By the end of The Twilight Saga, Bella and Edward decided not to tell her father, Charlie, that she was a vampire – but why? Let’s take a look.
One character from The Twilight Saga who became an unexpected fan favorite is Charlie Swan, Bella’s father, who by the end of the books and movies had no idea his only daughter had become a vampire – and here’s why. In 2005, Stephenie Meyer shared her vision of vampires and werewolves in the novel Twilight, the first entry in a series of four books. The core of the novels was the problematic relationship between human Bella Swan and vampire Edward Cullen, who came across different obstacles throughout the series, such as a clan of werewolves and a group of vampires called the Volturi.
Over the course of the Twilight books and movies, the audience met other characters close to Bella though not directly involved in her relationship with the vampires and werewolves, but who were in danger of paying the consequences of it. Such was the case of Charlie Swan, Chief of Police in Forks and Bella’s father. Charlie witnessed the ups and downs of Bella’s relationship with Edward but never knew that Edward and his family weren’t human. Bella finally became a vampire in Breaking Dawn after almost dying while giving birth to hers and Edward’s hybrid daughter, Renesmee, who was introduced to Charlie as Edward’s niece that he and Bella were going to adopt. This has raised the question of whether Charlie knew by the end of Breaking Dawn that Bella became a vampire or not, and part of the answer can be found in past books/movies.
Charlie Swan was born and raised in Forks and was close friends with Billy Black, Harry Clearwater, and Quil Ateara IV, all of them part of the Quileute tribe. Although he was surrounded by werewolves and vampires, Charlie had no relationship idea these existed and continued to be completely unaware after Bella began a with Edward. However, in Breaking Dawn, after Jacob imprinted on Renesmee, he decided to show his true nature to Charlie in hopes that he would keep the Cullens around for a little longer. Jacob transformed into a werewolf in front of him, and Charlie was understandably shocked. He then ordered Jacob and Bella not to tell him any more than what was necessary, and he made no questions when Bella looked different (after her transformation) and when Renesmee began to grow incredibly fast.
Bella and Edward didn’t tell Charlie the truth about them in order to protect him not just from vampires who don’t share the Cullens’ “vegetarian” lifestyle but from the Volturi, the largest and most powerful coven of vampires. The Volturi made their first appearance in New Moon, where their purpose was explained: keep vampires hidden from the human world. Among their laws to ensure the safety of their kind is that the interaction between vampires and humans must not draw wide attention, and if a human is aware of their existence, there are two options: the vampire responsible has to turn the human into a vampire or silence them permanently. If Bella and Edward had told Charlie, they would have put him at great risk, and he definitely didn’t deserve that.
Charlie chose not to learn more than he needed to, and as he wasn’t the type who made lots of questions, this guaranteed his safety. Whether Bella and Edward told him at some point (as it would have been impossible to hide that they never age) or he somehow found out after the events of The Twilight Saga is unknown, and in a way, it’s up to every viewer to decide if he eventually learns the truth or not.
