Beautiful Creatures Love

Beautiful Creatures is your classic story of star-crossed lovers who weren't meant to be. Think Romeo and Juliet, Edward and Bella, The Bachelor and his new ladyfriend… wait, scratch that last one. On the surface, Ethan and Lena seem to be made for each other—they're dreaming about each other before they even meet, for crying out loud. Plus, they find each other attractive, intelligent, and funny to boot. Unfortunately, because of the Powers That Be (not just over-protective parents in this case), they're forbidden from being together—a relationship between Mortals and Casters just doesn't fly.

Isn't that always the case with star-crossed lovers? That pesky fate stuff is always keeping them apart, whether it's with prophecies, parents, or a combination of the two. But here's something else that never changes: two people in love won't ever let fate control their hearts.

Questions About Love

1. Does Ethan love Lena for who she is (you know, her personality and stuff) or for what she is (the magical girl of his dreams, quite literally)?
2. Ethan feels many intense physical sensations when he touches Lena—heat, electricity, chills, oh my! Which are the result of love, and which are because of her Caster powers?
3. Macon says that Ethan "makes [Lena] weak, and that makes him dangerous" (2.11[1].204). Do you agree? Can love weaken a person? In what ways?
4. Mortals and Casters can never be together (so say the Powers That Be). What are the immediate consequences of Lena and Ethan's relationship?

Chew on This

Ethan is drawn to Lena only because she's so different than all the other girls. And hey, we always want what we can't have.

Until Ethan and Lena know how her powers affect him, they need to be really, really careful with the whole boyfriend-girlfriend situation.