Twilight

Twilight, Stephenie Meyers

Obviously these books garnered a lot of followers when first released in 2005. As I was in the midst of bearing children, clearly teenage vampire fiction didn’t really grab me in at the time. Now in an attempt to keep up with my own teenage readers, they have come across my path.

I sort of wish they hadn’t. I mentioned to another mother I was reading them and she said, “oh they’re just so boring”. I have to agree. I don’t understand the hype.

Bella moves to gloomy Forks, a rainy cold town in Washington state to live with her father after her mother has followed her new husband on his road to baseball glory. Having spent many holidays there over the years, she is dreading the trip. But things with Charlie seem ok and early interactions at school meeting new friends are fine.

That is until she meets Edward Cullen, one of the odd outsiders of the town, a perfect looking gorgeous teen with foster siblings who all keep to themselves. At first Edward seems to despise Bella, but then he starts to approach her. But something doesn’t add up: why do the Cullens go away regularly, never eat and are able to move at great speed? When Edward saves Bella’s life inexplicably in a car accident, some vague internet searches convince her Edward is a vampire.

As things unfold, it is indeed revealed that Edward and his family are all vampires, trying to live in community and not feed on humans, choosing to hunt animals as sustenance. Some of them also have other special powers: to see into the future, read minds and change people’s moods.

Bella and Edward find themselves falling irretrievably in love with each other. Edward is horrified because he knows that if he loses self-control he could kill Bella. Bella seems incapable of realising she could be in real danger not only from Edward but also other vampires in the area.

Now I read a lot of ‘what if’ type books. What if someone time-travelled 200 years and ended up in the past. What if people were immortal? What if plants took over the world? Those are all enjoyable stories because they are believable, even if unrealistic. You get lost in the drama, the great story, the narrative that the author has created. That just doesn’t happen here. It’s not believable. Edward moves between smirking and superior to overwhelmed with protective love for Bella. Bella is naïve, clueless and refuses to see that falling for a vampire could really be a problem. There’s no reason to explain her complete infatuation with him, except that he is powerfully in control of her. Except for his remarkable good looks, I really can’t see what’s so appealing about him.

Edward, who has no need for sleep, regularly sneaks into her room after her dad has gone to bed and watches Bella sleep. Bella is incapable of imagining an existence without Edward. Why do girls go for this type of thing? It’s self-absorbed infatuation and a remarkably unhealthy power dynamic.

Mr 15 and I went on to read the other 3 books in the series.

Note: spoilers ahead.

In New Moon (Book 2) we are given an insight into yet another unhelpful model for girls for when Edward leaves Bella she is completely unable to function: she is depressed, withdrawn, and soon starts seeking out dangerous, adrenalin rushes so she can ‘hear’ Edward’s warnings. She becomes close friends with another boy, Jacob, who we discover has become a werewolf. Of course, vampires and werewolves are mortal enemies, creating some conflict in Bella’s life.

By Eclipse, events have taken such a turn that to save Bella’s life from the ruling vampires of the world (and others who are out to get her), she has decided she will become a vampire. Of course, this was what she wanted all along, once she realised that she was aging and Edward wasn’t. Oh no, the trial of being 19 when your boyfriend remains 17. Edward wants them to marry before he ‘turns’ her to a vampire, which she is horrified by, because she can’t imagine herself as one of those country hicks who marries at 19. At this point I am laughing out loud, because really – you are happy to give up your soul, life and entire family to become a vampire, but you aren’t willing to publicly marry him because of what people might think?

In Breaking Dawn, we kick off with the wedding and honeymoon. Some people emphasise ‘well at least they don’t sleep together’ until they are married, as though it is a redeeming feature of these books. But, even though they don’t consummate their relationship until the rings are on their fingers, there is a still a sensuality and overwhelming desire between the two of them that seeps through the pages. And once they are married, there is a still a danger to their consummation and Bella ends up black and blue with bruises the first time (again, incredibly unhelpful for either boys or girls to think is OK). I won’t give away the real question on everyone’s lips at this point (if you care) – does Bella actually become a vampire? There were a few twists and turns in this one to keep it interesting, and keep you wondering where the story was headed. However, the sensuality between the two of them only increases as the book unfolds (giving entirely unrealistic expectations of intimacy between two people).

As I have reflected on these books, I think there are two main problems with them.

1. The definition of love. In these books, love is self-absorbed, mind-numbing, all-consuming and out of our control. Love justifies disobeying your parents, making dangerous choices and manipulating people to get what you want. But we know that:

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. (1 Cor 13:4-7)

Or, using Bonhoeffer's words: "Human love lives by uncontrolled and uncontrollable dark desires; spiritual love lives in the clear light of service ordered by the truth." (Life Together)

2. The ends justify the means. All decisions are made based on what Bella wants, and she wants her eternity with Edward. So, whatever is needed to do that is considered a valid choice.

Mr 15 and I read all four books, because even if you are laughing at them, you still want to know what happens; we both wanted to know how it all ended. And even considering my concerns with the overall messages, the ending is satisfying in the context of the story. Mr 15 identified that he thought they were written for girls and showed a very odd relationship dynamic. I will not be recommending them to my girls to read (and they have already heard me discussing many of my issues with them). However, if they do read them in the next few years, I will make sure I discuss with them all the problems there are with the messages they send.