Midnight Sun

Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2020

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Summary

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-4

Chapters 5-8

Chapters 9-11

Chapters 12-15

Chapters 16-17

Chapters 18-21

Chapters 22-24

Chapters 25-27

Chapter 28-Epilogue

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Literary Devices

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Chapters 16-17Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 16 Summary: “The Knot”

Bella sleeps peacefully while Edward watches. He leaves before Bella wakes up so he can wait for her to get ready. When Edward meets Bella at the door, he is amused to see that they are wearing matching outfits. They go to Bella’s car, where Edward reluctantly lets her take the driver’s seat. Edward tells her that they are taking a hike, which clearly concerns Bella. To Edward’s displeasure, Bella has not told Charlie of her plans. She was concerned and wanted to make sure there would be no trouble for the Cullens if she did not make it out alive. Bella’s disregard for her own safety makes Edward mad. When they arrive at the trailhead, Edward leads Bella into the woods. Bella is still concerned about hiking, but Edward promises to keep them on the right path. Their path through the forest is easier for Edward, since he knows from Alice’s vision that the real danger lies in the meadow ahead. As they walk, Bella tells Edward more about her childhood. Eventually they come to the meadow. Bella walks in first and Edward follows.

Chapter 17 Summary: “Confessions”

Bella runs towards Edward, worried that the sun is hurting him, although he explains it does not. She thinks Edward looks beautiful, but he disagrees. He thinks, “my skin was blazing with the most flagrant symptom of my disease,” comparing his vampirism to an illness (344). Edward struggles with their proximity, but he focuses on trying to restrain himself. He tries to desensitize himself to Bella’s pulse while wondering if he has passed Alice’s knot of future possibilities yet. Bella leans too close for Edward’s comfort, and he runs to the other side of the meadow, disgusted at himself for the narrow escape. He shows Bella that he is a predator—too strong, too fast—which scares Bella and makes him ashamed enough to come back to his senses. Bella forgives Edward, which reminds him of Carlisle’s forgiveness when Edward returned from his vigilante period. Bella explains that she is afraid because she knows her own mortality prevents her from being with Edward forever. Edward is angered that Bella blames herself for the situation. He explains how perfect her blood is for him, that she is like the perfect drug, an exceedingly rare occurrence for vampires. He thinks about how Emmett fell “off the wagon” both times he encountered this kind of blood (361). Bella thinks that this means Edward intends to fall off the wagon himself, but he reassures her that he has no intention of doing so.

Edward confesses all his feelings for Bella. He tells her that now he could never live with himself if he hurt her. Bella says she feels the same; she would rather die than be away from him. He thinks they are a juxtaposition, evil and innocent, like a lion and a lamb. Edward feels that there is one last step to Alice’s knot. He leans his head against her throat and listens to her pulse until he can fully imagine tasting her blood without being overwhelmed. He lets Bella trace his body with her hands, explaining that he has other, more human hungers than just blood. When they leave the meadow, Edward takes Bella running, although the experience overwhelms her. Before they get back into the car, Edward kisses her, which overwhelms her again. Edward insists on driving, now grateful for being a vampire since it is what allowed him to meet Bella.

Chapters 16-17 Analysis

Chapters 16-17 represent a major turning point in the novel, the knot of possible futures through which Edward must work his way before he can be sure if he will be able to be safe with Bella. In Chapter 16, Edward brings Bella to the meadow where knot and its risks will take place. Bella reveals to Edward that she has not told her father Charlie who she is with. To Bella, this is a way of ensuring the Cullens’s safety and the security of their secret, should anything bad happen to her. She selflessly does not want to risk the human population of Forks associating her potential murder with the Cullens. This selflessness frustrates Edward, who thinks, “her very goodness was what put her in this danger” (334). Although he continues to glorify Bella’s goodness and purity of heart, at the same time, he is frustrated by the danger that she puts herself in because of that selflessness. Edward verbalizes this juxtaposition later in Chapter 17 when he says, “and so the lion fell in love with the lamb” (367). In his mind, Edward has built up a contrast between his own nature and Bella’s—his is evil and dangerous to others, whereas hers is good and only dangerous to herself.

In Chapter 17, Edward painstakingly thinks through every action in the meadow as he fights to maintain control and head toward the slim possibility of a future in which Bella will be human. Much like the rest of the novel, the main conflict is Edward’s inner struggle and deliberations. Edward closely tracks his own progress in the meadow by imagining Alice’s knot of futures, as well as Alice’s support. He thinks, “I could imagine Alice’s encouragement” (350). Despite a few close calls, by the end of the outing, Edward is confident that he has emerged from the knot safe, without harming Bella, and on track for the third future in which Bella stays human. This makes Edward elated, genuinely happy and unencumbered for the first time in Midnight Sun.