Edward Cullen (fictional)
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Edward Anthony Masen Cullen is a fictional character in the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer. He is featured in the books Twilight and New Moon, and will be featured in the upcoming Eclipse, to be released in August 2007.
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[edit] Personal history
Edward was changed into a vampire by Carlisle as an indirect favor to his dying mother. Ten years after the change, he rebelled against Carlisle's practice of draining the blood of animals rather than of humans and parted ways with him, pursuing murderers and vagabonds as a way of justifying their deaths to himself. He returned to Carlisle and Esme a few years later and has not strayed since.
On Bella's very first day at Forks High School, Edward notices that he is unable to read her mind. Later, in Biology, he is overwhelmed by her scent - to the point of contemplating killing everyone in the classroom so there would be no witnesses. Resentful and angry that Bella could make him lose the control he'd built for years so easily, Edward is standoffish and even hostile to her. He is the first out of class and immediately tries to transfer out of that particular Biology block. However, he runs into Bella again in the front office and that same desire overcomes him. To avoid doing something he would later regret, he runs away to Alaska.
Eventually, Edwards finds himself unable to stay away from Bella and returns to school, where they carry on as acquaintances until Bella is nearly hit by Tyler Crowley's car. At risk of revealing himself, he saves her using his supernatural speed and strength, but in the process makes her suspicious and his family displeased. Bella soon discovers that Edward is a vampire and by then it is too late for either of them to stay away from each other. When Bella is interrogated by Jessica about her relationship with him, Edward allows her to let Jessica believe they are dating.
Being with Bella is a constant risk for Edward because he must war with his desire for her blood and the fact that he could very easily kill her, whether or not he meant to. He constantly warns Bella against staying with him, but she ignores him every time. At the end of Twilight, he saves her from a hunter named James and then takes her to prom.
In New Moon, Bella gets a papercut and is almost attacked by Edward's brother, Jasper. This scares Edward into moving out of Forks with his family to keep her safe. He wanders around for quite some time until Rosalie tells him that Bella is dead and, unwilling to live without her, Edward rushes to Italy and to the Volturi (the 'royal family' of vampires) in order to have them kill him. When they refuse, Edward decides to commit suicide by forcing their hand - anyone who reveals themselves as a vampire on Volturi lands will immediately be executed - and stepping out into the sun.
He is stopped by Bella, who, along with Alice, rushed to Italy as soon as she found out what he was doing. But they aren't safe for the time being, as he still has the Volturi to answer to. When they find out that not only does Bella know about them but they cannot use their powers on her for reasons that are yet to be explained, they tell Edward that he must change Bella into a vampire or they will kill her. Back in Forks, Edward says that he will change Bella if she promises to marry him. Later, Jacob reminded Edward of the treaty made between the Cullens and the La Push werewolves, which stated that no Cullen would bite a human. Bite, not kill.
[edit] Appearance
Edward is described as being shockingly handsome and having very pale skin, both of which are signs of being a vampire. He also has bruise-like bags/dark circles under his eyes from lack of sleep, which become less prominent when he has fed and eyes that change color - topaz when he has hunted, and black when he hasn't. His hair is bronze and tousled. His skin also dazzles like diamonds when he is in the sun. When Edward was human, he had emerald green eyes. His mother, Elizabeth, had bronze hair and green eyes, as well.
[edit] Vampire
Because he is a vampire, Edward can travel at high speeds, has incredible strength, and can also read the minds of those around him (his own special skill), except for Bella's. Edward likes to drive at over 100mph and has never gotten into an accident or gotten a ticket due to this "built-in radar". He becomes statue-like whenever he doesn't move, is unable to sleep and therefore to dream, and can follow people by their scents. This is called tracking. Edward is supposedly built very well, with skin and muscles like stone; although from far away he looks slighter than when he does closer. Edward is 6"2'. He never wears black because of his unnaturally bone-white skin--the black brings out the paleness of his skin, therefore, making him look even more unhuman-like. Although Edward and the rest of the Cullens can run at over 100 mph, an air plane is still faster than them.
[edit] Romantic relationships
[edit] Isabella Swan
Edward's first girlfriend and his only one. Edward fell for Bella against his own misgivings and constantly struggles to keep her safe; a 24/7 job because even without Edward's vampiric nature to endanger her, Bella is clumsy enough to attract all sorts of trouble. Edward loves Bella deeply and would do anything for her, even going so far as to try to commit suicide after hearing about her 'death' as he refused to live without her. He is resistant to change her into a vampire, not wishing to damn her into the same life as he. In New Moon, Edward promises to change Bella if she promises to marry him. But, Bella refuses his proposal, fearing that he will back down on his promise, of which there is a great chance. She doesn't want to be with him if he is going to stay young forever and she is going to get old and withered and also for the sake of her mother who has strong views against young marraige based on her own heart-breaking experience with Bella's father. Edward warned Bella that if she died, he would soon follow after (meaning that he wouldn't be able to survive without her, and would kill himself). Edward and Bella love each other for every one of their characteristics down to their smell, eye colour and even skin temperature. Some of the reason that Edward doesn't want to change Bella is because of some of her wonderful human qualities, especially her floral smell. In Volterra, the Volturi calls Bella Edward's "la tua cantante", which translated to "singer", meaning the smell of her blood is so appealing to him that it "sings" to him. Bella held a vote in the Cullen house to see who wanted her to be changed to a vampire and join their family. The majority voted in favour of this idea. Carlisle (the "father") agreed to turn Bella into a vampire after she graduated from high school, which is only a few months away. Edward, still intent on keeping Bella a human, is absolutely livid about this plan but tried to deal with it. He then came to a conclusion at the end of New Moon; Carlisle could change Bella, or he could (which Bella would prefer but doesn't believe will happen)...on one condition - that she marry him first. However, Bella says marrying Edward is like the kiss of death to her parents.
[edit] Rosalie Hale
Rosalie was originally intended to be Edward's mate (before Bella came along), but the two have never had more than sibling-like feelings for each other. It became clear they were not interested in a romantic relationship when Rosalie came across another human that she openly begged for Carlisle to turn into a vampire for her. Carlisle did so, and Rosalie became Emmett's (the human-turned-vampire) mate. As it turns out, Emmett and Rosalie are perfect for each other.
[edit] Jessica Stanley
Upon inquiry, Jessica mentioned with obvious scorn that "none of the girls here (in Forks) are good looking enough for him as she was refering to Edward Cullen. This leads Bella to casually believe that Edward had turned her down before. In the preview for "Midnight Sun" its been confirmed that Jessica had once had a crush on Edward, actually more of an infatutaion which she would accidentally bother Edward with ridiculous daydreams concerning him and her; it's Jessica's secret hostility towards Bella for her glances towards Edward (as well as many other boys) that first awakens Edward's human feelings of protection.
[edit] Others
Edward has had many other admirers from the high school he goes to. They're not important, as none of them appeals to Edward and it's only unrequited love. Edward thinks mostly human girl are stupid. All except for Bella, of course.
