What is imprinting in the ‘Twilight’ series?

The Twilight Saga has a fair share of eyebrow-raising lore. Vampires who sparkle in the sunlight, for example, is one of the most questionable choices Stephenie Meyer made when penning the series. But the concept of imprinting is also way up there.

What takes the whole concept to a new level of strangeness, though, is the fact that one of Bella Swan’s suitors imprints on her unborn daughter. Yes, it’s as wild as it sounds, and understandably, the subject generated a lot of controversy among fans and haters alike. If Jacob Black imprinting on a baby already feels like an iffy decision to those familiar with the concept, imagine what it must seem like to those who don’t quite understand it.

What does it mean for a werewolf to imprint in The Twilight Saga?

In the real world, we’re used to hearing or using the term “imprint” when referring to newborn animals — ducks, for example. They imprint on the first thing they see, hear, or touch right after they hatch, typically the mother, and follow her around from that moment forward, taking on the imprintee’s behaviors. In The Twilight Saga, however, the concept is very different.

For the werewolves of the Quileute tribe, imprinting is a bond that forms without control from either of the parts involved, and it happens only after a werewolf comes of age and gains the ability to shape-shift. After this monumental change, when the werewolf sets eyes on their destined soulmate, they become automatically linked to that person, bound to protect them and make them happy in any way possible.

This doesn’t mean that the bond is inherently romantic, though, as there are different stages to the process. If the werewolf imprints on a child, as is Jacob’s case, the feeling is more akin to that of an older sibling’s need to protect. As the imprintee grows up, that feeling starts to transform into something more, with the shape-shifter becoming more of a best friend. It’s only much later, when the imprintee is old enough, that the werewolf fully develops romantic feelings for that person.

While the process is all-encompassing for the werewolf, the imprintee is never forced to fall in love or even like them. In fact, they’re totally free to outright reject the shifter, but even in such cases, the shifter can never imprint again. The bond is solid and cannot be broken, meaning that a rejected werewolf would be doomed to live with that pain for the rest of their days.