Mikayla’s Reviews > Why We Love (and Hate) Twilight: The Highs and Lows of the Twilight Saga > Status Update

I do think Edward’s controlling nature gets a *bit* of a pass because Bella’s normal human decisions aren’t having normal human outcomes in the way most people would expect. She’s dealing with a whole OTHER WORLD. One she knows little about, and is only starting to understand. So his overprotectiveness, while I don’t love, can be forgiven in a way a mortal man’s couldn’t.

Edward gets to be both very dangerous (because he’s a vampire!) and exceptionally safe, because of the turn-of-the-century values he espouses.
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When I really think about it, I don't think I ever had a boy ask me a question about myself in high school, let alone listen intently to the answer so he could generate *more questions.*
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This doesn’t go away… sadly. Or they listen to get brownie points for you to like them. Then there are the actual genuine guys. I LOVE THEM. Even if just friends, they’re the best. Active listening isn’t gender specific

This last part is especially important, because I think so much of Edward's appeal comes from the level of interest he shows in Bella and her life from the very beginning.
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I actually think a lot of relationships stem from the fact that people just want *someone* who is interested in them. Which kinda makes me sad… and is a base-line requirement. Not “the one” potential, just a prerequisite.

I think people think love is juvenile. Especially romantic love (I know I did). As I’ve gotten older though, I’ve realized why all the poems, songs, and stories exist. Love’s not juvenile, it’s revolutionary.
Bella giving up everything for love isn’t crazy to me. Because, once you have it, you’ll do anything you can to preserve it. To keep it. Because nothing becomes more precious than that.

PT 2 | I do think this is a very fair assessment of Bella's strengths and traits that we don't hear about from Bella herself because she is so self-effacing. Though she may not crave human company, she very much doesn't want to see anybody else in pain if she can help it.
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PT. 1 | Edward realizes that, due to her shyness, the only time Bella steps out of her comfort zone is to help someone else, and this leads him to conclude that Bella is "kind and self-effacing and unselfish and brave. Though Edward may not be the most reliable narrator either, given his obsession with Bella,

I love this view of Bella

Off the record, Pappademas asked me how Twilight fans have been able to do what society at large seemingly hasn't: wrestle with and work through deeply problematic media that means something to us instead of abandoning or "cancelling" it.
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I love this.