This has been answered perfectly. But I can't resist giving some praise to Edward...In my opinion Edward has a very good heart from natures side. As far as I can remember his father got sick first (or at least died first), and I can definitely see Edward catching the disease by caring for his parents with no regard for his own health. As I said, not sure that's what happened, but I can see it. Because he is genuinely a good and caring person, concerned for the well-being of others.amethyst wrote:You are a saviour, I tell you. This morning I was thinking that I missed "MEC's" questions and wondered about you. It is funny how these things work.
I think it is when you love someone as much as Edward loves Bella and his family, it is completely natural to feel protective of them as much as Edward shows us throughout the series. And he is even more paranoid and overprotective of Bella (even though, as he said in Twilight, he is not “naturally a tyrant”) because she is so fragile. Stephenie provided us with this great analogy, Bella is like a soap bubble in his hands -- and the slightest of touches and she could possibly die, thus him being enveloped in a series of overreactions and over protectiveness. It is really cute as far as I am concerned. So, no I don’t think he developed it over time and I don’t think it is his vampire nature either. He’s a protector because he has people in his life that he loves more than his own life and that it is defined characteristic of his. He has a very profound connection with his family and Bella, so it comes as no surprise when he does something crazy like leaving Bella for her own good.
Navarre . . . your post amazing!!
And I think he knows just how fragile humans are. He has lived through wars and epidemics, seen the world for so many decades. He know that people can die from all sorts of thing. I believe he says that in one of the books or maybe the book that shall not be named? And then when he falls in love with Bella, who is very human, clumsy and a magnet for trouble, his protective side really kicks in. He wants to protect her from all the dangers of the world, but most of all he wants to protect her from himself. From the moment he realizes that he loves her, nothing else matters than to keep her safe at all times. So I think that he does have a caring and protective nature. And obviously he has learned a lot from Carlisle. But I agree with you amethyst, that this is something that appears because of his love for his family and Bella. He would give his life and happiness for them, because he loves them.