Charlie Swan

The Basics—

• Name: Charlie Swan
• Date of Birth: 1964 (He is 37 years old in Twilight)
• Place of Birth: Forks, WA (Twilight, pg. 4)
• Current Residence: Forks, WA (Twilight, pg. 4)
• Status: Human

Physical Appearance—

• Hair Color: Brown (Twilight pg. 142)
• Eye Color: Brown
• Other: Bella comments that she could see why Renee ran away with Charlie. "When he smiled I could see a little of the man who had run away with Renee….” (Twilight, pg. 141). He is noted to have curly brown hair matching Bella’s.

Associations—

• Family: Isabella Swan, Renee Dwyer, Geoffrey Swan, Helen Swan
• Significant Other: Assumed to be Sue Clearwater
• Friends: Billy Black, Harry Clearwater
• Occupation: Forks Police Chief (Twilight, pg. 5)

Personality/Characteristics—

• Hobbies: Fishing & watching sports with Billy Black and Harry Clearwater.
• Interests: Sports
• Description: Charlie tends to be reserved and to his own person. Bella herself mentions that neither she nor Charlie is very verbose (Twilight, pg. 5). Despite his reserved state, Charlie demonstrates numerous times that he can be strict and concerned. One of the most notable examples of this is his reaction to learning about Bella’s motorcycle, and his punishment for such rebellion. After the events of the motorcycle and Bella’s depression, Charlie only allows Bella to see Edward from 7 to 9:30 p.m., under his watch. (Eclipse, pg. 7) After Bella’s depression, Charlie adopts a sort of hostile attitude towards Edward, in which he seems to show little to no trust of the vampire. Ultimately, Charlie’s attitude toward Edward only demonstrates his worries and concerns for Bella. The fact that he doesn’t understand the relationship between Bella and Edward causes him to keep himself in a protective state, always on the alert for his daughter.

Personal History—

Charlie Swan and Renee Higginbotham had what is described as a "rushed romance." When they first met, Charlie was already caring for his ill parents, Geoffrey and Helen Swan. Shortly after the birth of their only child, Isabella Swan, Renee left Charlie, leaving him alone with his sick parents at his side. Charlie decides that he would not go after Renee because of his duty to his parents. By the time his parents had passed on, he felt that the separation between him and his ex-wife was too deep to be healed. Despite this, Charlie still feels love towards Renee and even though things didn’t work out between the two, they are still friendly with one another. Charlie even accepts Phil Dwyer as her new husband

In the years following the divorce, Bella visits him once a month in the summer. She eventually makes the decision to move in with him after Renee’s marriage to Phil, much to his confusion (Twilight, chapter one). As time moves on, Bella begins to date Edward Cullen and Charlie remains level-headed throughout most of the relationship. However, after Edward’s sudden departure and Bella’s depression, Charlie holds a dislike for Edward. “Usually my dad reserved this kind of behavior for my boyfriend’s benefit, doing his best to illustrate the theme of “unwelcome” with every word and posture,” (Eclipse, pg. 6).

This dislike continues through Breaking Dawn and is shown in Charlie’s reluctance to allow Edward to take Bella’s hand in marriage. When Bella’s pregnancy becomes an issue, the Cullens keep Charlie away from her. This changes, however, when Jacob Black reveals to Charlie that he is a werewolf and leads him to Bella and Renesmee at the Cullen’s home. Charlie easily accepts Jacob’s condition as well as his new granddaughter, Renesmee, but chooses to remain oblivious to the fact that his daughter and the Cullens are vampires, although he is aware that there is something unnatural about them.

By the end of Breaking Dawn, he develops a relationship with his friend, Sue Clearwater. He remains constantly worried over Jacob Black through this period as well.

Classic Quotes—