Love

The most prominent theme in the final installment of The Twilight Saga is most certainly love. The exploration of all types of love is certainly to be noted. The romantic love experienced between Edward and Bella is clearly our first example of love. We also see the love felt through family ties, with the Cullens, Charlie and Bella, and of course Edward, Bella and Renesmee. Love can also be lived as strong friendship. This is demonstrated through the friendship between Bella and Jacob, and equally between Seth and Edward. The theme of love is recurrent through all the books in The Twilight Saga and is the catalyst of the series.

Motherhood

Though our first introduction to motherhood in the Saga is Renée, the most prominent figure of motherhood, or lost motherhood if you will, is Rosalie. In Breaking Dawn, however, the focus is shifted. With the prospect of Bella becoming a mother, we are forced to evaluate the significant consequences of motherhood in this particular situation. Motherhood goes from an insignificant, impossible scenario for Bella to something that she is completely enthralled with and occupies most every thought she has.

Choices

Our choices are so strongly influenced by those around us that some of the main choices made to shape this novel are mildly counter-intuitive and almost seem ridiculous. Bella has nearly everyone she deeply cares for telling her that her life is more important than the life of the child she is carrying, and yet she turns around and defends her precious nudger until her last breath, quite literally. It comes down to making a choice that the character considers right and moral. The same scenario applies in the “Jacob” portion of the book. His decision to be engulfed by his innate gifts as Alpha to follow his moral compass greatly affects the outcome of the book, and ultimately the series.

Transformations

The most expected and waited for transformation was that of human Bella into vampire Bella. Though it happens in an emergency setting and as a complete last resort, it is just as powerful and terrifying as it was expected to be. The transformation reminds the reader that everything is balanced, and though Bella has finally become the vampire she always wanted, she must now deal with the more negative consequences. The search for blood, the intense feelings in her new body and the constant alertness to the delicateness of her surroundings are examples of this.

Sex

Sexuality is depicted as a sacred act by Edward in the first part of this book. There shall be no compromise on his part, Edward and Bella must be married before embarking on any sexual endeavors. In the first part of the book, sex is a very planned, delicate and careful thing. The threat of hurting Bella haunts Edward tremendously. Edward slowly becomes more controlled and let’s most of his own insecurities pass. In the latter part of the novel, when Bella becomes immortal, the physical attraction between Edward and Bella is intense, overwhelming. The act of intercourse becomes spontaneous, without inhibitions and frequent. To Bella’s great surprise, her physical perceptions are much stronger as a vampire and this contributes immensely to her attraction to Edward.

Pain

Apart from Bella’s pain during pregnancy and the pain of thirst as a vampire, almost all the pain explored in Breaking Dawn in psychological. Jacob frequently refers to Edward as the “Burning Man” when he sees Edward feeling tortured about how the baby is slowly killing Bella and his frustration regarding the fact that he has absolutely no control over the situation. We also see the pain Jacobs feels by staying near Bella throughout her last weeks as a human, even though the emotion pain it causes him causes him to question his decision. Elsewhere, there is a strong emotional reaction from the Denali clan when they watch their sister be murdered by The Volturi. The grief and anger they feel is quickly exposed by their physical reaction to the situation.

Conflict

Physical conflict is a omniscient part of later in the book. Bella and Edward, firstly, are confronted with a possible attack from the Wolf Pack. The Wolf Pack feels that Bella’s unborn child will be problematic for all humans involved and have decided to remove it from the equation. Secondly, after Renesmee is born, The Volturi get word of the creation of a so-called immortal child and have decided to intervene. The ancient conflict between the Cullens and the Volturi seems to live its climax in Breaking Dawn.