Leah Clearwater

**Amie** · Posted: Sun Apr 13, 2008 5:09 pm Post subject:

Leah is really another character I would like to get to know more about.

I feel for her. Which is weird because I don’t know very much about her but I would like to know about her?

**Pixie** · Posted: Mon Apr 14, 2008 1:30 am Post subject:

cataclysm · Newborn Joined: 22 Mar 2008 Posts: 59

**sunshine** · Posted: Mon Apr 14, 2008 10:15 am Post subject:

I agree that Leah is harboring LOTS of bitterness, and it is a lot easier to make someone else feel bad than to try to feel better yourself. Do you think the reason Leah hates/dislikes Bella is the whole vampire thing or do you think that maybe she was starting to get over Sam. When I say getting over Sam do you think she might have been starting to have feelings for Jacob (this could've been happening even before she phased)? To go through heartache like that twice...once having the man you love imprint on someone else, and then not having your feelings returned by another? I would be bitter too! I do hope that Leah is not a "filler"character, but that we will learn more about her too. She has too many interesting things about her!
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"Yeah, it's an off day when I don't get somebody telling me how edible I smell."

cataclysm · Newborn Joined: 22 Mar 2008 Posts: 59

**sunshine** · Posted: Mon Apr 14, 2008 10:53 am Post subject:

Her "fixation" with sam could've been a cover for growing feelings for Jacob. I'm sure if that were happening she wouldn't want the pack to know, and an easy fix would be to keep obsessing over Sam Very Happy

! I am not a Jacob/Leah shipper either...stranger things have happened though. I think that Leah's bitterness will keep her alone for a long time just like Jacobs love for Bella will keep him alone too.
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"Yeah, it's an off day when I don't get somebody telling me how edible I smell."

**Shimmerskin** · Posted: Mon Apr 14, 2008 11:38 am Post subject:

Well, even if she is filler she's really good filler. I like that about Twilight. Even the most incidental characters like Mike Newton's mother are so well-drawn they make more than a passing impression. We've seen Mrs. Newton, what, once? But from that we know a lot about her parenting technique, her sense of the importance of having a personal style, of making a statement; her position in the family and in the family business. I can even hear the inflections in her voice.

Leah is a strong character, the kind that usually does end up being more than filler or a plot device, but if she never gets another sentence devoted to her she has served an important purpose. Leah shows us what could have happened to Bella in a future with Jake should he eventually imprint; she shows us very blatantly the same soul-corroding bitterness that Jacob is trying so hard to outrun (things Jacob hasn't wanted Bella--and by association, us--to see too clearly); and she shows us yet another example of what life is like for females in a male-dominated society, and that's an important point both for the werewolves but also in regard to Bella's choice.

Equality seems to exist easily and effortlessly among the vampires; there don't seem to be any gender-defined or gender-restricted roles among them. Maybe this is because female vampires don't have limitations of strength, and childbearing is not an issue, hence there is no physically determined division of tasks or responsibilities.

It isn't that simple with the werewolves. For one thing, it never occurred to them that anyone but males could lead and protect the tribe/pack. Even their long-ago savior and the reason they still exist remains anonymous, though her husband and son are remembered by name. For another, as the first girl to break through that barrier, Leah is the nexus of all the confusion, anxiety, and discomfort that this revelation must generate throughout the pack. And for another, it's up to her alone to prove a girl makes as good a werewolf as a boy, and to dispel any notions of unstable temperament resulting from gender. Paul can be a hothead and he's just...an amusing hothead. But if Leah is a hothead, it's because she's a dangerously emotional female. The pressue on her must be close to unbearable, and she's got no outlet to relieve it and no privacy in which to get used to it.

Leah has a terribly difficult job, not only as a werewolf but as the first (and only) female warrior in a traditionalist, patriarchal culture. Neither she nor any other member of that culture has been prepared for this eventuality. No one quite knows how to act around her or how to treat her. If they try to make her just one of the boys, that's denying who and what she is; if they try to treat her as something separate and different, that's obstructing the unity and efficacy of the pack.

Leah finds herself in an untenable position. The tribe finds itself plunged, flailing, into a brand new era. Meanwhile, the vampires are facing a much easier transition, one they're well-prepared for. And for Bella's part, had she chosen Jake she could have assimilated nicely without having to take on a strange new role as Leah has done; by choosing Edward she is moving into a situation where she'll be assisted and protected every step of the way; either way, she was assured a position of belonging and an identity she had chosen for herself. Once again, who is more likely to come up roses from the consequences of Bella's arrival in Forks--the pack or the coven; Leah or Bella?

Is it any wonder Leah "dislikes" Bella? I have a feeling that's a very mild word for what she's thinking!
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**sunshine** · Posted: Mon Apr 14, 2008 1:17 pm Post subject:

Nicely put Shimmerskin! I hadn't quite looked at it that way.Thanks for the great insight!!
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"Yeah, it's an off day when I don't get somebody telling me how edible I smell."

cataclysm · Newborn Joined: 22 Mar 2008 Posts: 59

wonderful post shimmerskin. Great analysis of Leah and a good beginning analysis on the vampire pack vs wolf pack mentality. Makes me look forward to Breaking Dawn even more.

**Shimmerskin** · Posted: Mon Apr 14, 2008 3:39 pm Post subject:

Thanks, you two. You know, I've actually resented BD a little bit because I'd rather have MS. I'm better equipped to wait a while longer for the end of the TW saga because turning that last page will be as traumatic for me as the last page of HP7 was. Even more, I'm avid, no, desperate, no, FRANTIC for MS. I would simply rather have TW from Edward's POV sooner instead of later, I'm just that crazy in love with him.

BUT, you're right. As summer draws nearer I'm looking more and more eagerly forward to what's going to be revealed in BD. Along with all the "big stuff" I really am excited to see more of the intricacies of the coven and the pack, and whether Leah's story will figure into all of that.

How happy I would be
If only I could see
A midnight sun
With a breaking dawn
Simultaneously!
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**AmyO** · Posted: Mon Apr 14, 2008 3:59 pm Post subject:

W-O-W! Shimmerskin- that's an amazing analysis of Leah and the pack vs. coven. I certainly never would have looked that deeply at Leah.

Thank you for that.

**Pixie** · Posted: Tue Apr 15, 2008 8:32 am Post subject:

**Pixie** · Posted: Tue Apr 15, 2008 8:51 am Post subject:

Shimmerskin great post-

I disagree with a little part of it, but that is because I don't see Leah as being "bitter", not in the cynical sense anyway.

edited to fix a typo
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"Throw it out the window"- Jacob

**Shimmerskin** · Posted: Tue Apr 15, 2008 10:19 am Post subject:

**Leesa** · Posted: Tue Apr 15, 2008 10:43 am Post subject:

Shimmerskin - amazing. I always had something in the back of my mind about Leah, but I had not really taken the time to figure out exactly what that was.........your post gave me much insight.
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