The Twilight Saga

Is Edward a Man?

We all know that Edward was 17 when he became a vampire.  

1) Is Edward forever a teenage boy?  Why or why not?

We also know that he has lived for over 100 years. 

2) Does time and life experience make him a man?  Why or why not? 

IF you believe Edward is a man.  

-- Do you think he was a man at 17 before he was changed?  

-- Do you think that it is his time on earth that has made him a man? 

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Permalink Reply by Cupcake on February 21, 2013 at 10:51pm

Essentially. It's hard to be so binary with 'man' and 'boy' in normal adolescents to start with let alone vampires. But overall, I'll say he doesn't fit the maturity people expect of a 'man.' So yes.

Permalink Reply by nycmaire on February 23, 2013 at 12:55am

I have a well thought out response..written by hand, hiding from me atm. Will be back later to give my 2 cents when I find it.

But just a crumb if memory serves: Edward thanks Carlisle for giving him "an extraordinary life" at the ending climax of Breaking Dawn. It caused me to think along the lines of what Trisha & JJ stated earlier. I think Edward certainly has some teen-aged qualities (he acts very much a teen when it comes to baseball, watching Bella as a newborn wrestle with Emmett, the very innocent bachelor party Jasper & Emmett planned for Edward,[ notice no sign of Carlisle, aka.." the adult male father figure"], etc.).

Looking at these few examples I wonder: does a life well lived..or in Edward's case extraordinarily lived...cause him to be titled a man rather than a teen? I tend to think so but I also think there is a very fine line here due to his vampire qualities and there is more I'd like to touch upon when I find my hand written comments. I also wonder if Bella, a seemingly annoying Mary Sue, is really a (mature) woman throughout TTS? Does Bella have more of a claim on her being qualified as a woman based on her life experiences, especially BEFORE she became a vampire? And more to your topic at hand, JJ, does Bella's presence in Edward's life cause him to become a man that much faster? I think so but I'll have to back that up when I find my notes and come back very very soon to put it all out there.

Thanks for the topic JJ. I've missed our discussions.

*waves hi at Armand & DG. Nice to "meet you", Trisha

Permalink Reply by JJ on February 23, 2013 at 3:50pm

Hey Marie! 

Awesome, I look forward to your thoughtful response. 

I can see moments of maturity in Edward and moments of immaturity so it does make it difficult and this is currently a subject where I am undecided, but have really enjoyed hearing other responses. 

Permalink Reply by nycmaire on February 24, 2013 at 8:51pm

JJ, just curious, what exactly is it about Edward that causes you to be undecided? I'd love to know what YOU think about Edward's differing qualities.

Looking forward to it...

Permalink Reply by JJ on February 25, 2013 at 10:17am

It is a complicated question and one that is probably not answered with a simple "he's a man" or "he is not".  

I think it is a valid point that is well documented that vampires are "frozen" at the developmental level they are at when changed.  So therefore he would still be immature and have the impulsive and youthful reactions to things.  And I think that immaturity can be seen in Edward.  Him leaving in NM was clearly an over-reaction to the problem.  In Eclipse he goes from being over protective to giving Bella too much freedom which allows her to get even closer to Jacob.  He had a time of rebellion where he left Carlisle and fed off humans (bad humans, but he was still rebelling against what he knew Carlisle wanted which is a teenage thing to do). 

However, I admire that Edward is able to learn from his mistakes.  I'm not sure if that really goes against their maturity being frozen because teenagers can learn from their mistakes too.  

I find it interesting that Edward's time as a vampire doesn't seem like it has really influenced him all that much.  Instead Edward seems very stuck in the past.  There is nothing wrong with having high morals and being more "traditional", however I find Edward's reasoning behind his behavior interesting.  His sense of morals (right and wrong) do not seem to be influenced by religion or even respect for Carlisle, but rather due to the time period he was born and lived (his human life).  So I have a hard time seeing where his vampire "life experience" has really developed and matured him into a man.  

So I think what makes me "undecided" is because I really do want Edward to be a man.  It is more romantic and he does become a husband and father which should lead to maturity and there is a part of me that can see that he does mature.  There are some in their answer who said that Bella caused Edward to become mature.  I can certainly see an argument for that.  So maybe an additional question should be.  Why?  

Why does meeting Bella have such an impact on Edward's maturity?  Is it because he found that he could resist her blood (and if he could resist her than by default he could resist anyone because they paled in comparison).  Or maybe because Bella made he feel less of a monster and by default made him feel more human and therefore was able to mature.  

Obviously I am still undecided, lol, and so I have enjoyed reading other people's thoughts on the matter. 

Permalink Reply by Dantezgirl on February 25, 2013 at 9:19pm

JJ

"Or maybe because Bella made he feel less of a monster and by default made him feel more human and therefore was able to mature." That right there for me is the answer. Maybe her being his bloodsinger contributed? I think Edward even say's as much (The first part)

Permalink Reply by Michell L. on February 23, 2013 at 11:38pm

1)Edward was turned at17 so his appearence is of a 17 year old male.But his knowledge and experience makes him a man... 2)Yes i think experience makes him a man and the fact that he had over 100 years of knowledge...

Permalink Reply by JJ on February 24, 2013 at 5:31pm

Okay, so a many based on his vampire life experience.  I can see that and it makes sense. 

Permalink Reply by balletgirl on February 28, 2013 at 1:44pm

physically he is teenage boy, but mentally he is a man.

Permalink Reply by JJ on February 28, 2013 at 4:16pm

What made him mentally develop into manhood?  Or was he already a man before being changed? 

Permalink Reply by balletgirl on February 28, 2013 at 11:10pm

he has 108 years on him and he doesn't act like normal teenage boy. he's grown up on the inside. he has immature moments at times, but who doesn't.

Permalink Reply by JJ on March 1, 2013 at 9:02am

Okay, thank you. :) 

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