Argh!! After seeing all the fan sites on FB for the Twilight novels, I am come to the realization that some people will continuously live cliches!
As my bro Isaiah (not the one I’m allergic to) mentioned after reading the series (and I agree): “Eddie and Bella become more annoying as time goes on. They both need to be smacked for being one-dimensional, cliche and boring.”
It’s clearly targeting the angsty teenage crowd but as a woman of (some) wisdom, I can’t imagine ever condoning these books! Bella is a self centered, selfish, weak character!
If you haven’t read all three books you may be in for some spoilers..
Someone please explain how women especially can read this and love the two main characters as:
Bella enjoys her “harmless” flirtations and leading on the two men in her life; falls apart when Edward leaves her; can’t do anything without his say-so; and Edward is cocky, arrogant, (He doesn’t have many other facial expressions other than smirk) and leaves her without so much as an explanation..are these they types of people you admire and want to emulate?
The messages these books give its readers are downright disgusting:
1.) Looks are so very important. When you have several men trying to get in your pants, ignore the nice guy and go for the “hot” guy.
2.) It’s ok to have no goals and not want to pursue college because if you pick the right man he will take care of you
3.) It is super flattering when the guy you are with is obsessive, stalkerish, possessive, and sneaks into your bedroom to watch you sleep. So sweet!
A very intelligent comment/retort from Facebook that I have taken the liberty to paste here:
Daya, I respect your opinion about the series, but as a fan of the books I have to disagree with the “messages” you believe Twilight is sending young women (and men).
1.) The book does not glorify looks as the most important aspect of a relationship. Bella is clearly described as being simple or plain in appearance, and yet Edward who is very beautiful (for the purpose of attracting prey, which is emphasized more than once) see’s past Bella’s outward appearance. To him she is the most beautiful person in the world because of who she is as an individual and for the reason’s special to him. Also, Mike and esp. Jacob are described as being good looking as well, which Bella disregards because she has an emotional connection with Edward that the other two lack.
2.) Bella does not blow of college simply b/c Edward has enough money to take care of her. Each book emphasizes the fact that she studies often and keeps good grades. The only reason she isn’t going to college (right away at least) is b/c she will be physically unable when she changes AND b/c she refuses to let Edward pay her tuition for her. Jacob also offers to “take care of her” when vying for her attention yet she disregards him b/c money is not the reason she has chosen Edward.
3.) Let’s be honest about this one. Not only is the “stalkerish” factor a mere facet of Edward being a vampire and his ability, but metaphorically I think even the most independent women would agree that having a man you love want to spend “every waking moment” with you is desireable… not to mention a reacurring theme in most literature addressing love and relationships.
Like I said, I totally respect your opinion but I definitely disagree. Even Stephanie Meyers stated herself that she wrote the story in hopes of creating a science fiction novel that at it’s heart is an idyllic, encapsulating love story.
Of course it’s often not realistic, but then again how much truly good and timeless literature is?
…and my response
Olivia,
While I too respect your opinion, I still disagree. I’m actually fairly surprised at myself because I usually don’t feel very strongly over entertainment/reading material.
However, now that I got started I will continue:
1.) It does glorify looks. Bella describes herself as “simple or plain in appearance” but the reactions she gets from others implies otherwise. Even her name, Isabella Swan, practically shouts beauty and grace. I don’t think the “popular” crowd would have taken her under their wing so quickly while the male students jostle each other to get at her if she wasn’t attractive. She receives several requests to prom (again this is geared at a younger crowd and what teen doesn’t wish this was her?) and Edward often describes her as beautiful, sexy, etc.
Further, I couldn’t read more than two pages without an in depth, lengthy description of some part of Edward’s body (I get it, he’s hot)…too much purple prose for my taste.
2.) I will give you that one simply because I don’t remember what my reasons were yesterday.
3.) Just because Ed’s abilities allow him to creep about unnoticed and are a “mere facet” of his abilities, I still hold him to our mortal morals. Just because we have camera surveillance doesn’t mean they should be installed in areas like dressing rooms or bathrooms.
He is also possessive, gearing up at Jacob every chance he gets and going so far as to disable Bella’s car so she can’t leave her house and his surveillance?? Come on…
Finally, Bella whines. A lot. It annoys me. She does idiot things that I just can’t believe. She bloodies herself up just to get the car radio out that was given to her as a gift. To me it’s just contradictory. If she’s going to try to break typical feminine stereotypes (like the cooking, cleaning, and laundry she seems to do constantly) with her motorcycle, then learn to use a screwdriver!
The last straw is when Edward leaves her. The book literally skips a section of her life bc she is in such a deep depression. It has a page for NOVEMBER and then it’s blank, then it goes to JANUARY (or whatever the months were). I can’t abide a character so weak that her life is just so worthless we can just skip half a year because since Edward isn’t around, nothing important must have happened.
Finally (for real this time!), plot. There is none. It dutifully chugs along and about 3/4 of the way through it’s as if Steph realized,”Crap! In good books, isn’t there something called a climax”??
She throws in James and once again, Bella, our damsel in distress, almost gets killed if not for Edward saving the day.
I can keep going, but I think I have wasted enough time on this series. It rates a 2/10, if that. It’s a little more understandable when keeping the intended audience age in mind, but if I were a mother of an impressionable teen/preteen, I would rather have my heroine be..oh, I don’t know..heroic?
If you want a fun supernatural read, Jaz Parks and Danny Valentine novels lead the pack for female protagonists. They don’t whine.
They do kick ass.
Tags: Dante Valentine, Jaz Parks, New Moon, Stephanie Myers, Twilight
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I am the afore mentioned bro, Isaiah. I would like to take some time form my work schedule to defend my (and Daya’s) assessment of these books. Firstly, I would like to say that I enjoyed reading them, much like I enjoy watching bad TV. However, these novels have generated some good reviews and have been compared to the Harry Potter series. Thus, I feel compelled to voice my opinion as to why they are nothing more than mind candy.
The relationship between Bella and Edward is purely carnal. I feel this is a good choice of words, especially in Edward’s case, since his attraction towards Bella stems from the fact that her blood smells particularly delicious to him. In other words, Edward is attracted to Bella in the same way that I am attracted to a steak. Bella is attracted to Edward because part of his predatory repretoire is his irresitability to humans. (He is handsome, smells good, etc.) Their relationship never progresses beyond this stage. In fact, they more or less admit that they are each other’s drug of choice. They can’t live without each other like a crack addict can’t live without her fix. Although such a relationship is very attractive to 14 year old girls, it is not a good relationshop to idealize. When Edward left, Bella expressed her lonliness in an unhealthy, immautre way as shown by the blank pages. Many people probably remember feeling the same way for a week, when they broke up with their first love, which again explains the appeal to 14 year olds. But, I digress.
The only person who seems to behave normally is Jacob. Bella is capable of having anormal relationship with him, a posssibility which the author, to her credit, acknowledges. Jacob is not over protective (smothering) like Edward. In fact, he doesn’t prevent her from visiting the vampires, although Edward prevents her from visiting the werewolves. Jacob is also not as needy as Edward and does what he feels is right, even if Bella disapproves. Edward only acts if he feels Bella will give him an OK. This again shows the immaturity of their relationship.
I’d like to close with a few blanket comments. Charlie is the worst character of the bunch. Does he ever do any policing? Does he ever miss the generic sports games he seems to love? Why doesn’t anybody care that the Cullens never eat? Was Jessica mad at Bella purely so Stephanie Meyer didn’t have to write about her anymore? If Bella is so unattractive, why does everyone at the school want to date her? Also, Edward never seems to go all the way and tell Bella what the other boys are thinking. Is he worried that a little self esteem might strengthen her personality? The part the bugs me the most is that the premise of the book, vampirism and lycanthropy as a metapor for puberty and all the fun that comes with it, is generally squandered. I think a more talented writer would be able to use this idea more effectively.
Finally, I hope in the final book the following happens: Bella is changed, and Edward is no longer attracted to her since he can no longer eat her. She feels rejected, tries to get together with Jacob, but find that Jacob no longer loves her, since he “imprinted” on her human form. Bella then calls on the Volturi to kill her. They can’t/won’t and she lives the rest of her life miserable and alone. At least then, her bad behavior won’t go unrewarded! Sorry if this was a bit rambling.
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Mary
on January 12, 2009 at 1:23 am Most teenagers are not quite so impressionable as they seem; they just want you to believe that they are so they have an excuse to behave stupidly. I can also assure you that teenagers with average intelligence are not going to view Bella as a role model; she’s just a fictional character and this is just a book meant for entertainment, not education. I mean, Elizabeth Bennet from “Pride and Prejudice” was a strong character, but I don’t know of any teenager who seeks to emulate her. If a teenager actually tries to imitate the personality and choices of a fictional character, then they are beyond help. It also speaks volumes about the teen’s parents or guardians. But I digress. Let’s get back to Bella…
Bella is no Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She’s just a teenage girl who fell in love for the first time. People often feel strongly about their first love and Bella is no different. She’s still at that stage where she’s discovering who she really is and sometimes it takes people years before they feel comfortable in their own skin.
I think it’s realistic that Bella isn’t some super strong female who has all of the answers and can solve every problem on her own. She has a lot of self-doubt about her own worthiness as a human being and needs constant assurance from her boyfriend. This is how many (not all) teenage girls are, but most of them do grow out of it as they become more mature and develop more independence through life experiences. It’s not fair to expect Bella to have the strength and wisdom of a fully grown woman. Now if she behaved like this as a 25 year old, then that would be different…
Bella is not all weak though. Remember, she grew up with Renee who was more like the immature daughter while Bella had to be the grown-up. She had to look after her mother and take care of her. That takes a lot of maturity and strength. When she goes to live with Charlie, she takes care of him as well, though not in the same way she took care of her mother (Charlie, thankfully, has some common sense). So similar to teens in real life, Bella is mature in some ways and immature in others, which means she still has a lot of growing up to do.
Many people have criticized the unhealthy relationship between Bella and Edward and are concerned that teenage girls and young women are actually wishing for a similar type of relationship. While I did find Edward’s obsessiveness creepy (especially when he snuck into her room and watched her sleep), there were aspects of his personality that left me wishing I could find someone with those traits. Edward is protective of Bella and he truly admires her. While I am very independent and ambitious, it is occasionally nice to have someone protect me or rescue me when I get into trouble. I cannot begin to tell you the number of cowardly men I’ve dated. I’ve always ended up rescuing them or protecting them to the point where I felt like their mother, which was just creepy. It gets exhausting after a while. I think feminism has brought about a new problem in which many men just don’t have balls; they’ve become used to strong women to the point where they expect to be babied and women end up with boyfriends/husbands who are more like children.
My point is that when women are swooning over Bella and Edward’s relationship, I don’t think most of them want the exact same relationship, but they do want a relationship in which they feel like the guy will stand up and fight for them even if they don’t need someone to fight their battles. It’s just a nice feeling to know that someone has your back and is completely devoted to you.
Although it was very creepy of Edward to sneak into Bella’s room to watch her sleep, I’ve heard a lot of teens say that they wished a guy would do the same thing. What I think (or at least I hope) these teens mean is that they wished they could find a guy who found them interesting just as they are; they want someone who is attentive to them. Normally, guys only display that level of intense focus and attention when watching/playing sports, playing video games, fixing cars, etc, but rarely is that level of attention focused on their girlfriend/wife.
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Jessica
on September 23, 2009 at 7:03 pm You said:
The messages these books give its readers are downright disgusting:
1.) Looks are so very important. When you have several men trying to get in your pants, ignore the nice guy and go for the “hot” guy.
2.) It’s ok to have no goals and not want to pursue college because if you pick the right man he will take care of you
3.) It is super flattering when the guy you are with is obsessive, stalkerish, possessive, and sneaks into your bedroom to watch you sleep. So sweet!
I say:
1.) What, so people can’t have preferences? Whatever happened to self-determination?
2.) No, it’s better to throw over the love of your life (who also happens to be rich and more than willing to provide for you) in order to rack up a whole lot of debt getting a college degree, and then spend months looking for a good job that hasn’t yet been outsourced.
3.) No, it’s more flattering when your guy sneaks into some other woman’s bedroom.Everybody seems to want Bella to be some sort of heroic role model. Guess what? She behaves like a normal teenage girl. Sorry if people can’t accept reality. Not every woman can be Xena or Buffy – and thank God for that, because if they were, the human race would have died out long ago due to women that can’t stand anything feminine (having kids, etc) and want to dedicate their lives to beating up bad guys and sending faxes.
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