I finally jumped on the band wagon and read all four of Stephanie Meyer's books in the Twilight Saga. I'll admit I did this kicking and screaming. I really had no interest in the books, the movies, or even the subject matter. I mean vampires and werewolves and other kinds of gruesome un-dead characters don't exactly pop up on my reading list radar. I much prefer historical fiction, mystery, drama, and adventure stories. Quasi-horror never makes the cut.
One day though, I got into a discussion about the Twilight Saga with a friend who loves them. I had limited to no knowledge of the books, so holding up my end of the discussion quickly became an epic fail. She finally told me bluntly that until I read them myself I couldn't hope to have a solid opinion on them.
So I dived in. No surprise the books are MUCH better then the movies, and Meyer certainly has a talent for writing an engaging story. Based on her writing alone it's easy to see why she is a national bestselling author. Also, to her credit, Meyer has written a story that is vastly more complex then just a vampire/human romance. With that being said though I do have some concerns about some content, themes, and especially, lessons within the story.
What I Didn't Like:
First, it needs to be said that I would never call these books young adult fiction. I believe the audiance Meyer and her publishers targeted is far too young for the content.
One major theme throughout the entire story is the desperate need for Edward and Bella to be together. Now, I appreciate romance as much as anyone, but their relationship is completely unhealthy. Is it really a good thing to be so wrapped up in someone else? Neither Edward or Bella have any independence and no personality in and of themselves. Neither one can function normally or healthily when they are away from each other. Bella spends all her time alone dreaming of Edward and waiting for him to return to her. Edward always expresses a mutual feeling when he arrives.
In book 2: Edward leaves Bella thinking it'd be safer for her to be out of his life. Once gone, Bella goes into a serious bought of depression. A depression so deep and unhealthy that for months she can barely function and just coasts through her life. She's lost interest in everything and everyone. Her Dad and her old friends are not enough to draw her back out. (Seriously, there are far worse things than being abandoned by your vampire boyfriend. But in Meyer's world it seems as though that it the ultimate sin.)
Part of the problem is the book is written entirely from Bella's point of view. The reader, like Bella, gets no perspective what-so-ever and so the depression is all consuming. Unfortunately the lack of perspective teaches that her pain is all there is and all that matters, which may be how teenagers think in similar situations, but without any outside perspective Bella is left to cope with her pain in very selfish and unhealthy ways; teaching the reader to do the same. Eventually Bella learns that by doing risky and life threatening activities she can hear Edward's voice in her head. (Did I miss something? Usually hearing voices is a BAD thing!) She's so desperate to hold on to some part of him that this revelation only motivates her to pursue even more risky and suicidal actions.
She doesn't begin to "improve" until she starts hanging out with Jacob. Classic relationship rebound! Except this is only moving from one unhealthy relationship to another. The book describes Jacob as Bella's "sun" and she doesn't feel warmth and life unless she's near him. She's now dependent on Jacob for her happiness and well being and is once again wrapped completely and dependently in someone else. It's like she has no personality unless she can lean on a guy.
And Edward is no better. At the end of Book 2 Edward mistakenly believes that Bella has died (because of one of her silly suicidal actions) and so he seeks out the wisest and oldest vampires, known as the Volturi, to end his life for him because he can't live without her. In other words: assisted suicide.
And this is a relationship that is being upheld as "true love"? How did such an unhealthy view of love elevate so high? How did Bella and Edward end up on the pedestal? We have to be careful with books with such themes. Books that teach that severe depression and suicide are normal responses to a failed relationship. Yet, I would go a step further still and say the books make depression and suicide look desirable. Major alarm bells!
What should I expect though? If you have an unhealthy relationship from the start how can the response when it fails not be equally unhealthy? My concern is that this relationship between Bella and Edward is raised up as an example of a good if not great relationship. I certainly beg to differ, and I mourn for all the girls who are taught to desire such a relationship. Parents be vigilant and aware of what your children are reading!
Then, of course, there are the controlling and emotionally abusive behavioral traits that both characters emulate. Edward dismantles Bella's car, has her kidnapped by his sister Alice on more then one occasion, and sneaks into her room to watch her sleep, all in the name of "protecting" her. It's not endearing though, it's creepy and comes across as controlling and manipulative. In the first book he goes out of his way to "scare" her away by showing/telling her horrible stories about his past, or his family's past. But at the same time he's drawn to her and desperate to make her stay. He's all over the place and constantly toying with her emotions. Bella even complains about his inconsistency in the first book and just wishes he'd make up his mind. But she's still attracted to him despite everything and wants him more then anything else in the world.... Sound like a cycle of abuse to you?
Bella is not merely the victim either though. She leads poor Jacob on for at least two books. He's her "second choice" after Edward abandons her and on more then one occasion she admits that she knows she's hurting him and feels guilty, just not guilty enough to stop. Why? Because she needs him and she's selfish.
All of them (Jacob, Edward, Bella) are constantly using their emotions to justify thier actions. How is any of this behavior healthy? Good? An example to be followed?
Then there's the whole werewolves emprinting on children thing. The books do a much better job making this sound less creepy than the movies did, but I still have some concerns. Emprinting is described in the books as a "shift in gravity." That suddenly it's not gravity keeping you stable on earth, but a certain individual. It's kind of a "love at first sight" deal. Sounds simply enough and other than the above mentioned concerns (i.e. the idea of your identity being so wrapped up in someone else) I was more or less trekking with Meyer so far.
Then one of the werewolves in the story emprinted on a 2-year-old. No doubt this was necessary for explaining the whole Jacob and Renesmee (Edward and Bella's half human/half vampire daughter) thing later, but my response was still one of horror. Yes yes, I know that Meyer goes on to explain that emprinting is more then just "laying claim" to an individual. She describes it as being so tied to a person that you become whatever they need you to be. So for the 2-year-old in the story, her werewolf became like a big brother. As she grows he'll change into her friend, eventually her boyfriend and finally her husband. But still the issue here is falling in love with a 2-year-old. Or in Jacob's case a newborn. I'm not talking about "falling in love" the way normal people fall in love with babies and toddlers, I'm talking about falling in love with the intent of a sexual union down the road. To her credit, Meyer did go to great lengths to ensure the reader that Jacob in no way thought of Renesmee inappropriately, not even when he learns that she'll be fully mature at the age of 7. Still it was hard not to cry out "pedophile! pedophile!" She matures quickly sure, but she's still only 7 years old! I know it wasn't intended that way at all, but there is something about it that strikes me as inappropriate and creepy. Plus, I was angry that Bella doesn't even to get to bound with her own daughter before Jacob lays his strange wolfy claim on her.
What I liked:
Originally all I heard about the book was that it taught young girls to go after the "bad boy." I would hear things like, "He's not in love with her, he's attracted to her scent and the smell of her blood. He wants to kill her. That's not love." On this point though I do disagree. I've already stated the MANY problems with their relationships, but there is one rose among the thorns. Probably the ONLY positive and healthy thing about their relationship is Edward's self-control. A "bad boy" is all about rebellion and breaking rules and having no respective for authority. Edward is not like that. While he's certainly not perfect, he does prove to love her more than lust after her or her blood. He even waits until after they are married before he gives in sexually. He has to constantly thwart his own nature so he won't hurt her physically. And he has obvious respect for Carlisle as head of their family. Side-note: I did like that Meyer was careful to not go into detail during the sexual scenes. For all intense and purposes they were very modest, and they only occurred after they were married. It makes the scenes sweet, gentle, and even wholesome. Albeit still wildly inappropriate for young readers, but at least the example of waiting until marriage is there.
I liked that the book valued life all throughout. The Cullen family values human life even though they are vampires. They deny their nature daily and call themselves "vegetarians"--meaning they only drink the blood of animals. The Cullen family were my absolute favorite part in the entire story. Its not hard to admire them. They exemplified many good and honorable things: family, life, peace, love, and self-control. From a Christian perspective it was a good picture of what it means to "die to self" on a daily basis. While Meyer may have glorified Vampires in others ways, she certainly never glorified their nature or their desire for human blood. Not even when Bella finally becomes one of them and feels that thirst for the first time does Meyer make you feel like her desire for human blood a good thing. The theme of life is also picked up when Bella finds out she's pregnant and fights to keep her child even though everyone is afraid that the child may not be a child but a monster.
I also loved the humor in the story. There were periods where I laughed outright, or found myself smiling. So to say that I didn't like the story at all is inaccurate. But to say that I loved it is a huge stretch. While the writing is good, the dialogue excellent, and the characters sometimes enjoyable, there is still enough wrong with the story to make me pause. I hesitate to recommend them and cringe at the thought of any daughters--or sons--I may have reading them. Unfortunately, the good themes in the story get buried under the weight of the overwhelming bad ones. And considering I love books and analyze and over-analyze everything I read, I'm afraid that the casual reader would miss the good undertones throughout the story. Certainly you don't have to look too hard to notice the value of family, life, and keeping the peace. But other themes like the amazing self-control of the Cullen family fall into the cracks. It's easy to see that Edward has to exercise self-control or Bella will die, instead of hearing the message that self-control is good even if a person's life isn't at stake. On the same level it's easy to see that the Cullen's have to exercise self-control or their treaty with the werewolves will be broken, instead of seeing that the Cullen's self-control is a sacrifice they make with or without the treaty in place. It's not something they have to do, it's something they choose to do. And that choice is a desirable one. Unfortunately, I'm not convinced that the good themes are enough to redeem the bad ones.
The #1 thing said about the Twilight Saga is it's an epic romance. It's a love story first and foremost, that's how it's marketed, and that's what the readers walk away with. "What a wonderful love story!" they say, and I cringe. How depressing that Bella and Edward's relationship is being broadcast as a wonderful example of love. Maybe, just maybe, if fans would recognize these character flaws as flaws and not something to aspire to, I would have an easier time with the story... but I doubt it. And I still wouldn't call it young adult fiction...
Disagree? Agree? Comment below!
-Leahbug
