CRY HAVOC,

I did not shout. I did not cry. I did not speak. A tunnel presented itself in my brain and I burrowed into it. I sunk into myself. You know about that? About sinking into yourself? Have you thought about revenge?

1. “Peach pits are poisonous. This is not a mistake. Girlhood is growing fruit around cyanide. It will never be yours for swallowing.” (brenna twohy, from “swallowtail”)

2. “A child weaned on poison considers harm a comfort.” (gillian flynn, from “sharp objects”)

3.

(kenji toma, “ph.”)

Like, I get that Jane is just another Girl Who Hates Bella in the narrative, but when you think about her backstory, it’s pretty horrific. She was burned at the stake after years of isolation. Though the text would imply that she was born bad, there’s no actual evidence that she and Alec weren’t just typical children. How many kids would cause unfortunate things to happen to people who were hateful to them? I know that I would have cursed a cow or two if I’d had psychic powers as a bullied child.

While her death is bad enough, Meyer goes gross–of course–with regards to Aro and Jane’s relationship. He kisses her, she’s his treasured tool, etc. It’s predatory as shit, especially considering that Aro had been watching Jane and Alec for years before their deaths. God forbid any relationship including a girl or woman not be creepy in this series.

So we have an ostracized little girl executed in an agonizing way by the village that hates her. A much older adult man who’s been watching her and her brother for years turns her into an undead monster with no consent. Said adult man then warps the little girl into his personal torture tool after binding her to him through manipulation and outright magical roofies via Chelsea.

How much of Jane’s personality is actually Jane? How much is desperate loyalty to Aro? How much is denial or grief? How much is just hormones? Because, lest we forget, vampires are frozen mentally at the age that they were when turned. Which means Jane and Alec are likely going through eternal puberty.

The more that I think about it, the more upset I am on Jane’s behalf. Like practically all of Meyer’s other female characters, she’s a lot more sympathetic than at first glance. But Meyer, of course, just needed yet another girl to hate Bella for Being Better and to show off Bella’s amazing shield.