New Moon leaves us with many loose ends and a definite sense of foreboding. Bella sums up her list of serious problems at the conclusion of this novel:
My best friend counted me with his enemies. Victoria was still on the loose, putting everyone I loved in danger. If I didn’t become a vampire soon, the Volturi would kill me. And now it seemed that if I did, the Quileute werewolves would try to do the job themselves – along with trying to kill my future family. I think they had no chance really, but would my best friend get himself killed in the attempt? (Epilogue.143-146)
That’s quite a lot for one human girl to deal with. Yet, throughout the novel, Bella persistently fights against natural laws, rules, and treaties that don’t take into account the unique circumstances at hand. She sees no reason why Edward and Jacob can’t be friends. To her, friendship is about personal choice. Period. Even after Jacob and his werewolf pack warn Bella that her transformation into a vampire would force them to attack the Cullens, she remains determined to go ahead with it anyway and even vows, "I would find a way to keep my friend [Jacob]" (Epilogue.190).
Bella’s dogged determination to dismiss realities that are obviously very important to other people begs the questions: Is she in complete denial? Is she clueless? Or does the truth lie somewhere in between? Well, chances are Meyer’s second sequel, Eclipse, might hold some clues.
But when it comes to the question of Bella’s love for Edward and his love for her, New Moon provides us with a satisfying resolution. Bella realizes that Edward is truly hers, forever: "The bond forged between us was not one that could be broken by absence, distance, or time. […] As I always would belong to him, so would he always be mine" (24.57).
Nice! Apart from that, Edward finally agrees to change Bella into a vampire after graduation. Trouble ensues when he tells her about his one condition: "Marry me first" (24.227). Bella vehemently refuses, because she thinks marriage was the kiss of death for Charlie and Renée. Given her "deadly" effort to get Edward to change her, Bella’s reaction appears to be a bit on the strong side. How can she be so cool-headed about trading her mortality for immortality, but panic about getting married in her remaining human life? Well, maybe marriage strikes Bella as such a human, familiar thing to do that it suddenly reminds her that, after her transformation, she’ll leave her human life behind to forever to live a new, unknown, non-human existence. What do you think?