Kristen Stewart as Bella Swan and Robert Pattinson as Edward Cullen in Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn 1. Photo by Andrew Cooper for Summit Entertainment, LLC.Twilight-Bible-study author Jane Wells, in addition to talking about why she loves the Twilight novels and movies, has written this Quick Start Guide to enjoying the debut of the Twilight Breaking Dawn Part 1.
(And, stay tuned this week for Jane Wells’ coverage of a midnight movie debut.)
What you’ve missed so far…
So, there’s this girl.
Her name is Bella Swan and she’s human.
And there’s a boy, Edward Cullen. He is not.
Edward, it turns out, is a very nice sort of vampire who doesn’t kill people and who has at times pondered the fate of his eternal soul now that he’s damned to the life of the eternally living. The Twilight Saga revolves around these star-crossed lovers’ search for a happily ever after.
SPOILER ALERT! The following is a Quick-Start Guide to seeing the latest movie, Breaking Dawn Part 1, which debuts November 18. (Read our news coverage of this cultural milestone.)
The following summary hits highlights of the Twilight saga—right up to Breaking Dawn.
TWILIGHT: Twilight is a series by Stephenie Meyer (yes, there are 5 e’s in her name).
Her novels are published in a category known as: Young Adult Urban Fantasy. In the series’ first book, called simply Twilight, Bella leaves her mom’s home in Arizona to live with her dad in Forks, Washington. On her first day of school she meets Edward. Pretty soon they fall in love. Turns out vampires like the Pacific Northwest precisely because of the rain; the sun reflects off their super hard skin—glittering like diamonds, which tends to give away their true nature. The first hurdle is proving that Bella will not spill the beans on Edward and his family (a whole coven of the nice sort of vampire). The second hurdle is when James, the bad sort of vampire, gets a whiff of her tasty blood. There are three more books in the series, so Bella must survive. Edward kills James to save the fair Bella’s life.
ECLIPSE: The stress of knowing he had exposed Bella to the danger of other vampires weighs on Edward, so in Eclipse, he decides that for her safety he must break up with her. He convinces his family to move away. Bella falls into a deep depression emerging only when Jacob, her friend since childhood, is around. Things start to get better until Jacob, a member of the nearby Quileute tribe, pulls a similar disappearing act. Turns out all the vampire activity triggered a dormant shape-shifting gene in certain members of the tribe turning them into giant wolves whose sole purpose is to kill vampires. Jacob finds a way to let Bella into the tribal secret because he has fallen in love with her. When Bella discovers Edward is in danger and only she can save him, she flies to Italy to confront the ruling class of vampires, the Volturi. When she returns with Edward, and his family returns to Forks, Jacob asks her to choose who she really loves. She chooses Edward.
NEW MOON: Love triangles are not resolved that easily. In New Moon, a vampire named Victoria shows up bent on revenge. She is the life mate of James (remember that James didn’t make it out of the first Twilight novel alive). Victoria has devised an elaborate plan to get around a few of the special skills Edward and his family possess. She creates an army of newborn vampires in Seattle and marches them up to Forks to attack Edward’s clan, with the sole purpose of destroying Bella. Tooth for tooth, so to speak. So, when Bella’s not plotting defense from bad vampires, trying to comfort Jacob’s broken heart without leading him on, and trying to deny that she’s another year older than Edward (who, although he’s about 100, is frozen at 16), there’s the pesky question of whether or not she’ll accept Edward’s proposal of marriage upon graduation from high school. Marriage is the condition he insists upon before he’ll give Bella the two things she wants most: immortality—so she’ll never have to be without him again, and sex. The Quileute wolves show up to save the day, thrilled to have vampires they are allowed to kill—as Edward’s family is off limits due to an ancient treaty—and the vampire army is defeated. Bella accepts Edward’s proposal, and steadfast Jacob’s heart is broken yet again.
BREAKING DAWN: Now you’re ready for Breaking Dawn! Or, at least: Part 1. Like Harry Potter, the last book was the longest and is split down the middle for moviegoers. Expect to see all the major players again (except James and Victoria, of course), including the Volturi who have had their eyes on the Cullens’ unique talent pool for some time.
I can’t wait!!!! How about you? Email us at [email protected] with your thoughts, suggestions and any news about your experience of the movie opening this week.
MEET JANE WELLS in our author interview and learn more about this lively form of Bible study.
ORDER: ‘Glitter in the Sun: A Bible study searching for truth in the Twilight’ from Amazon.
Originally published at readthespirit.com, an online journal covering religion and cultural diversity.
