New Moon and Bella Swan’s Divorce Shower ( Co-Dependent is the new Independent )

Alright I know, I just can’t help myself.  I see it, I think about it, it is only the next logical conclusion that I absolutely must write about it.  I saw Twilight, on DVD mind you, with a group of friends as we laughed at Bella Swan’s behavior and soul-be-damned attitude.  “I don’t care if you turn me into a soul-less monster, Edward, I just want to be with you! – I can help you with this little Vampire thing you’re into and I just know you won’t hurt me.”  Sounds just like something I once said when I was a co-dependent moron dating a beloved alcoholic.  You go for it, Girlie – I think to Bella Swan (although it’s Edward who reads my mind) I hope that whole thing works out for you two kids.  Maybe she should think about Alanon – or in her case VA (Vampire’s Anonymous).  Oh well, I can handle it once and buy into it in Twilight although it is pretty clear she is setting herself up for disaster (unless she really doesn’t care that in the future she may accidentally eat her own Dad).

SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT – read no further if you haven’t seen New Moon.

But then, I see New Moon (now here’ s where you get to wonder if there’s something wrong with ME) in the theaters no less, and I am baffled as Bella initially rejects Jacob, but as soon as she finds out that he is, gasp, a werewolf, who admits that he could potentially kill her in a fit of rage, Bella Swan swoons right into his impeccably sculpted arms.  Oh my God.  What is up with this girl?  Then she says to him, “I won’t ever let you get angry with me, because every day I’ll tell you how special you are.”  Uh- huh.  Here she goes again with the “let me help you with your little werewolf problem.”  And, to top it off, Jacob is all the more interested in her because she has dangerous and possibly lethal connections to his sworn enemies.

So here’s the Wikipedia definition of Codependence:

Codependency or Codependence describes a pattern of detrimental behavioral interactions within a dysfunctional relationship, most commonly a relationship with an alcohol or drug abuser.^[1] In general, the codependent is understood to be a person who perpetuates the addiction or pathological condition of someone close to them in a way that hampers recovery. This can be done through direct control over the dependent, by making excuses for their dysfunctional behavior, or by blunting negative consequences. These actions are described as enabling.

Of course, technically the characters are monsters who have no control over “what they are.”  Even though, I would argue that Bella enables Edward’s Bloodthirst simply by hanging around, that and getting bloody all the time.  The point is that in real life, the type of relationship modeled by Bella with both Edward and Jacob would be extremely unhealthy.

Which leads to my next question, after Bella is a vampire and has come to terms with her weird dependence issues, what kind of Divorce Shower would she like?  I happen to have a few ideas.