Top 10 Reasons Why Bella Swan is the WORST

Whether you crashed your parents’ car or got an embarrassing tattoo while inebriated, we all made foolish decisions as teenagers. Bella takes the cake, though, deciding at the ripe age of seventeen that she’s ready to become a vampire. Edward, Jacob, and Rosalie – amongst others – continually remind Bella that she’d be throwing her mortality away. Regardless, Bella wants to spend eternity with Edward… even though she initially has reservations about marrying him. Consistency, what’s that? Finally, Bella agrees to tie the knot with Edward, knowing that he’ll never turn her otherwise. While there are definitely exceptions, statistics show that most teen marriages end in divorce. At age eighteen, someone as emotionally immature and unworldly as Bella really shouldn’t be committing to immortality, let alone marriage.

“Twilight’s” portrayal of romantic relationships continues to divide critics and fans. We can all agree, however, that Bella Swan isn’t exactly synonymous with friendship goals. Bella is generally cold and indifferent towards her human friends, spending most of her time obsessing over the Cullens. She only grows more distant after the Cullens leave town, shutting her classmates out entirely. Then when Bella decides to get back in touch with the so-called friends that she’s been ignoring, her mind still wanders elsewhere. Bella’s the kind of friend who will ditch you during a girl’s night out so that she can get acquainted with some intimidating strangers. Of course, Bella’s poor social skills also extend to her supernatural friends.

Katniss Everdeen ignited a revolution with a bow and arrow. Hermione Granger fought against oppression with her wand and wits. Bella breaks her hand just by punching Jacob in the face… yeah, an action heroine, she isn’t. Bella can’t even stroll down her own patio without slipping on ice and you wouldn’t want her on your volleyball team either. At least there’s always a strapping young hunk around to catch Bella and her apples. To be fair, Bella does become less clumsy after she turns into a vampire. For a majority of the series, though, she attracts awkward moments like vampires to blood.

So many people tell Bella that she’s giving up everything just to be part of the Cullen clan. When you think about it, however, what is Bella giving up? She never had any life goals to begin with. She has no hobbies, no responsibilities, and no desire to contribute anything to society. The only thing she really cares about is living happily ever after with Edward. Even then, Bella takes little initiative to make that happy ending happen. She has almost no control over her own destiny, allowing those around her to do most of the heavy lifting and decision-making. Occasionally, we do see Bella step up and fight, but there isn’t a particular moment when she truly comes into her own.

In a way, Bella is kind of like Scarlett O’Hara… wait, hear us out! Both women wind up in the middle of a love triangle as a war breaks out. Just as Scarlett holds a torch for Ashley, Bella is convinced that she belongs with Edward. That doesn’t stop either woman from leading other men on, however. Where Scarlett takes advantage of Rhett’s feelings for her, Bella continually manipulates Jacob as if he were a loyal puppy dog. Even after deciding to marry Edward, Bella still toys with Jacob’s emotions. The difference between Scarlett and Bella is that one comes to see the error of her ways. The other suffers no ramifications for her selfish behavior or manipulative tendencies, instead getting everything that she ever wanted.

Even if you took the love interests out of “Gone with the Wind,” Scarlett would still be a complex character who goes through an interesting personal journey. If you took Edward out of “Twilight,” however, Bella would essentially be an empty husk of a human being. Everything she does throughout the saga revolves around Edward. Bella is deprived of anything resembling passion until Edward notices her. Then when he cuts himself out of his life, Bella acts as if her existence has been stripped of all purpose. Granted, Edward also possesses a troubling obsession with Bella. When you stack them up against each other, though, it’s Bella who lives in Edward’s shadow.

Charlie Swan is probably the “Twilight” character we sympathize with the most. Unlike the fathers in some other teen romances, he’s generally understanding, caring, and always has his daughter’s best interests at heart. So, how does Bella repay her dad? By constantly running out on him with no explanation, by showing minimal affection towards him (even when he gives her a birthday present), and by calling him by his first name on a regular basis. Then when Bella decides to become a vampire, she doesn’t bother filling in her father – or her equally neglected mother. Even when the wolf’s out of the bag, Bella won’t tell Charlie everything. Bella frequently leaves Charlie feeling confused, helpless, and worried sick, as if he’s inconsequential in her life.

Heartbreak is never easy to process, especially in high school, but Bella practically turns cationic after Edward leaves Forks. Bella, honey, we get that Edward is totally gorgeous. At the end of the day, however, he’s honestly not that great of a guy. He was drawn to you in the first place because he liked the smell of your blood, which is beyond creepy. He broke into your house to watch you sleep, which is straight-up stalking. He also decided to abandon you without stopping to consider your feelings or the turmoil that may ensue. He’s not worth crying over, but Bella nonetheless spends months sitting in her room moping and it only gets worse from there.

Crying in bed over your ex for months on end is one thing. Putting your life in jeopardy just to feel closer to your ex is another. Upon realizing that she can hear Edward by performing dangerous tasks, Bella throws herself into uncertain peril. You’d think that wiping out on a motorcycle would’ve been a wakeup call, but Bella proceeds to jump off a cliff and almost drowns. Bella isn’t merely coping with heartache. She’s exemplifying clear signs of mental illness and needs psychiatric help. Maybe Bella would be a more intriguing character if these real psychological issues were actually addressed. But no, it’s written off as typical high school stuff.

Needless to say, Bella Swan is a far cry from Jo March, Elizabeth Bennet, and other empowering literary figures. Where those characters taught young readers about independence and maturity, Bella just encourages the unhealthy mentality that you’re incomplete without a romantic partner. The idea of Bella shaping an impressionable mind’s perception of relationships - or life in general - is downright unsettling. That said, of course we get that many people enjoy “Twilight” on a pure escapism basis and don’t regard Bella as a role model. Whether or not Bella has had a truly damaging impact on youth culture is up for debate. Between her dependence on Edward, bland personality, and utterly reckless nature, however, it’s hard to argue that she’s had a positive impact.