Jacob in Parts

Jacob in Parts

Kathy T. Camp

“We’ll just have to share him. You know, split him up.” I stated with authority.

“I want his arm with the tattoo on it.” Someone from the back of the van hollered.

“Well, I want his abs! Oh My Gosh, did you see his 8 pack?” A chorus of screams echoed through the vehicle.

“I get his butt!”

“I got his beautiful face!”

It was my turn and there wasn’t much left of the gorgeous young Jacob/Werewolf. He did have a beautiful body, so beautiful, that we all pretty much forgot about poor Edward. There was that one scene when he walks away from Bella, he’s shirtless, barefooted, and the muscles on his back rippled like a stormy sea. That’s what I want. His back.

“I want his back!” I yelled, like a thirteen year old girl. “It’s so muscular!”

“Oh, yeaaaaah!” I hear someone coo from the one of the rear seats.

The back, definitely. I would love to close my eyes and imagine tracing those muscles with my fingertips, but I’m the one driving the van load of hormonal pre-teens and their mothers so I force myself to concentrate on the highway.

I have to be careful, even, of what I start to think about. It’s dark now, really dark. I don’t want to run off the road.

I’m trying to make sense of this movie and why I liked it so much. Young men who have some type of curse that prevents them from experiencing true love. It is the perfect tragedy. Not just ordinary young men, though. They are nearly perfect specimens of the human race.

Edward is soft and gentle, which sometimes borders on effeminate, yet he wants to consume the woman he loves in a violent manner. This is so absurd, yet we are all captivated by his lovely, deathly, desire for Bella. His constant, vigilant state of self-suppression becomes the hallmark of his character. He pushes aside his desires for Bella. In an act of sacrificial love, he disappears from her life, in order to save her life. This is such a paradox. It is amazingly beautiful to see. Men on this planet just aren’t made that way. Self-restraint to this degree is unheard of, at least in my world.

Enter Jacob. Another tragic character. His physical beauty is so overwhelming that I forgot about the loveliness of Edward. Jacob is full of virile masculinity, bulging muscles and bronzed-skin, that combined as they are, remind you of a tropical paradise. We know that lurking beneath him is a wolf-type-creature that will shread any human in a matter of seconds. Yet when he touches Bella’s face, to wipe off her bloody forehead, it is as if he is touching a newborn baby. He is the perfect counter-part to Edward.

We've been united in our goal to share Jacob. Women do that. We don't compete for solitary recognition. We love to share. We share food, clothes, and lipstick. We do something else that is a bit bizarre, which I am ashamed to admit, yet I have already put a spotlight one, we are willing to shred a beautiful man, the man who refuses to shred the woman he loves. It is a bit ironic that what I most admired in Jacob, his intense ability and desire to supress his animal instincts, turns out to be a quality I need. In less than 60 seconds, we ripped Jacob apart, one limb at a time, under that guise that we were sharing. I would fight the woman that tried to take away my piece of Jacob.

I found a picture of him, shirtless, and placed it as the background on my home computer. He's holding himself up with his right arm, with those unbelievable muscles, while he scoops Bella up off the beach with his right arm. Her lips are blue. She's wet from her dive into the frigid water. All is well though, he looks like he's about to carry her away to a warm cozy den. He's proven that he will put her safety before his own. Not unlike a soldier. That alone makes him a hero. I think that's why I love Jacob.