“When life offers you a dream so far beyond any of your expectations, it’s not reasonable to grieve when it comes to an end.” - Stephanie Meyer, Writer
Nature wins over nurture as Edward impregnates Bella providing a “supernatural immortality”, shielding her from death anxiety and providing her with the opportunity to become the mother she never had in life.
Overcoming fears associated with their anxious anxiety relationship patterns prove to be a way for each to work through their youthful insecurities putting their emotions in line with moving toward the committed relationships associated with the adult world.
Her neediness grows so strong that a self-fulfilling prophecy emerges where she feels she cannot live without him.
Bella’s emotional instability blinds her from seeing other abusive tendencies at play such as: isolation, over-protectiveness and subtle verbal abuse. Edward destroys her self-confidence to keep her dependent on him by making all her
choices in life.
As bliss exits, extreme depression enters,
driving Bella into the arms of the third member
of the triangle, Jacob, the “nice guy”, who is the opposite of the chosen one Edward.
Jacob is also emotionally invested in Bella but ends up in the friend zone. During a self-imposed exile, the brooding Edward is misinformed of Bella’s death and slips into a suicidal depression.
Bella rescues him in time saving their dysfunctional relationship. As the triangle
expands and contracts jealousy arises between the two men.
Bella loves them both but the bad boy's special traits give her the idea that eternal love will bring her immortality enabling her to rise above the disappointments of her childhood.
Bella’s vulnerability gave rise to both men becoming dominate father figures, protecting
her from dangers and nurturing her in motherly ways almost to the point of infantilization where Edward feels the need to carry her around.
Their love triangle is an anxious-ambivalent attachment where they all fear intimacy, a symptom of anticipating rejection fueled by fears of exposing their vulnerabilities to others.
Edward is extremely suspicious of strangers.
His insecurity drives him to obsess over Bella, excluding her from all others while exuding the magnetic charms of the typical ‘bad boy”, triggering the natural genetic instinct in the woman for reproductive superiority.
But sometimes attraction can be deadly.
An abusive relationship pattern develops where Edward gives and withdraws attention because he fears rejection. He keeps the relationship cold and distant to protect himself.
This gives rise to an emotional dependency in Bella not realizing it mirrors her parent’s dysfunctional relationship. She says, "It makes me anxious to be away from you."
The powerful bond birthed from unconscious needs makes them dysfunctionally inseparable.
BOOKS
The Psychology of Attachment
Twilight (Stephanie Meyer) is a story of a young sensitive girl, Bella Swan, from a broken home who grew up lacking the nurturance necessary to help her successfully enter the adult world.
She feels powerless, compelling her to search for parental attachments she never had growing up.
After succumbing to the scars of being bounced between divorced parent’s homes she emerges from a self-imposed isolation in the role of a new kid in a new school in a new city.
With no friends she keeps to herself imaging a life where all her unmet desires are realized.
Her vulnerability draws her into an emotional
love triangle with two types of “supernatural” men, Edward Cullen (vampire) and Jacob Black (werewolf).
All three through no choice of they’re own have become orphans in life feeling rejected and alone.
The emotional signals they put out have created a mutual attraction, an unconscious need to heal old wounds and form family bonds.