Stephenie Meyer has hit the jackpot with her best-selling book series, Twilight. The saga is idolized to no end by the target demographic, young female teenagers aged 12-17, but why? In her blog article, “‘Twilight’ Sucks… And Not in a Good Way,” Kellen Rice went into detail about the female stereotypes perpetuated by the Twilight series. While quite blatantly alluding to abuse, sexism, and inequality, the saga has received no major complaints thus far (Keller par. 11). Meyer’s writing is “insulting on every level—as a woman, as a teenager, as a literature student, and as a graduate of the Harry Potter craze” Keller writes. With examples of female stereotyping from each of the four books in the saga, Keller questions the devotion to the series and the lack of concern for the caveman-universe that the characters are apparently living in. It is quite possible that this series has “set gender equality back two hundred years in the minds of millions” (Keller par. 16).
While the male characters are partly to blame for their treatment of the central female character, it is Bella Swan who brings this damsel-in-distress stigma upon herself. She sacrifices her dreams of going to college in order to be with Edward twenty-four-seven, an unnecessary sacrifice no less. Bella is additionally given the role of “a modern Eve, begging the noble, moral gentleman for sex while he desires to preserve their virtue” (Keller par. 6). In fact, it is only Edward who worries that Bella will go to Hell for sleeping with a vampire; Bella appears to be okay with succumbing to eternal damnation, as long as she gets her husband. At one point in the series, when Edward leaves her—for her own good, mind you—Bella transitions into a “zombie” state, both physically and emotionally. She is in so much pain at the loss of Edward, in fact, that she turns to pulling dangerous stunts—like motorcycling and cliff diving—simply to hear his (imagined) voice in her head begging her to stop (Keller par. 7). What message does this send to the readers? That they should “fall apart at the seams for months if their boyfriend leaves them? That reckless self-endangerment is okay, so long as it’s to be close to your lover?” (Keller par. 8). Somehow, that does not seem correct. In the third installment, Eclipse, Edward is back but jealous of Bella’s friendship with another guy, Jacob Black. He becomes a tad fixated on this green-eyed emotion, taking the engine out of her car and getting his sister, Alice, to “kidnap” her so that she cannot escape the house to see her male friend. Scarier than Edward’s actions is Bella’s rationalization of them. She basically brushes it off as him being a little overprotective (more like possessive) and doing it because he loves her (and is obsessed with her). Sounds like a healthy relationship, right? As if that were not enough, Meyer “romanticizes and idealizes it” in the case of both of Bella’s relationships (Keller par. 10). In Jacob’s case, he forcibly kisses her twice, using the threat of suicide as leverage to get her to go along with the idea. “Not once,” however, “does the thought of abuse, sexism, or inequality even occur to her main character!” (Keller par. 11). In fact, she has an epiphany: she is in love with him. But don’t judge her too hard. I’m sure we all had a moment of realization after our best friend forced him/herself on us. It’s never happened, you say? Apparently, it’s nothing out of the ordinary in Meyer’s world.
Bella Swan is by far “one of the most awful excuses for a female literary hero that I’ve ever seen” (Keller par. 15). Despite this, she is put on a pedestal by thousands of girls, as is her vampire lover whose good looks and charming personality fail to make up for his treatment of the female lead. Maybe parents should take a break from the Harry Potter book-burning and turn their sights in the direction of Twilight. Surely, the negative message is more relatable to today’s world and the impressionable young ladies who inhabit it.
Works Cited:
Rice, Kellen. "Twilight Sucks... And Not in a Good Way." Weblog post.
Politics. Sports. Anything. 16 Aug. 2008. Blast Magazine. 1 Mar. 2009.
[<]http://psa.blastmagazine.com/2008/16/twilight-sucks-and-not-in-a-
good-way/[>].
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