Character Analysis
(Avoiding Spoilers)
Grew up… with her mother in Phoenix, Arizona. Bella's mother and father split when she was young, and her father now lives in Forks, Washington.
Living… in Forks, with her dad. After Bella’s mother fell in love with a professional baseball player, Bella moved in with her father to let her mom travel with her boyfriend. But Forks is a tiny, rainy town, and Bella’s not thrilled about the change from major city Phoenix to middle-of-nowhere Forks.
Profession… student. Bella’s always been good at school, because she spends a lot of time reading, and because she wants to become a teacher. Classes in Forks are easy, so she spends most of her time in school with a group of outsiders. But Bella's not as interested in them as she is in the mysterious Cullen family, especially the beautiful Edward Cullen. Seeing them, Bella says, “I felt a surge of pity, and relief. Pity because, as beautiful as they were, they were outsiders, clearly not accepted. Relief that I wasn’t the only newcomer here, and certainly not the most interesting by any standard.”
Interests… books and music. She likes to be alone.
Relationship Status… single, which is good news to the boys of her new school. Bella's more interested in Edward, though. Sadly, he doesn’t seem to want to be her classmate, much less her friend.
Challenge… getting close to Edward and discovering the Cullens' secrets. Fitting in at her new school isn’t easy, either, and it doesn’t help that Bella’s father is Forks’s sheriff.
Personality…responsible, quiet, but determined. Bella’s clumsiness and outsider status should make her more cautious, but her curiosity tends to overcome any sense of self-preservation. She thinks of it as her job to help her parents and protect her friends, even though it often ends up the other way around. While Bella is quiet, she isn’t shy, and has a sarcastic streak when provoked.