10 Things Only Twilight Book Fans Know About Edward’s Rivalry With Jacob

A debate that rages on well into the second decade of the 21st century is Team Edward vs. Team Jacob. The two supernatural beings ignited a massive rivalry for Bella Swan’s affection, and Edward and Jacob both hated each other for a large part of the series, except for perhaps the ending.

The movies did well to portray the dislike the vampire and werewolf had for each other, but there are still many details and nuances about the enmity between the two which fans can only imbibe from the Twilight books. Edward and Jacob’s rivalry was a lot deeper and movie fans can now know what they missed out on screen.

Edward Accepted The Possibility Of Jacob And Bella Very Early On

After a reading of Midnight Sun, Edward’s intentions and perspective on his love affair with Bella become a lot clearer. While audiences would not have shipped Jacob and Bella in the first book (a relationship that sometimes doesn’t make sense), Edward himself had thought of the possibility of Bella ending up happy with a human, maybe Jacob, if he left her.

He had, painfully, already imagined a future between the two before either of them had even thought of falling for each other.

Jacob Transformed Because Of Edward

More than just Bella, Jacob had another reason to hate Edward — he turned into a werewolf because of his proximity to vampires. Jacob could have stayed a normal teen who scoffed at Quileute legends his whole life had he not come in touch with the Cullens.

His life changed completely because of becoming a wolf, and that was another cause for Jacob to be upset with Edward, apart from their love triangle.

They Put Their Differences Aside On Many Occasions

Despite their innate dislike for each other, Edward and Jacob could be quite civil most times, especially when it involved Bella and her safety. There were several occasions when they cooperated and worked together, which the movies didn’t show explicitly.

It took a lot for Edward to look past Jacob’s attraction to Bella when he agreed to work with him to destroy the newborn army and protect Bella against Sam’s pack, but he did it nonetheless.

Jacob’s Off-Putting Thoughts In Eclipse

The worst thing that Jacob did was to purposely think lascivious thoughts about Bella in Eclipse, just to torture Edward when he was being decent and loving towards Bella. Edward understood that Bella needed warmth to keep her from freezing, but Jacob turned it sexual for no real reason.

Not only was it unnecessary, it was very creepy of Jacob to do that, and Edward had every right to eject him from the tent but he didn’t.

Edward Broke Bella’s Car To Stop Her From Meeting Jacob

Both men were extremely controlling of Bella, and book fans would know that Edward was so possessive that he went as far as breaking Bella’s old, beat up truck to prevent her from crossing the treaty line and heading into the reservation area.

Edward did it to keep Bella “safe” but the extent of control that she had to bear because of his prejudice against Jacob was incredulous.

They Were Natural Enemies

Of the many things that haven’t aged well about Twilight, the petty fighting between Edward and Jacob has got to be the worst, but that could be because of an inherent enmity that their supernatural races have against each other.

The movies didn’t portray the fact that vampires and werewolves had been natural enemies for centuries, which contributed to how much the two men disliked each other. Their genetics played a large part in this.

Edward Took Care Of Bella When She Mourned Losing Jacob

A vital scene in the books that was left out of the movies was how understanding Edward was when Bella first told Jacob that she had made her choice between them, and it would always be Edward.

It was clear that a part of Bella loved Jacob too, and that part of her was pretty shattered after she told Jacob that there was no chance of them getting together. Bella wept in a car, and it was Edward who very bravely comforted her as she cried about losing another man.

Jacob’s Argument About Being Safer Was Invalid

Lots of fans supported Jacob because he was supposed to be the safer option for Bella, the fragile human, but that was just not true. Edward craved Bella’s blood every second, but Jacob’s volatile werewolf nature and temper was as fatal to her.

Therefore, Jacob’s argument about being the better man fell short. If Bella was anywhere close to him when he turned, she would suffer the same fate as Emily, his partner.

They Each Watched Bella Fall In Love With The Other

What movie goers didn’t realize was that Edward watched Bella fall for Jacob, and Jacob saw the first flames of admiration in her for Edward. Bella’s fascination for the vampire was fanned by the supernatural legends that Jacob supplied her with and he noticed her slowly going deeper into the vampire world.

Similarly, Edward was the one who left a void in Bella’s life by leaving her in New Moon. When he returned, he had to watch Bella hang out with Jacob and get affectionate, which was quite painful for him.

Edward Was Always Polite

Another aspect of Edward and Jacob’s strained interactions was that Jacob was always quite derogatory in his thoughts and words for the Cullens and Edward, but Edward was always extremely polite. He never called Jacob any names (even though Alice and Rosalie didn’t mind) and was always civil with him.

Edward’s manners weren’t as well documented as his cringey lines were in the Twilight movies. He refrained from being rude to Jacob even when Jacob hurled abuse at him.