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Eclipse

by Stephenie Meyer · 2006

Eclipse is the third novel in Stephenie Meyer's Twilight Saga, continuing the story of teenage narrator Bella Swan, her vampire love Edward Cullen, and her shape-shifter friend Jacob Black. As a string of mysterious killings… more

First published 2007 · 629 pages · English

30 quotes ★ 3.74 (2,024,881) Fiction

Quotes from the Book

He's like a drug for you, Bella.
Fall down again, Bella?' No, Emmett, I punched a werewolf in the face.
Look after my heart - I've left it with you.
I am Switzerland. I refuse to be affected by territorial disputes between mythical creatures.
I promise to love you forever - every single day of forever.
He sighed. "The clouds I can handle. But I can't fight with an eclipse.
I'm gonna fight for you, until your heart stops beating.
Does it bother you, me being half naked all the time?
Did you seriously just stamp your foot? I thought girls only did that on TV.
I coveted you. I had no right to want you--but I reached out and took you anyway. And now look what's become of you! Trying to seduce a vampire.
And the sound of your heart," he continued. "It's the most significant sound in my world. I'm so attuned to it now, I swear I could pick it out from miles away. But neither of these things matter. This," he said, taking my face in his hands. "You. That's what I'm keeping. You'll always be my Bella, you'll just be a little more durable.
Dream happy dreams. You are the only one who has ever touched my heart. It will always be yours. Sleep,my only love.
Amazing," Edward muttered. "How can someone so tiny be so annoying?" Alice laughed. "It's a talent.
She’s in love with me, too, you know." Edward didn’t answer. Jacob sighed. “But she doesn’t know it.
Of course, you’d warm up faster if you took your clothes off.
Angry grizzly bears are going to look tame next to what is waiting for you at home." I snapped the phone shut and placed it in her waiting hand. "I'm done.
You held out your hand, and I took it without stopping to make sense of what I was doing. For the first time in almost a century, I felt hope.
Do you really have any idea how important you are to me? Any concept at all of how much I love you?" He pulled me tighter against his hard chest, tucking my head under his chin. I pressed my lips against his snow-cold neck. "I know how much I love you," I answered. You compare one small tree to the entire forest." I rolled my eyes, but he couldn't see. "Impossible.
You know I love you right?” “I know,” he breathed, his arm tightening automatically around my waist. “You know how much I wish it was enough.
Bella, would you please stop trying to take your clothes off?
It's something about the inevitability. How nothing can keep them apart--not her selfishness, or his evil, or even death, in the end...their love is their only redeeming quality.
When we were five, they asked us what we wanted to be when we grew up. Our answers were thing like astronaut, president, or in my case… princess. When we were ten, they asked again and we answered - rock star, cowboy, or in my case, gold medalist. But now that we've grown up, they want a serious answer. Well, how 'bout this: who the hell knows?! This isn't the time to make hard and fast decisions, its time to make mistakes. Take the wrong train and get stuck somewhere chill. Fall in love - a lot. Major in philosophy 'cause there's no way to make a career out of that. Change your mind. Then change it again, because nothing is permanent. So make as many mistakes as you can. That way, someday, when they ask again what we want to be… we won't have to guess. We'll know. [from the movie]
You are safe inside your mind. No one can reach you there.
Bella, can you drop the rock, please? Carefully. Don’t hurt yourself.
It’s not like love at first sight, really. It’s more like… gravity moves. When you see her, suddenly it’s not the earth holding you here anymore. She does. And nothing matters more than her. And you would do anything for her, be anything for her… You become whatever she needs you to be, whether that’s a protector, or a lover, or a friend, or a brother.
You know, Jacob, if it weren’t for the fact that we’re natural enemies and that you’re also trying to steal away the reason for my existence, I might actually like you.
There are no rules that can bind you when you find your other half.
I may not be a human, but I am a man.
Edward spoke in a voice so peaceful and gentle that it made the words strangely more threatening. "I'm not going to kill you now, because it would upset Bella." "Hmph," I grumbled. Edward turned slightly to throw me a quick smile. His face was still calm. "It would bother you in the morning," he said, brushing his fingers across my cheek. The he turned back to Jacob. "But if you ever bring her back damaged again--and I don't care whose fault it is; I don't care if she merely trips, or if a meteor falls out of the sky and hits her in the head--if you return her to me in less than the perfect condition that I left her in, you will be running with three legs. Do you understand that, mongrel?" Jacob rolled his eyes. "who's going back?" I muttered Edward continued as if he hadn't heard me. "And if you ever kiss her again, I wiil break your jaw for her," he promised, his voice still gentle and velvet deadly. "What if she wants me to?" Jacob drawled, arrogant. "Hah!" I snorted. "If that's what she wants, then I won't object." Edward shrugged, untroubled. "You might want to wait for her to say it, rather than trust your interpretation of body language-but it's your face." Jacob grinned. "You wish," I grumbled. "Yes, he does," Edward murmured. "Well, if you're done rummaging through my head," Jacob said with a think edge of annoyance, "why don't you go take care of her hand?" "One more thing," Edward said slowly. "I'll be fighting for her, too. You should know that. I'm not taking anything for granted, and I'll be fighting twice as hard as you will." "Good," Jacob growled. "it's no fun beating someone who forfeits." She is mine." Edward's low voice was suddenly dark, not as composed as before, "i did't say I would fight fair." "Neither did I." "Best of luck." Jacob nodded. "Yes, may the best man win." "That sounds about right...pup.
The worst part is that I saw the whole thing -- our whole life. And I want it bad, Jake, I want it all. I want to stay right here and never move. I want to love you and make you happy. And I can't, and it's killing me.

Did you know?

  • Eclipse is the third novel in the Twilight Saga, preceded by New Moon and followed by Breaking Dawn.
  • The book sold more than 150,000 copies in its first 24 hours on sale.
  • It was the fourth best-selling book of 2008, behind only Twilight, New Moon, and Breaking Dawn.
  • The novel is stylized in lowercase as eclipse.
  • A film adaptation, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, was released in 2010 and directed by David Slade.

About Stephenie Meyer

Stephenie Meyer (born December 24, 1973) is an American novelist best known for the vampire romance series Twilight, which has sold over 160 million copies. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in English literature from Brigham Young University in 1997.

More about the author →

About the book

Eclipse is the third novel in Stephenie Meyer's Twilight Saga, continuing the story of teenage narrator Bella Swan, her vampire love Edward Cullen, and her shape-shifter friend Jacob Black. As a string of mysterious killings ravages nearby Seattle and a vengeful vampire named Victoria stalks Bella, the Cullen family and the werewolf pack must set aside their enmity to protect her from a growing army of newborn vampires.

At its heart the book is about choice and its costs: Bella weighs her love for Edward against her friendship with Jacob, and confronts the price of leaving her mortality and human life behind. The novel foregrounds a love triangle while threading in themes of loyalty, sacrifice, and the uneasy alliance forged between two supernatural factions that would otherwise be enemies.

Published in 2007, Eclipse was a major commercial event, selling more than 150,000 copies in its first day and helping cement the Twilight Saga as a cultural phenomenon that has sold well over 100 million copies worldwide. Its success carried into film, with a 2010 movie adaptation, and the book ranked among the best-selling titles of its year.

Key characters

  • Bella SwanTeenage human narrator and protagonist
  • Edward CullenVampire and Bella's love interest
  • Jacob BlackShape-shifter and Bella's close friend and romantic rival
  • VictoriaVengeful vampire antagonist raising a newborn army
  • Charlie SwanBella's father and the local police chief

Book details

First published
2007
Length
629 pages
Reading time
11 hours
Genre
Fiction
Goodreads rating
3.74 (2M ratings)

Series & reading order

  1. 1 Twilight
  2. 2 New Moon
  3. 3 Eclipse
  4. 4 Breaking Dawn

Movie & TV adaptations

  • IMDb
    The Twilight Saga: Eclipse 2010

    Film directed by David Slade, starring Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, and Taylor Lautner.

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