Leah: The Lone Female Werewolf of the Pack

Hanging with the boys... 

 

Leah's journey of solitary.

Written by: Lindsay Brookshier 

 

Leah is the first female to have the werewolf gene triggered. What does this mean for her role in the series?

Leah Clearwater is the only female wolf in the Quiellette pack. This surprised everyone when the werewolf gene was triggered for her shortly after the loss of her father. The elders had no idea that this was a possibility for the women in the tribe. 

Leah has experienced a loaded mess of heartache and sadness before her transformation into the wolf pack. If you're an avid Twilight reader: you know the story well. Sam imprints on Emily and leaves Leah behind in the dust. This breaks Leah's heart utterly and completely on many different levels. This was a large burden for Leah to carry as it was. Then when she transformed into a wolf her entire world changed. Her body didn't carry out her normal female functions like it used to, she was stuck in a pack with Sam as the leader, her thoughts were not her own anymore and she struggled with the implications of her transformation.

Why a female werewolf? Why does Stephanie Meyer include Leah in the wolf pack?

  Well, I even pulled out The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide for this post! And I found nada! No clear answers from Stephanie Meyer on Leah's unique presence in the wolf pack. The guide briefly mentions how her family missed all the warning signs of her transformation because they never expected this legend would impact their daughter but other than that I could not find any clear answers. 

However, from a literary perspective, Leah's transformation is interesting. Authors do not do anything unintentionally so why make Leah a werewolf? Leah is not a well liked character in the way she is portrayed when she is first introduced in the saga. She is bitter, cold, grumpy and not an agreeable person to be around. When she is transformed into a wolf- all these characteristics become an asset to her abilities. Leah is not the typical feminine character- she has stereotypical masculinized traits such as anger, aggression, bravery and strength. Is this why she is such a good fit for the wolf pack? Would she have been such a powerful asset if her personality was the opposite of these characteristics? Leah's anger transforms into power in a fight: as we know from werewolves their strength and transformation is triggered by their anger. She is the fastest runner in the pack; an asset that she carries proudly amongst the men. 

Leah is a complex character; once she joins Jacob's wolf pack half way through Breaking Dawn her attitudes begin to change. Her loyalty to her brother motivates her to make the biggest change and betrayal to everything she believes in; becoming a 'guard dog' for the vampires. But she not only does this out of love for her brother; she has finally found her escape from Sam and the heart break she has suffered ever since he imprinted on Emily. We start to see a shimmer of happiness in Leah as she welcomes a new freedom to be free from mental anguish and begins to connect to Jacob as they share their own personal heart aches together as friends. Leah may be the only female werewolf but if Stephanie Meyer would continue to write the series- would she be the last? Would another female tribe members follow along this same path? Or is Leah unique in the sense that her anger and bitterness triggered such a drastic transformation?

What do you think of Leah? Is she a good role model of strength for women that undergo heartache? Fire away your responses and questions in the comments!