a fiery kiss to the night.

I've been curious about how Twilight handles trauma and abuse. Many of the characters, especially the women, carry some sort of emotional or physical trauma with them, yet how they manifest it makes a noticeable impact on how their character is portrayed.

Take Alice, for example. She suffered enormous mental and physical trauma during her time in the asylum, yet she maintains a sunny disposition and doesn't let it visibly affect her.  She is portrayed in a positive light.

Esme? She suffered for years under the wrath of an abusive, unloving man and lost a wanted and loved child, attempting suicide not long after. She (while mostly a very two dimensional character) handles her past with grace and is openly loving and kind toward the people in her life. She is portrayed in a positive light.

Rosalie? She was horribly assaulted and left for dead, then changed by a strange man in the hopes that she would become a bride for his son. She is not happy. She is not kind. She is not agreeable. She is also portrayed as a huge, vapid bitch.

Leah? She has just suffered the loss of a father (that she blames herself for) and the loss of a partner to a family member. Her pack treats her as an outsider. She is angry. She is grieving. She is bitter. And somehow that reflects badly on her instead of making her a human being.

We should let women be angry in the face of injustice and cruelty. Being rightfully angry shouldn’t make you a bitch.

(I know these are not the only reasons why they're portrayed as they are. Both Bella and Edward are biased in their narration. I just found the implied "you should be over it by now" interesting.)