In a desperate attempt for entertainment, I picked up the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyers over Thanksgiving Break and proceeded to consume the content quite swiftly. I'll admit, the story is interesting and Meyers is creative. Still, after reading these books, I've become almost uncomfortable with what they've become. Maybe if they didn't have such a huge female following I wouldn't care, but the fact that so many people are going nuts over the "romance" has inspired me to lamely speak my peace. I've decided to list my qualms in an orderly fashion.
1. Who is Bella Swan? That's a good question! Don't ask Meyers, though because she doesn't know! In the Harry Potter series J.K. Rowling created a neutral lens character to focus perspective on - someone the reader could relate and project themselves onto and experience the story through. Meyers did the same for Bella. Oh wait, expect it didn't work and it SUCKED. Unlike Potter - an average boy with a strong sense of self who just happens to be thrust into a supernatural environment - Bella is a boring, flat, indifferent character thrust into a supernatural environment. Besides her consistent "anti-mainstream" attitude, there is little we can say about her. She doesn't take shape until Edward comes into the story. The only thing interesting about her is him and the new twist he puts on her life. The only back story we know about her involves her parents. This lack of personality is startling, especially when you consider the annoying amount of time that Meyers invests in Bella's "self reflection" in the text. Literally, after and before something major happens in the plot she dreams about it/thinks about it/talks it to death. You'd think that after that you might be able to say something interesting about the girl, right? False. Just try. Try and say something interesting about Bella Swan without talking about werewolves and vampaires. You can't.
2. Bella Swan's entire existence and self worth is defined by men. Now, I wouldn't call myself a feminist or anything, but this was a consistent theme that made me want to rip my hair out while I read these books. As mentioned before, she isn't interesting until Edward comes. When he leaves, she warps into a dull, emo chick who can only function after finding another boy (Jacob Black) and feed off of his happiness. Her story is a reaction to Edward and Jacob's Tug of War. She is indecisive, inconsistent, and a poor example for an independent females.
3. This book advocates idolatry, not true love. The fact that she deems her life worthless without him is very troubling. In the book she defines her personal hell as an existence without Edward. Sweetie, the real defiition of hell is an existence without God. This kind of love is plain unhealthy and shouldn't be mimicked on any level. I'm not even just speaking from a religious perspective (don't get me started), but love should complete someone. It shouldn't destroy someone. It shouldn't force someone to change, become dependent, or loose the little that makes them, well...them.
4. The people who "edited" this book should be shot...no I take that back. They should be banished to an island and be forced to read these books over and over and over again, running their tired eyes over every unnecessary word and scene that they allowed between the worthless binding. This stupid novel is so frggin redundant. I can't tell you how many times I had to put it down during one of Bella's personal rants of indecision or overly literal dreams that she surprisingly couldn't figure out (grrrrrrr!). Seriously??? It was absolutely intolerable during some parts. The plot structure was uneven, the action was poorly dispersed, and with a few exceptions the characters didn't develop. Each book could've been condensed into much shorter works. Let's save some trees, people! Please!
5. It's just plain scary that people are actually holding the contents and characters of these books up as ideals of some sort. If any teenage girls are reading this (unlikely), please please please understand: you DO NOT want to be like Bella Swan. You don't want to be a girl who gives up her sense of self, her family, her friends, and her very humanity to be with a boy. I don't care how hot he is. I personally believe that the only way this story could've worked for me is if they parted ways or Bella held on to her humanity while Edward stayed by her side. Aside from the bad writing and other flaws, that's the only way the story could've displayed the true nature of love. Honestly, the ending (sorry if I gave it away) only advocates unhealthy selflessness. Again, this is idolotary and not LOVE. It's unhealthy! Unhealthy, I say!
Sorry for being such a crazy downer, but I had to let it out. Honeslty, these books were fanscinating and I'm not sorry I read them. It gave me some thought provoking material to work with - just probably not in the way intended. It made me an unexpected, yet needed does of reality. If you insist on reading Twilight saga, do it as an educational experience in critical thought OR simply for guilty pleasure. That's fine. Please, just don't raise it to the level of honorable romance. I might cry!
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