Charlie Swan in the book New Moon by Stephanie Meyer is a key character in relation to the book's main character, Bella Swan. The Twilight series focuses on the epic saga of the love between the teenager Bella and the vampire Edward Cullen. We originally meet Charlie Swan in the first chapter of the book Twilight. We learn quickly of his fierce love and protectiveness of his daughter Bella. It is illustrated many times. As Bella's father, Charlie is a continued presence in this second installment of Meyer's hit series.
The Twilight series is set in Forks, Washington a small town of which Charlie Swan presides over as Police Chief. A father, police officer, fisherman and loyal friend to many in Forks and the neighboring La Push, Charlie's basic character does not change much as New Moon begins. If reading the books in order, readers already know the character of Charlie Swan has been pushed to his fatherly limits in the first book.
Just as Charlie was beginning to get used to having a teenage daughter in his house, he had to deal with her first boyfriend Edward Cullen, Bella and Edward's "fight", and Bella's running away which resulted in her almost being killed. Of course, poor Charlie did not know that Edward and his family are vampires or that Bella's fight with Edward was staged to protect Charlie from a different, evil vampire.
Stephanie Meyer puts poor Charlie through emotional upheaval in her first book, leaving us with a wary Charlie at the beginning of New Moon. We had learned quite a bit about his character in the first book and it carries over to the second. We know that Charlie is still not a good cook, loves to fish, enjoys spending time with Harry Clearwater and Billy Black, still has fond memories of Bella's mom and is fiercely dedicated to his work as Police Chief.
In New Moon, Charlie still respects Carlisle Cullen, Edward's "father", as a doctor but does not like Bella dating Edward. He complains to Bella, "He's too old for you." If only Charlie knew that Edward actually was decades older than Bella as well as a vampire, he'd really be opposed. In contrast, Charlie has come to like and enjoy the company of Edward's sister, Alice. It is referenced that Alice helped take care of Bella during her recovery from injuries sustained at the hands of the evil vampire James.
Charlie's tolerance for Edward and affection for Alice come to a screeching halt when Edward abruptly walks out of Bella's life in chapter three. The absolute heartbreak of Bella and her severe depression are immensely painful for Charlie to endure. He is furious with the Cullens for leaving and the impact it had on Bella. Charlie is exasperated and concerned with Bella's lifelessness to the point that he threatens to send her to Jacksonville, Florida to live with her mother. He does not really want her to leave but is at his wits end. He simply wants her "not to be miserable."
As Bella begins to wake from her lethargy and spend time with Billy Black's son, Jacob, Charlie is pleased. He is preoccupied with work but happy Bella seems to be acting alive again. It is interesting to watch Charlie Swan, the one character in New Moon who is unaware of vampires or werewolves and how his life is constantly being touched and affected by these creatures. He has supported Bella when she mourned the vampires leaving as well as her sudden break from Jacob as he dealt with his werewolf transformation. From his character's viewpoint, these were terrible events but not of the supernatural order.
Charlie is hit again with turmoil and grief when he loses a dear friend. Meyer asks his character to deal with even more when she has Bella abandoning Charlie, Jacob and Forks in order to go save her true love, Edward. It is a lot to ask of any character but Charlie Swan is written honestly. He never becomes a caricature of the freaked-out, angry parent.
Characters, like Charlie Swan in New Moon, can easily become annoying and make the reader want to turn the page quickly and leave them behind. Stephanie Meyer has constructed a genuine character with Charlie Swan. He is likeable and believable as a parent to the unique Bella. New Moon offers an engaging and exciting sequel to Twilight with continuing characters like Charlie Swan that keep the story real and on track.