adoptive grandmother of Renesmee Cullen, as well as the ex-wife of Charles Evenson (In her human life).

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 unparalleled 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.

Biography


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. Charles abused her behind the bedroom doors, but Esme kept quiet. She wanted to be a good wife, despite Charles' abuse. Her parents coached her to keep face, and much to her relief, her husband got drafted during World War I.

Esme was happy while Charles was gone. Charles came back from the war and abused her greatly in 1920. Esme struggled to break free from him. She ran away from him when he wasn't looking, a couple of days later Esme realized that she had become pregnant with Charles' child. 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. When Esme first woke up as a vampire, Carlisle told Esme all about the vampire world. Esme joined the Cullens' coven in 1921, and later married Carlisle. 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 as she was changed not long after giving birth to her son. She is described to be extremely beautiful, like the other vampires. Esme is described by Jacob to have dimples on her face. 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". 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, including Bella and her granddaughter Renesmee dearly, and is very protective of them. Esme even shows affection to jacob black's pack when they stay with the cullens. She is also described to be intelligent like her husband, Carlisle.

Abilities
Shortly after becoming a vampire, Esme develops some basic vampiric abilities such as enhanced speed, strength, senses, and reflexes. However, she doesn't develop any prominent special vampiric abilities. Her transformation only enhances her passion. Later she develops an unparalleled ability to love those around her passionately.

Family
She is the mother figure of the Cullen family. Esme is the wife of Carlisle Cullen and the ex-wife of Charles Evenson, as well as the adoptive grandmother of Renesmee Cullen, Edward and Bella's daughter. She is the adoptive mother of Alice, Emmett and Edward Cullen, as well as Rosalie and Jasper Hale and the adoptive mother-in-law of Bella Cullen. She cares deeply for her "children" since she had lost her son before she became a vampire. Though she won't admit it aloud, Esme favors Edward since he was the first "son" she had.

Charles Evenson
In Esme's human life, she was married to Charles Evenson. She was the last of her friends to get married and her parents practically set her up to marry Charles because he was a friend of the family and had good prospects. Esme was indifferent to Charles but decided to marry him, to please her parents, in 1917. She soon regretted the decision as Charles became increasingly violent and abusive towards her. He was drafted to war and she was relieved to have him out of the house but he was terrifying when he was back home. In 1920, Esme ran away from him after discovering she was pregnant with their first child. It was after their son's death from a lung infection shortly after birth that she jumped from a cliff in the hopes of killing herself. Her child was the only thing she saw worth living for and he was gone.

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. Ten years later, it was a total coincidence that she'd moved near the town Carlisle Cullen worked in. She had gone there to hide from her abusive husband and in the hopes of starting a new life with the baby she carried. Carlisle would save Esme from her failed suicide attempt and make her part of his vampire family after she was brought in to the morgue, thought dead from the fall, but her heart was still beating. He remembered her as the girl from ten years before. Feeling the need to alleviate her suffering, he transformed Esme into a vampire, and they eventually married. 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.

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

Film portrayal
It was announced on February 19, 2008 that Elizabeth Reaser would play Esme in the Twilight movie. She reprised her role in New Moon. Elizabeth will reprise her role in Eclipse.

Appearances

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