Bella Swan should've questioned her choice to become a vampire in Eclipse
on the surface, yes, this is the I Was Born to Be a Vampire saga. yet here we are, book 3, standing at the precipice with Bella as she makes The Choice one final time. beyond the war with Victoria, Edward and Jacob externalize the fight Bella is having with herself: the choice between humanity and vampirism. literally and metaphorically, it's do-or-die o' clock for Bella. time to choose.
Bella is an avoidant, unreliable narrator, so she doesn't really engage in that question. cool. we love a Holden Caufield. however, the downfall of this book (& consequently, the series), is that the author is also unwilling to seriously engage these questions meaningfully.
character development largely happens off-screen. the asking, digging, and answering of pivotal questions are not shown to the reader. as a result, the emotional beats feel off & hollow.
look to Bella as an example. in chapter 12, her upcoming graduation (a milestone she previously cared nothing about) has her realizing she isn't ready to become a vampire. she never thought about the prospect of saying goodbye until now. she's about to leave everything. she's scared.
great! what an excellent time in the series to weigh her options. what would it mean to be a vampire and leave your life behind? what would it mean to remain human and navigate a relationship with your vampire bf? why is humanity so wonderful? what are the drawbacks of vampirism? what makes vampirism worth it?
listen: it Does Not Matter that Bella "always wanted to be a vampire." questioning her choice is necessary. why? having her think through this decision ultimately emphasizes her reasons for choosing vampirism. it gives her choice more weight, & in turn, strengthens all the themes we see up until this point. it solidifies the series' message.
but we never see her come back to this question. we never see her grapple with what eternal life would mean, or what it would mean to choose humanity. we never see her voice her concerns to any other character (until after the battle).
suddenly, in chapter 20, she realizes she is ready. but we don't get to see that change of heart. after all the desire she expressed to be a vampire, & the drama of the stomach-sinking flash of doubt in the eleventh hour, it's the "guilt and anguish" she felt watching the Cullens and wolves practice that makes her "ready." it's the fact that she's "a liability" and desires to "be partners" with Edward. (implying she's not now? girl, yikes)
in the critical moment of her most consequential choice, her decision boils down to feelings of guilt, anguish, & inadequacy, told to us after the fact. these feelings seem to be a byproduct of love...but notably, there is no mention of love factoring into her decision.
does a reader need to know every thought a character has? no. but when the climax of a series' arc revolves around a character making a very personal choice, one would expect to see more discussion on the pros/cons of becoming a vamp vs staying human. for me, the rigid focus on plot at the expense of character development was Eclipse's biggest downfall, and a contributing factor to why Breaking Dawn also feels as hollow as it does.
