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Chapter 9
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Twilight, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Love and Lust
Self-Restraint and Morality
Good, Evil, and Perspective
Family
Summary
Analysis
The next morning, Bella struggles to discern whether what happened yesterday was real. She realizes she’s going to be late, and she quickly gets ready—but when she gets outside into the foggy morning, she realizes Edward and his Volvo are in her driveway. He helps her in and offers her his coat, which still smells amazing. Edward shares that his siblings took Rosalie’s car, and Bella is shocked when they get to school—Rosalie drives a red convertible. He explains that they all like to drive fast, so they have fancy cars, but they usually take the Volvo to blend in.
Edward implies that the family’s Volvo is the most inconspicuous car of the bunch. But given that Bella picked out the Volvo in the student parking lot on her first day of school, it seems like the Cullens’ attempts to fit into the human world tend to fall short. Volvos are known for being very safe cars, so the car choice further implies how Edward sees it as his job to protect Bella.
Themes
Edward and Bella get out and head for the cafeteria, where Jessica is waiting with Bella’s jacket. Jessica’s eyes are wide as she gives Bella a meaningful look and says she’ll see her in math class. As Jessica walks away, Edward asks Bella what she’s going to tell Jessica. He says that Jessica wants to know if they’re secretly dating, and how Bella feels about him. He suggests Bella say that they’re dating and admits he’s curious to hear how Jessica feels about that. Bella feels overwhelmed and off-balance as she walks into her English class. She spends her morning thinking about what Edward will hear when she talks to Jessica.
Bella has made it clear throughout the novel that she’s a very private person; it doesn’t seem, for instance, like she told either Mom or Charlie the truth about why she moved to Forks. So Edward poses a bit of a problem for Bella. He can’t read her thoughts, but he can read her friends’ thoughts. This means that Bella doesn’t have anyone she can talk to about Edward openly and honestly, since Edward will know about it.
Themes
In the back of the math classroom, Bella sits next to Jessica. She shares that she and Edward are dating, but they haven’t kissed yet—and she doubts they’ll get there. Bella notes that Edward ignored their pretty waitress at the restaurant. Then, Jessica sighs that Bella is brave to spend time around Edward; she finds him too intimidating. They discuss how gorgeous Edward is, and Bella notes that “he’s even more unbelievable behind the face.” She also sighs that she likes Edward more than he likes her. After math class, Bella evades more questions by bringing up Mike. Then, when the bell rings for lunch, Bella finds Edward waiting for her in the hallway so they can go to the cafeteria together.
Given Jessica’s insistence that Edward is intimidating, it seems like a lot of kids at school probably feel the same way: until Bella came along, Edward was isolated from everyone other than the other Cullens. Saying that Edward is “unbelievable behind the face” means that Bella is both physically attracted to him, but also attracted to the person he is. Her view of Edward is quite different from his own view of himself as a barely controlled monster.
Themes
In the cafeteria, Edward and Bella sit alone at a table, and Edward chuckles that Jessica is watching everything they do. Then, he says that it bothers him that Bella told Jessica she likes Edward more than Edward likes her. He says it’s not true, but he asks Bella why she thinks it is. Bella chokes out that “aside from the obvious,” it seems like Edward is trying to get rid of her sometimes. When Edward asks what the “obvious” is, Bella says she’s ordinary. Edward says that’s not true—all the boys in school were in love with her the moment she arrived.
Bella does not yet understand that Edward’s efforts to keep her away from him come from a desire to protect her—they come from his love of her, and his hatred of what he is. Bella sees Edward’s supernatural nature as extraordinary in comparison to her own normal mortality. But Edward here insists on Bella’s specialness, and brings up evidence to prove his point.
Themes
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Bella insists that regardless, she’s not trying to end things with Edward all the time. Edward retorts that he cares more because he would end their relationship if need be. He would hurt himself if it meant keeping Bella safe. Bella says that she’d do the same, but Edward insists that she’ll never have to—he’ll always keep her safe. It occurs to Bella that she could purposefully put herself in danger to keep Edward around.
From Edward’s point of view, his odd and occasionally frightening behavior toward Bella isn’t overt meanness—it’s an indicator of how much he loves her if he’s willing to hurt her emotionally in order to keep her physically safe. Through this conversation, Bella realizes she can gain some power in her relationship—ensuring Edward will stay near her—by playing the victim.
Themes
Then, Edward asks Bella if she actually wants to go to Seattle on Saturday, or if she just needed an excuse to not go to the dance. Bella says she’s not going to the dance—she’s too clumsy. She agrees to do something different with Edward on Saturday but insists that she gets to drive; she doesn’t want to explain the change in plans to Charlie, and Edward’s driving scares her. Edward rolls his eyes and asks why Bella won’t tell Charlie about him. Bella insists that less is more with Charlie and agrees to accompany Edward wherever he's going. With a sigh, Edward says Bella should tell Charlie they’re together—then, there’s more incentive for him to bring Bella back. Bella gulps.
Again, Bella is a private person (and in some ways a typical teenager), and she’s not ready to let Charlie in on the fact that she’s romantically involved with Edward. But for Edward, this poses a bit of a problem. He has to carefully control himself, presumably so he doesn’t bite Bella, and he knows that if Bella’s father knows about their relationship then there will be consequences for anything bad that he might do. Edward wants to be as constrained as possible—and doesn’t trust his own willpower to be enough—in order to protect Bella from himself.
Themes
Bella and Edward’s conversation shifts to his camping trip last weekend—he and Emmett were hunting for bears, which are Emmett’s favorite. Bella shivers and looks at Emmett across the cafeteria; he’s unnervingly muscular. Edward shares that he prefers to hunt mountain lions, and Bella asks if she can ever watch him hunt. He refuses, but when she asks if it would be too scary, he assures her that it wouldn’t be. Bella asks why she can’t go with him, then, but he says he’ll explain later. It’s time to go to class, and Bella follows him out of the cafeteria.
Bella might not be ready to let Charlie know about her relationship with Edward, but she’s already starting to get to know Edward’s family. The fact that Edward and Emmett went hunting for bears suggests that Edward, like Bella, wants his family members to be happy and get what they want—even if it’s not exactly what Edward wants. He and Bella aren’t so different in this regard. The hunting trip also makes clear, of course, that Edward and his family really are supernaturally strong!
Themes
