‘Twilight’: Stephenie Meyer on Why Bella Didn’t Realize She Fell in Love With Jacob in ‘New Moon’
Part of what makes the Twilight books so compelling for fans are the love stories that exist within them. Naturally, the core of the popular book details the love story between Bella and Edward, but that’s hardly the only one that exists. Plenty of fans also were completely enamored with the love story between Bella and her best friend, Jacob Black.
Those who have read all the Twilight books know that Bella and Jacob’s story ends in a love rooted in deep friendship. However, there was serious potential for them to enter into a romantic relationship with one another also. Though it’s clear that Edward is Bella’s soulmate, it’s undeniable that she was in love with Jake at one point as well.
Why Bella doesn’t realize that she fell in love with Jacob in ‘New Moon’
Of course, Bella does deny her true feelings for Jacob as long as she can. It isn’t until Eclipse (which is the third book in The Twilight Saga) that she is finally able to admit that she’s in love with her werewolf bestie, Jake. And while Jake insists that Bella has simply been denying her feelings for him, Stephenie Meyer, who authored the Twilight books, provides fans with a different explanation.
According to the writer, Bella simply doesn’t recognize her feelings for Jake right away because falling in love with him was a much less intense experience than falling in love with Edward. On her personal website, the author shared that Bella only had one reference for falling in love and because it happened so differently the second time around, she didn’t recognize it for what it really was.
Stephenie Meyer, author of the ‘Twilight’ books, weighs in her character’s feelings
“Bella does not fall in love with Jacob in Eclipse,” Meyer explained to her fans. “Bella falls in love with Jacob in New Moon. I think it’s easy to understand why this fact doesn’t occur to her. Bella has only fallen in love one time, and it was a very sudden, dramatic, sweep-you-off-your-feet, change-your-world, magical, passionate, all-consuming thing (see: Twilight). Can you blame her for not recognizing a much more subtle kind of falling-in-love?”
Naturally, some fans of the Twilight books believe that since Bella is also in love with Jacob, her feelings for Edward have decreased. However, Meyer doesn’t view it that way at all. In fact, the author argues that it only enhances the love that Bella has for her soulmate. Because she also loves Jacob, Bella would have to sacrifice a lot less to be with him, yet she still chooses a life with Edward.
Why Meyer feels like Bella’s love for Jake strengthens her love for Edward
“Does this love devaluate her love for Edward?” Meyer writes to her Twilight readers. “Not for me. For me, it makes that perfect true love stronger. Bella has another option. She has a really good one. An option that’s easier in many ways, that takes nothing—like her family, present or future—away from her. She would have love, and friendship, and family—an enviable human future. But she chooses Edward over all of this. This makes it real for me.”
It’s certainly interesting to learn about Meyer’s views on her characters’ love stories. And while we’re sure some fans of the Twilight books still wish Bella ended up with Jacob, at least he got a happy, if not completely unorthodox, ending.
