Caution: Spoiler Alert! Do not read this post if you intend on reading the Twilight book series.
I have to confess that I’ve been caught up in Stephanie Meyers’ Twilight Saga over the past few months. Yes, these books are targeted to teen girls, but I surprisingly found myself swooning over the romantic series and often relating to eighteen-year-old Bella Swan, the story’s main character and narrator. My motivation for this post is to recognize the fourth and last book of the series, Breaking Dawn, and its awesome pro-life theme.
Bella and Edward are taken by surprise upon the conception of a child during their honeymoon—after all, Edward is an immortal vampire and it is difficult to imagine that their love could be life-giving! Of course, as Bella’s pregnancy symptoms quickly turn for the worst, there is no doubt that this child may be something other than human… Worried about his wife’s health, Edward and the majority of his family insist that Bella has an abortion before the baby harms her life. As things worsen, there is very little doubt in anyone's mind that Bella will die from the pregnancy.
Bella’s reaction to this event is somewhat surprising to the reader — we can't ignore that she is simply an ordinary teen, and it is clear that (teen) motherhood was not in her plans. From Bella’s point of view however, we experience her love for her unborn child, stemming from her knowledge that this child is an eternal symbol of her union with her beloved, Edward. For this reason, she strongly believes that destroying their child would be destroying a part of Edward as well.
In order to let the child live, Bella sacrifices her health to the ultimate extreme. In the end, Bella gives up her life during the birth of her vampire child, who is much too strong for her human body. (Thankfully Edward is present to turn her into a vampire at that very moment, so they can live together immortally forever). The baby is a beautiful half-human half-vampire girl, who brings much joy to the Cullen family and all those around her.
I was greatly moved by the heroism of young Bella and the ultimate sacrifice she made for her unborn child. Putting aside the strange vampire-isms, this moment in Bella and Edwards’ love story almost mirrored that of "St. Gianna meets Pop Culture". Although I did find some of Breaking Dawn's content slightly mature for teenagers, I am inspired by the role model that Bella becomes for young women. Through this book the author grasps and communicates one of the most beautiful pillars of true marital love-- that it is life-giving and co-creative! Spouses love each other so much that they long for an eternal union, and God can make this possible through their begetting of children. For the most part, our media culture ignores this awesome gift, and instead promotes the idea that romance and children do not go together. For this reason, Breaking Dawn becomes a refreshing representation of true romantic love. What a blessing it is for Edward and Bella Cullen, that their love will forever be united in the eternal soul of their daughter, Renesmee...
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