you know, I don't know that any other vampire would have been upset, other than Jasper. they might not have lasted as long, but I don't think they would have minded being a vampire of vampires, cosseted by their amor. There's a Carmen in Twilight. Mariah is Carmen- ish- luring a soldier to corruption and doom.
Do you think making Riley a cat's paw b/c he was from Forks was inspired movie-making?
and "hehehehehhehehehe"- "self-assembly vampire kit"---hhhehehhahhahahhhahahhh hoh.
I finally got around to Google "Santa Muerte"; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Muerte
Just a tad sinister, eh? This worship of an iconic image of Death does seem to parallel Jasper's enthrallment by the wicked Maria. I recollect the very beginning, when Major Whitlock looks upon the group of three lady vampires and knows, without needing to be told, which one is the boss. Maria is rather like a High Priestess of Santa Muerte, with Nettie and Lucy as her acolytes.
I mentioned already the college classmate that ended up sacrificed to her? really, totally not expected this day and age.
the church was sending kids to Mexico for spring break, to build houses there, as a mission trip. they've stopped doing that in the last two years, b/c of the violence.
My dad's wife had to quit going there to do her work, as well. she'd been targeted in some unsavory ways. it's a bit odd to go on a family vacation, and casual conversation about police reports and tire slashings, and near kidnappings. nobody really expects a paperback novel to come to pulpy life.
Jasper's life with Maria and her coven was a trap in many different ways. Initially he is her captive, permitted to live only for as long as it suited her. Later, it is a sybaritic experience, in which Maria gets what she wants from him by feeding and gratifying his appetites, seeking always to drag him lower and lower, to corrupt and degrade him.Originally Posted by redlipstick
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ua9DN8ZXmOw
This could be heaven or this could be Hell: my money is on Option 2.
Your descriptions show that Maria's relationship with Jasper is a form of enslavement of him. As you say, he is first her captive, without any degree of autonomy or choice. Later, her "feeding and gratifying his appetites" with design to corrupt and degrade is basically a form of drug dealing by which she maintains his dependency on her.
Looked at in this way, Jasper's great personal strength and character which enable him to break free of dependency, co-dependency, and addiction become more apparent and all the more laudable.
But it is no wonder that he continues to suffer the effects of Post Traumatic Stress even decades later.
It seems rather obvious that Maria is a really really bad girl. She'd be a natural for the Volturi if she happened to have a special gift; she certainly shares the power hunger and the utter ruthlessness of Aro and Caius. Aro is himself a slavekeeper in the Ancient Roman manner; Maria is rather like the worst sort of 18th Century slave trader. I'd quite like to have met her in the novels; I reckon she'd be impressive, and not in a good way.
I suspect that at the very least Aro knows of her existence and follows what she and her house newborns are doing; she is very professional about it, and not a present danger to The Secret, but its logical that Aro keeps tabs on any such operation as hers. As well as flirting with the edge of what Aro's rules permit, Maria's rapacious ambition would command his attention. As long as she can't be a rival, he'd not be too concerned, but it stands to reason that her doings are worth monitoring. Aro might well see her simultaneouly as a potential threat and an outside fringe candidate for recruitment, promising enough to deserve being watched.
According to Nietsche, whatever does not kill us makes us stronger; on that basis, Jasper Hale must have in some way gained and profited by his long association with Maria. She damaged him, but she also forced him to begin the quest to rediscover his own personality, which prompted his face to appear to Alice Cullen and which led both of them to seek refuge with Carlisle and his family.
Remember the rather intriguing reactions of Jasper when he and Alice intrude on Edward's wrestling match with Bella to invite them to play ball? He is rather shocked (this is not how boys and girl carried on in West Texas is 1861); but he is also amused and visibly pleased. He doesn't exactly approve; but neither does it upset or annoy him. If Edward and Bella are misbehaving themselves, they are misbehaving exactly as healthy young lovers ought to misbehave themselves; it's naughty, but it isn't wrong. Here's a little something to consider; Bella's hormones will be in overdrive when she is so intensely entwined around the boy who only allowed her to finally touch him properly a day ago. Jasper will detect that as well as the sheer gaity and exhileration which Bella is experiencing. I think for the first time Edward will be receiving independent third party confirmation that Bella desires him. He's an idiot if he doubts that, but unless his ego has nothing at all in common with the ego of "any other boy" (as Angela Weber would put it), he's getting a major ego-boost right there. Jasper, for his part, is getting a crucial insight into Bella's character. Some things are hard to express in the language of words and Jasper's power lies in being able to interpret things which can be felt without words. To approximate the things which Jasper is seeing inside Bella I would offer this piece of music:
Kiss Me: Sixpence None The Richer (may kind angels bless and preserve you, Leigh Nash).
Jasper has not been pre-disposed in Bella's favour and needed Alice to explicit ask him not to kill her; he's no milk-and-water liberal where humans are concerned and Bella was, at best, a serious nuisance. So its a big thing for him to discover, so soon after meeting Bella, that he likes her a lot. I don't think Jasper likes many people; very few indeed would be my surmise. So it is a rare pleasure to him to find he likes Bella; it would make him value her highly as well.
As well as the changes in Edward, Jasper can evaluate the emotional life of Bella and as a good brother to Edward, it would reassure him. She loves Edward intensely already; her woman's blood is on fire for him; Jasper is getting some terrific vibes here and will be at least happy, if not delighted. He also might pick something up which none of the other Cullens could; thanks to his long association with Maria, he will be all too familiar with the dark side of Venus. Bella's love for Edward is a shock and revelation to Bella herself; she has never felt these things before, so she will also be feeling surprised. Later on, we see that Jasper is extremely protective of Bella, emotionally as well as physically, when she is being singled out for attack. Poor old Jasper lost his innocence when Maria chose him to supply her with rest and relaxation; having been misused, beguiled and betrayed in this specific way would probably prompt him to feel protective towards a defenceless innocent such as Bella, when that innocent is his prospective sister in law. By the word "innocence" I mean a lot more than "virginity"; I mean trust. Bella is extremely and unconditionally trusting towards all the Cullens, as Jasper once trusted Maria. When Alice extended her hand to him in that diner, she gave him back a fragment of his innocence; there is still one person left in the whole world whom he can dare to trust unconditionally. It is a hard truth that we best learn the worth of something by losing it; Jasper knows the worth of Bella's unconditional trust for Edward, and though he is not a sentimental man, I see evidence in Twilight that he is deeply moved when he sees how devastated Bella is feeling after the confrontation with James. Although she cannot trust Jasper not to drink her blood, Bella can trust Jasper's affection towards her at that moment, and this is why she forgives him for his lapse at her birthday party later. But of all the Cullens Jasper is the one best able to appreciate that first love is both fragile and precious. Maria gave it to him and then she betrayed it and him. When he sees it in Bella, he defends it with his life; Bella might be killed, but at least she will not be betrayed.
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