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I know a lot of you will disagree, but I'm putting it up here anyway. Flame all you want.
Edward is jealous of Jacob, to the tune of actively preventing her from having a relationship with him. Abuse red flag number one.
Edward isolates Bella from her friends, then abandons her. At that time, he tells her "you aren't good enough," in blatant disregard for how this is going to hurt her.
In abandoning her, he forbids her best friend - Alice - from seeing her.
Edward encourages Bella to lie to her father about seeing him, and furthermore sneaks around Charlie's back in order to see Bella after curfew and before Charlie knew about the relationship.
Edward frightens Bella unnecessarily with his vampirism but does not take steps to ensure her safety.
Edward does not allow Bella to make her own decisions or to disagree with him.
In the beginning of New Moon, Edward hides, takes, or destroys all her possessions that are associated with him.
Edward takes Bella's belongings that are associated with him in an effort to control her healing process. But Bella is in charge of how she deals with the loss.
Edward watches Bella while she sleeps. Even before Bella is aware that he is doing so. A violation of privacy.
Common Arguments
Edward didn't mean to hurt her.
But he did hurt her. We can't rationalize abuse, even if it is not consciously intentional.
Edward is jealous of Jacob because he's a dangerous werewolf - remember Emily.
And remember that unnamed 'singer' girl that Emmet killed. Jacob is dangerous. Edward is also dangerous. Double standards are not cool.
Edward doesn't encourage her to lie to Charlie - he asks her to tell Charlie that they're seeing each other.
He asks he to tell Charlie so he'll have "some small incentive" not to kill her - that is, so he'll get in trouble if he hurts her.
Since Bella has shown a strong disregard for her own safety, this isn't a compelling argument. Further, his actions in sneaking around Charlie's back both before and after curfew was instated demonstrate a real disregard for any sense of openness between Bella and her father.
Edward scares Bella to make her understand the danger.No matter what the reason, it isn't right to try and frighten your girlfriend. She knows he's dangerous and can decide to take that risk for herself.
Edward tries to act in Bella's own interests.
Which he attempts by taking away Bella's independence and free will. Not a good deal.
Edward is a vampire. You can't apply human psychology to him.
Why not? He was born human and has lived in human society for the past hundred years. Yes, as a vampire he's going to have a different perspective on some things, but the psychology is essentially the same.
Edward is only human. He makes mistakes.
And, like a human, is responsible for his actions. Making mistakes is understandable - repeating them heedless to others is abuse.
Yes, she had a choice about the sneaking around, BUT Edward wanted her to tell her father so he would have some reason not to kill her. Shouldn't he have realized at that point that she didn't regard her own safety very much?
Many who are abused don't realize they are being abused.
In New Moon Edward told Alice not to have any contact with her.
People can be abusive and not even realize that they are doing it. They think they are being as a good boyfriend/girlfriend should.
Isn't the point of books TO THINK. If you're not going to think, don't even bother because reading as just as much a waste of time for you as watching TV.
Why do you think there are even people who are abused? It's because they don't realize that they CAN leave. Edward and Bella are so interdependent and that is 1) unhealthy, and Bella doesn't even think that that is an option because they are so interwound.
And I put this much thought into it because people are encouraging preteen girls to read this who have no idea how a real relationship is supposed to be and it's showing them that this is what a good boyfriend does and this is how your relationship should be.
Edward is jealous of Jacob, to the tune of actively preventing her from having a relationship with him. Abuse red flag number one.
Edward isolates Bella from her friends, then abandons her. At that time, he tells her "you aren't good enough," in blatant disregard for how this is going to hurt her.
In abandoning her, he forbids her best friend - Alice - from seeing her.
Edward encourages Bella to lie to her father about seeing him, and furthermore sneaks around Charlie's back in order to see Bella after curfew and before Charlie knew about the relationship.
Edward frightens Bella unnecessarily with his vampirism but does not take steps to ensure her safety.
Edward does not allow Bella to make her own decisions or to disagree with him.
In the beginning of New Moon, Edward hides, takes, or destroys all her possessions that are associated with him.
Edward takes Bella's belongings that are associated with him in an effort to control her healing process. But Bella is in charge of how she deals with the loss.
Edward watches Bella while she sleeps. Even before Bella is aware that he is doing so. A violation of privacy.
Common Arguments
Edward didn't mean to hurt her.
But he did hurt her. We can't rationalize abuse, even if it is not consciously intentional.
Edward is jealous of Jacob because he's a dangerous werewolf - remember Emily.
And remember that unnamed 'singer' girl that Emmet killed. Jacob is dangerous. Edward is also dangerous. Double standards are not cool.
Edward doesn't encourage her to lie to Charlie - he asks her to tell Charlie that they're seeing each other.
He asks he to tell Charlie so he'll have "some small incentive" not to kill her - that is, so he'll get in trouble if he hurts her.
Since Bella has shown a strong disregard for her own safety, this isn't a compelling argument. Further, his actions in sneaking around Charlie's back both before and after curfew was instated demonstrate a real disregard for any sense of openness between Bella and her father.
Edward scares Bella to make her understand the danger.No matter what the reason, it isn't right to try and frighten your girlfriend. She knows he's dangerous and can decide to take that risk for herself.
Edward tries to act in Bella's own interests.
Which he attempts by taking away Bella's independence and free will. Not a good deal.
Edward is a vampire. You can't apply human psychology to him.
Why not? He was born human and has lived in human society for the past hundred years. Yes, as a vampire he's going to have a different perspective on some things, but the psychology is essentially the same.
Edward is only human. He makes mistakes.
And, like a human, is responsible for his actions. Making mistakes is understandable - repeating them heedless to others is abuse.
Yes, she had a choice about the sneaking around, BUT Edward wanted her to tell her father so he would have some reason not to kill her. Shouldn't he have realized at that point that she didn't regard her own safety very much?
Many who are abused don't realize they are being abused.
In New Moon Edward told Alice not to have any contact with her.
People can be abusive and not even realize that they are doing it. They think they are being as a good boyfriend/girlfriend should.
Isn't the point of books TO THINK. If you're not going to think, don't even bother because reading as just as much a waste of time for you as watching TV.
Why do you think there are even people who are abused? It's because they don't realize that they CAN leave. Edward and Bella are so interdependent and that is 1) unhealthy, and Bella doesn't even think that that is an option because they are so interwound.
And I put this much thought into it because people are encouraging preteen girls to read this who have no idea how a real relationship is supposed to be and it's showing them that this is what a good boyfriend does and this is how your relationship should be.