Literary fascination
The novel series are bestsellers and well written. This piece serves as a small literary analysis of some elements of the novels.
The character of Edward Cullen is a tragic lonely hero, much like the Byronic hero. He is dependent upon Bella's love to change and Bella finds him dangerously irresistible. As mentioned in my piece on Byronic hero, girls are attracted to bad boys.
Twilight represents the fantasy that most women like and seek, to be saved from obscurity by a handsome, mysterious stranger.
Meyer's novel series offers readers a new aspect on vampires, a reconstruction of vampirism that takes away the 'dark side'.
Bella and Edward's love story is just like the tragic gothic lovers in the Bronte novels. They are the 21st century representation of Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester or Heathcliff and Catherine.
Let's talk about sex
According to Silveri and Ursini: 'Twilight series author Stephenie Meyer is in many ways the apostate literary daughter of Anne Rice. Although she takes many elements from Rice's novels (vampires as a separate species with good and evil elements: a brooding existential male vampire not unlike Louis or Lestat, etc) she has chosen to eschew the perverse eroticism of Rice (which included overtones of fetishism and homosexuality) in favor of a more spiritual concept of love.'
With her strong Mormon ethics, Meyer's novel series are often considered to be advocating abstinence and ethereal love.
The romantic scenes between Edward and Bella are platonic at first. The sexual tension is strongly felt, but let's think, most readers are young adults and even children as old as 11. So if they don't have sex in the first novel and wait till after they're married in the fourth book, we shouldn't criticize this, it is not a novel for adults. Religion and moral issues aside, these latter subjects are not solely responsible for the novel's success.
According to Charlotte Montague: 'As a metaphor for sexual development in modern day teenagers, the novel works well. Although the young couple have intense feelings for one another, they cannot engage in a sexual relationship, as this would 'corrupt' Bella and maybe kill her. Sexual love is seen as a 'forbidden fruit'. Hence the apple on the book cover.
In the United States there is a strong 'chastity before marriage' movement among very religious groups. With the fears of sexually transmitted diseases and teen pregnancies, the image of sex has changed for teenagers and they must be careful. The Twilight novels with its gothic element and horror, recognizes these concerns.
Meyer mentioned in many interviews that she studied classic Gothic romance novels such as the Bronte's.
Edward Cullen is her version of the modern 21st century Byronic hero. Bella is seen as weaker than Catherine or Jane Eyre, she probably falls in the category of 'damsel in distress'. She gets rescued many times by Edward. Some may criticize this trope but I don't mind it.
Teen mom terror
Edward and Bella get married, it's beautiful, they go on honeymoon and finally have sex. Though it is violent and Bella has a few bruises, she's incredibly happy. After a few days she discovers she's pregnant. A lot of people might say that the 'sex' they had just like in Mormon culture is only for procreation. It might be seen in that light, Meyer is introducing an element that is not always common in vampire fiction, a vampire baby is going to be born. This baby is growing inside a human woman, Bella. She is shocked and excited but scared later when she realizes that the baby will kill her when it gets born. The next parts are gory as the baby is cut out of her and before she dies, Edward injects his venom in her. Bella is 'saved' and turned into a vampire.
The reason that Bella's pregnancy and giving birth is so gory and uncomfortable to some fans is because Meyer intended to portray how bearing children can be beautiful at first but it is excruciatingly painful and scary. Something tells me that in Mormon culture, women who are giving birth don't get epidurals.
I am in no way disrespecting Mormon religion here, just highlighting some elements of it in the novel.
Edward and Bella's love life started slow and then moved on very fast after that, marriage and then boom, a baby who grows up fast. After making peace with the Volturi, Bella and Edward have forever to be together while their daughter grows into an adult and has a 'protector' or godfather: Jake the wolfman.
Wedding time
Bella is dying as the birth is extremely painful
Bella wakes up as a newborn vampire
One beautiful family
The likes and dislikes
In conclusion, there might be elements in the novels that people might nitpick at, for example:
. The strong religious or Mormon elements
. The sexual tension
. The fact that the vampire Cullen coven does not feed on humans, only animals, does not sit well with some people. They tend to forget that animal blood consumption is seen in 'Buffy', 'Interview with the vampire' and even the show 'Supernatural'. Anyway, the Volturi and other vampire characters feed on humans in the novels.
. The 'sparkle' factor
In the end people are entitled to their own opinion and to criticize what they don't like.
I love the novel series because:
. The Bronte inspiration of Bella and Edward's love and the Byronic Edward.
. Most vampire cliches and tropes are broken which feels interesting and original. Meyer's vampires are so different she introduces a brand new species and that is not a bad thing.
. I don't find the sparkling in the sunlight silly at all.
References
. Silver. A, & Ursini. J. (2011) The Vampire film: From Nosferatu to True Blood, Hal Leaonard Corporation; Upd Exp edition
. Montague. C. (2010) Vampires: From Dracula to Twilight- The Complete Guide to Vampire Mythology, Chartwell Books.
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