APPENDICES
A. The Biography of Stephenie Meyer
Stephenie Meyer is the author of the most popular vampire-inspired
series of books – the Twilight Saga. The series consists of a total of 4 books;
“Twilight”, “New Moon”, “Eclipse” and “Breaking Dawn” which have sold more
than a 100 million copies worldwide.
Meyer was born to Stephen and Candy Morgan on December 24th 1973
in Hartford, Connecticut. Her parents had a total of six children together with
Meyer who was the eldest. Stephenie and her family practice Mormonism. Her
family moved to Phoenix, Arizona where she studied in Chaparral High School.
She went on to receive a Bachelor in Arts degree in English from Brigham Young
popularly known as “Pancho” in 1994. They were both 21 at the time of their
marriage. The couple had three sons together, named, Gabe, Seth and Eli.
Stephenie decided to stay at home to look after her sons.
In 2003 Stephanie asserts that she dreamt about the main plot of the
entire Twilight series. That is, a mortal girl and a vampire who are in love. She
went on to write what has become the 13th Chapter of Twilight for the sake of it
without any intentions of publishing her work. However she contacted various
literary agencies upon the encouragement of her sister. She received a positive
response from Jodi Reamer of Writers House – just one out of the fifteen agencies
she had applied in. Reamer helped in obtaining a $750,000 3 year book deal
from Little, Brown and Company in an auction in 2003 – the highest figure the
publishing house had ever paid a fresh writer.
In 2005, Twilight was published – a story detailing the romance between
a teenage human girl, Bella Swan and immortal vampire Edward Cullen as she
had previously dreamt. There are 4 books that follow Twilight which feature
developments regarding Bella and Edward’s relationship. The Series was so
successful and well received, particularly among teens that it was adapted as a
movie, which also did very well, also receiving global recognition.
After the Twilight Series, Meyer has published various other works. A
short story by Stephenie was released in a collection of short stories – Prom
Nights from Hell in 2007. Additionally, in 2008, her sci-fi novel “The Host” was
securing a spot in the list for the next six months. Meyer has stated that said she
is completeing a sequel to The Host – “The Soul”. Furthermore, Meyer wrote
“The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner” a 200-page novel which was published
B. Summary of the Novel
Bella Swan is an accident prone girl who moves to live with her father in
Forks, Washington. Her mother Renee is marrying a man named Phil Dwyer,
who makes her mother very happy. Bella feels that it would make her mother
more comfortable with Phil's traveling job if she were living with her
father Charlie Swan, who is the sheriff of the small town. Having lived in
Phoenix most of her life, Bella is not accustomed to the rainy and bleak weather
of Forks. She attends the local high school and makes few friends. She sits with
Jessica Stanley, Mike Newton and Angela Weber at lunch. Her first week at
school, she is told about the odd and mysterious Cullen family who adopted five
children, four of whom were dating each other. Those five teenagers sit together at
lunch and Bella instantly notices their unusual beauty, the fact that they never
touch their food, and the way that other students avoid them while not
understanding why they do so. As Bella attends classes, she finds that the
youngest looking Cullen, named Edward, is in her biology class. When she is
assigned as his partner for the class, he reacts poorly to her, acting as if he found
her repulsive and he belives she is attractive in a seductive way but the adience is
not aware of it yet.
However, over time Edward warms up to her a bit, no longer glaring
when she enters the room, or ignoring her throughout class. On a day when
class will be blood typing today. Upon seeing blood, she becomes woosy. Mike
Newton (who has an obvious crush on Bella) immediately volunteers to take
Bella to the nurse. On the way to said nurse's office, they run into Edward, who
has arrived just as class is ending. Bella has fallen sickly to the ground, and Mike
is patheticallly unable to move her. Upon being told what's wrong, Edward
chuckles, and scoops her up to frustrated Mike's protests. He takes her to the
nurse, mocking her for her intolerance for so little blood. Angrily, Bella defends
herself by explaining that it's the smell of blood that gets her. Shocked, Edward
says "People can't smell blood". "I can" she retorts.
As Bella and Edward spend more time together at school, they become
friends, even beginning to sit together at lunch on occasion. But he remains
mysterious. She notices that his eyes change color, sometimes golden, sometimes
eerily black. One day, while Bella is in the parking lot at school, she is nearly
crushed by a van that is spinning out of control. Edward rushes towards her
(reaching her in a split second from the other side of the lot), pushes her out of the
way and stops the van with his bare hands (leaving a dent in the metal). In the ER,
Bella is examined by Dr. Carlisle Cullen - Edward's father. She learns that he is a
well-loved doctor in this local hospital. Edward is there as well, and she finds that
he is not hurt at all. This (along with the fact that she saw him stop a full-size van)
peaks her curiosity, but Edward is quick to avoid the topic, telling her she hit her
head pretty hard on the concrete. Back at school, they resume their odd friendship,
and she asks him at lunch what he is exactly. He smirks and asks her what her
seriously asks "What if I'm not the hero, what if I'm the monster?", making her all
the more curious about him.
Over a weekend, several of Bella's friends decide to have a bonfire on a
beach at La Push, the Quiluete Native American reservation. Bella invites Edward
to come, but he declines, telling her that he and his family are not welcome at the
reservation. He will not say why. At the bonfire, Bella meets the son of an old
friend of her father's - named Jacob Black. As the teens tell scary stories around
the fire, Bella becomes intrigued at Jacob's knowledge of the Cullen family.
Getting him alone, she coerces him into telling Quiluete legends until he gets to
the one that Jacob's father (Bella's father's friend Billy Black) claims is about the
Cullen family. According to the stories, they are "Cold Ones", or vampires. Jacob
scoffs at the stories, saying his father is a crazy old man. But to Bella, the pieces
begin to fit and she puts it all together.
Bella goes out one weekend with Angela and Jessica to Port Angelos, a
nearby city. She splits off from the other two, planning to meet them later for
dinner. Looking for a specific store, Bella gets lost in the darkening town. Creepy
men follow her, and begin cat-calling. Now realizing what the men intend to do,
Bella starts to run, but the men have herded her towards yet more creepy men. At
the last possible moment, a shiny Volvo - Edward Cullen's car - screeches to a halt
and he throws the door open ordering her to get in. Gratefully she does so, and
they speed away. Edward snaps at Bella, asking her why in the world she had
been so foolish, and asking her to distract him by babbling on about some boring
Edward suggests he take her to dinner as a distraction. On their way into the
resteraunt they run into Angela and Jessica, who head home without Bella.
After dinner (as always, Edward did not eat), in Edward's car on the way
back to Forks from Port Angelos, Bella confronts Edward with what she has
learned from Jacob. He reluctantly admits to being a vampire, and confirms that
so are the rest of the Cullens. She then asks how he knew she needed saving. He
explains that he has been following her, feeling a need to protect her. He knew she
was coming to Port Angelos because he can read minds... all minds except for
Bella's mind. So, he had been listening to Angela's and Jessica's thoughts to keep
tabs on her. When she left them, he lost her for a while, but managed to find her
by scent just in time. Hearing the would-be-rapists' thoughts about Bella nearly
sent him over the edge. He needed Bella to distract him so that he could stop
himself from hunting them down and killing them all.
Still driving home, Bella freaks out at how fast he is driving, and he tells
her not to worry because he is a "built-in radar detector". Sufficiently soothed,
Bella continues to ask questions. She asks if her assumption that when his eyes
are golden he is full, and when his eyes are black he is thirsty is right. Surprised at
her observance, he comfirms that's correct. Then Bella learns about Edward's
family. His "parents" are Carlisle and Esme. His brothers
are Emmett and Jasper, and his sisters are Rosalie and Alice. Emmett and
Rosalie are in love, so are Jasper and Alice. Jasper can both feel and manipulate
the emotions of those around him. Alice has premonitions, and can hazily see
usually nomads. The Cullens are one of only two covens (that they know of) that
do not feed on humans. They jokingly call themselves "vegetarians". Edward also
dispels the myths that they sleep in coffins and have no reflections. However, he
says that they truly can't go out in sunlight (the Forks area is almost always rainy).
However, that is not because the sun harms them. Edward refuses to tell Bella
what happens when he goes out in sunlight, but promises to show her someday.
Now that they are being completely truthful with each other, their
relationship begins to turn to romance as the two find they have deep feelings for
each other, rather obsessive. However, they never so much as touch hands,
Edward makes sure of that. One day, Edward tells her that the sun will be coming
out that weekend, and he wanted to show her a place he loves up in the mountains.
Enthusiastically, she agrees to go with him, though she doesn't know where.
However, as the appointed day nears, Edward tells her to reconsider going with
him, warning her of the danger of being alone with him far from help - from
witnesses. Undaunted, Bella tells Charlie and her friends that she is going
shopping in Seattle that day. After Edward comes to pick her up this news
infuriates him. He makes it clear that he does not trust himself to not harm her.
However, Bella wants to prove her faith in him, and they continue. In Bella's
slow-moving truck (as she insisted) they drive to the base of a trail, and they hike
for three hours until they reach the edge of the most beautiful meadow Bella has
ever seen.
Bella runs out into the measow, and turns to watch him enter the sunlight.
his skin. They lie down next to each other, and for the first time try touching
faces, holding hands, etc. Edward always seems to be concentrating on
self-control. At one point Bella leans too close, and he leaps up and runs to the edge of
the clearing. Slowly coming back, he explains that it is hard for him to stave off
his animal instincts, though he loves her, he is always tempted to kill her. The day
that they first met, his expression was not disgust, but rather thirst. Her blood
smelled better to him than any other. Then taunting her, proclaimng the fact that
he is the perfect predator (his looks, his smell, his inate charm, everything draws
humans into their doom), he demonstrates his vampire strength and speed by
circling the meadow in the blink of an eye, and snapping a giant limb from a tree
and throwing it. Seeing her fear, his face falls. Apologizing sadly for his rudeness
he lies back down beside her, and tries to describe what it's like to be near her.
Explaining how maddeningly intoxicating and irrisistably delicious she smells to
him (and he has super senses), he says the iconic line: "You are exactly my brand
of heroin", and lies his head on her chest, listening to her heart. The sun begins to
set, and they reluctantly head for home. Edward suddenly enthusiastically throws
her on his back and runs down the mountain at a blinding speed, reaching the road
in minutes. This so dizzies Bella that back at the truck she falls over and has to sit
for a while to avoid being sick. Edward laughs and apologizes, sitting beside her.
When she has recovered herself, he leans in and kisses her for the first time. She
responds wildly and kisses him back passionately. He hastily pushes her away,
and then it is her turn to apologize. So, in a bittersweet mood, they fire up the old
Not wanting to part just yet, Bella asks Edward to stay. After Charlie
goes to bed, he sneaks in her window. They lie on her bed holding each other.
Embarrassed and sheepish, she asks if he finds her sexually attractive. He laughs
and replies "I may not be human, but I am a man." However when she adds "I was
hoping that someday....you and me...." he becomes sad, and stiffly replies that that
would be impossible, as he can never afford to lose any type of control when he
was with her, she was too fragile. Edward tells her that vampires cannot sleep, but
that he will stay with her as she sleeps. In the morning, he takes her to meet his
family. He is amazed when she tells him that despite the fact she is about to walk
into a house full of vampires, she is scared they won't like her, not afraid for her
life. The Cullen house is out in the woods, and dbeautiful. Edward explains that
the reason that the Cullens are rich is because Alice is so good at predicting the
stock market. The entire family is waiting for her inside, and hey all love her at
once, and she is welcomed as practically a member of the family. Esme is
especially delighted that Edward has found someboddy to love, she being very
motherly. Only Rosalie doesn't like her (which is unexplained until the sequal
"New Moon"). Jasper, though friendly, stays far from her because he still has
trouble staying on the "vegitarian" diet. Edward plays a lullabye he wrote for her
on the Cullen's grand piano.
Edward gives Bella a short tour of the house, stopping by Carlisle's room
(more of an office since he doesn't sleep). On the walls are many pictures from all
different time periods. Edward asks Carlisle to tell his history, and Carlisle tells
London, Edward tells of how Carlisle lived in the 1600s in England, the son of a
very self-righteous religious leader that busied himself hunting down "evil".
Carlisle was a disapointment because he was slow to accuse people without solid
proof. One night while hunting down vampires that were actually real for once, he
was cornered and attacked. However, the vampire being weak nearly to the point
of being crippled, it couldn't finish the job before slinking away. Carlisle managed
to hide from those who would have killed him upon finding he had been bitten.
When the change was complete, he wandered the countryside, refusing his thirst
out of the pure goodness of his heart. However, one day he realized he could feed
on animals, and had been ever since. Next, Edward pointed to a painting of
Renaissance Italy. There were four figures, all looking like Gods, one very much
like Carlisle. He explains that Carlisle stayed with these patrons of the arts for a
while: Marcus, Caius, and Aros. (These characters are intoduced in the next
book in the series). However, he left them because he couldn't stand their
blood-soaked and ruthless lifestyles. Eventually, Carlisle ended up in America, and
discovered his talent for being a doctor. Becoming extremely lonely over the
years, he had been contemplating creating a companion. During the Spanish
Influenza epidemic in the 1910s, Carlisle came across a dying 17 yr. old boy, past
any hope of recovery. His mother, also dying suddenly gripped Carlisle, and
begged Carlisle to save her son - inexplicably insinuating that she knew what
Carlisle could really do. When she died, Carlisle wheeled Edward to the morgue,
Edward also told of the other Cullen's histories. Esme jumped off a cliff
after having lost a baby. Carlisle fell in love with her, and changed her. Rosalie
was bleeding to death in an alley when Edward and Carlisle came upon her
(explained in the third book). Later, Rosalie was out in the mountains and found
Emmet mauled by a bear. Loving him at once, she carried him all the way back to
Carlisle, afraid that she wouldn't be able to change him. Carlisle did not change
Jasper or Alice. The pair wandered into the area one day, Alice said she had seen
a vision of them, and they wanted to live the Cullen lifestyle. Jasper was a
Confederate soldier in the Civil War when he was made a vampire. Oddly, Alice
has no recollection of when or where she came from, a total mystery to this day.
Edward also ashamedly tells of a time when he went through a rebelious stage,
and left Carlisle to hunt humans. He tried to feed on only "bad" people, like
murderers, but one day he looked in the mirror, saw his dark, blood red eyes, and
penitantly returned to his father.
In Edward's room, Bella claims to Edward that she was not afraid of him.
Seeing through this, he teases "You really shouldn't have said that", and pounces
on her, landing on top of her on his couch. "What were you saying?" "That you
are a very terrifying monster" she complies. Just then, Alice and Jasper burst in,
and Alice announces that there will be a thunderstorm that evening, so the Cullens
would be able to play baseball without the sound of their equally thunderous
batting drawing attention. Bella tags along. They take Emmett's jeep up a road
until it ends, then the vampires run. Left behind by the others, Edward tells Bella
Leaning her agaisnt the jeep he kisses her softly until she agrees, then kisses her
hard once, and like their first kiss he has to stave her off. Making it clear that he is
far from completely mastering his self-control around her, he exclaims she'll be
the death of him, then slings her up, and they run to join the others in another
clearing.
Bella and Esme (as referee) watch the others play baseball, and all is well
until suddenly Alice halts the game, warning that other vampires are on their
way...the bad kind. Three vampire nomads - Laurent, James, and Victoria -
enter the clearing and are intrigued by the gathering. Zeroing in on Bella, they ask
if the Cullens will share their "snack". When Edward moves protectively to sheild
Bella, James, the Tracker, notices. Now it is too late, this is what James loves: a
challenge.
To save Bella, the Cullens split up. Jasper and Alice will take Bella to
Phoenix (the idea being that James would not expect her to go where she said she
was going), Esme changes clothes with Bella and along with Rosalie will try to
draw James off, and Emmett, Edward, and Carlisle will hunt James down - though
Carlisle abhors violence he sees no other way. Bella stops by home, Edward
telling her she only has moments to grab some things, and make an excuse to
Charlie why she must leave so that he won't worry and search for her. It breaks
her heart, but she must break his heart. She shreiks at him that she hates it here,
and is going back to her true home, even throwing in the last words her mother
had said to him before he left him. Sobbing on Alice's shoulder, she falls asleep as
Jasper, Alice, and Bella are stuck in a hotel room together. Bella feels
awful - guilty and frightened. Jasper begins to use his ability to calm her. Talking
with Alice while Jasper is out, Bella learns that usually people die when bitten by
a vampire because like a shark, they go into a feeding frenzy. In order for
someone to become one of the undead, they must be bitten but not drained, and
that takes more self-control than most have. The vampire venom works in them
then, for three days of unimaginably excruciating pain, one of the many reasons
Alice says Edward refuses to change Bella. Later, Alice has a vision of a dark
room with mirrors, and she cries out "Bella!" before coming to. Jasper is
concerned for her, and sits with her while she draws the room from her vision.
Bella looks over her shoulder, and recognizes it as the ballet studio she went to as
a child. This worries the two Cullens even more. The cell rings, and Bella answers
in hopes that it's Edward. It's James. In the backround Bella hears her distressed
mother. James says he will let Renee go if Bella meets him in the ballet studio. He
gives her until noon to break away from her protectors, which seems impossible to
Bella.
The three head to the Phoenix airport, where Bella and Edward will meet
up and fly somewhere safe. However, worried sick about her mom, Bella goes to
a bathroom that she knows has two exits, and runs out the far side, just barely
managing to get away from Jasper, and jumping into a nearby cab. Arriving at the
ballet studio, James is waiting for her. She is releaved to find that he had been
playing a home video from her house in the background of the phonecall to trick
can watch him kill Bella later. He sniffs her, mocks her, trips her as she tries to
flee, breaks her leg, and throws her into the mirrored wall. She lies bleeding to
death amid shards of glass on the floor, and James goes in for the kill, biting her
wrist.
Just then the Cullens rush in, and drag James off of her. Three of them:
Edward, Alice, and Carlisle kneel over Bella. Alice braces Bella's head as Carlisle
works on her leg. Edward holds her hand and begs her to live. Bella's whimpers
turn to screams as the place where James bit her wrist begins to burn. Carlisle
(who was the one to change the others) realizes what is happening, and tells
Edward he will have to suck out the venom or she will become a vampire.
Terrified, he proclaims he can't, that he'll be unable to stop himself from draining
her dry. But Carlisle urges that he must because the only other person that could is
himself, and her leg must be tended to immediately. Steeling himself, Edward
sucks on her wrist, which initially makes Bella hurt worse, and Alice has to brace
her harder, but then after awhile she starts to feel sleepy and the pain numbs. All
that is left to be seen is if Edward can stop himself before killing her...and he
does, triumphantly proclaiming "Her blood tastes clean". By this time James is
dead (having been ripped to shreds and set on fire - that's how you kill a vampire)
and the ballet studido is burning down. Edward picks her up, and Bella loses
conciousness as he carries her.
Waking up days later in the hospital, Bella finds herself hooked up to
various machines, sporting casts, an IV in her arm, a bandaged hand, and Edward
making in a vison. To add to the insult, James had told that he knew where Alice
came from. He even knew her last name. The reason she couldn't remember
anythign was because she had been locked away in a dark cold hole of an insane
assylum because of her visions. Her unfeeling family had faked her death and sent
her there to rot. James found her and wanted to make her his, but an older vampire
beat him to it, and he had wanted vengeance ever since. After Bella is through
absorbing this story, Renee comes into the room, Carlisle having called her (Alice
had too much fun fabricating an "accident" at a hotel), and Edward pretends to be
asleep. To please her mom, she proclaims Edward to be just a crush, and her mom
leaves. Edward then tells Bella that he really is just a crush, and she can't beleive
he could think that! Bella demands Edward to promise to never ever leave her. He
feels that all this is his fault, and will only agree to promise not to leave her so
long as she needs him. He kisses her softly and the heart moniter goes wild.
Dissapointing her mom, Bella says she wishes to continue living with her
dad, and goes with the Cullens back to Forks, where she apologizes profusely to
Charlie. Months later, the delighted Alice gets Bella all dolled up – who is not
sure why. Edward comes and picks her up, in a tux, and she is horrified that he
takes her to the prom. However, Edward is suave enough that despite the fact that
her leg is still in a cast, she has a good time. At the prom, Jacob shows up and
says that his dad payed him in car parts (he loves to fix up old cars) to come tell
her to beware of Edward. Embarrased, he shrugs and leaves. Edward and Bella
exit the dance to sit outside. He asks her what she thought they were going to do if
was hoping he would make her a vampire. He is angry and sad because he has
already tried to convince her that's not what she wants. Perking up, he
mischeiviously asks if now is a good time, and puts his mouth on her neck. Bella
gets scared but excited...and he turns it into a kiss, saying "Did you really think I'd
give in that easily?" Our story ends with Bella on Edwdard's lap, the two of them
looking out at the Twilight, and with a sigh Edward comments on how there's
