Twilight Language and Communication

Communication is a big deal in Twilight. Edward is accustomed to reading minds, but when he's unable to do this with Bella, he doesn't know quite how to communicate with her. They have to form a new communication style, which involves asking each other tons of questions and reading each other's body posture, facial expressions, and tone of voice. Bella even judges Edward's mood by his changing eye color. Communication is especially important in this inter-species relationship. Bella and Edward both have different communication styles within their families as well. Bella tends to keep secrets from her parents, while Edward and his family share everything.

Questions About Language and Communication

1. Do Bella and Edward communicate enough for their relationship to seem realistic? Does their relationship develop at a believable pace, given the amount that they communicate?
2. Think about how Bella communicates with us, her readers. Is there anything she could be lying about, or not telling us?
3. Has Edward's mind-reading power taken the place of, or removed the need for, real person-to-person communication?
4. Is it important for Bella and Edward to know everything going on in each other's mind? Edward always pushes Bella to reveal every detail of what she's thinking. Is that fair? Is it helpful? Is it necessary for a strong romantic relationship?
5. Does Bella keep secrets from Edward? Does Edward keep secrets from Bella? (Think about how he tries to keep Bella from learning how humans are transformed into vampires.)