Love at First Bite?

~~~~ Relieved

While I will be the first to admit I hold special place in my heart for the Twilight series, there are certain aspects of the saga that disturb me to my core. This article by a student at Bryn Mawr University highlights some of the finer points. While it neglects to mention the clear anti-feminist tones in the book, it certainly points out the extrememly unhealthy relationship the main characters have. Don't get me wrong, I love me some Jasper, Alice, Emmet, and Jacob, but I'm old enough to realize the stories Stephanie Meyer produce are just that, stories. The age genre that Twilight is written for, is not. So here you go, all the things that disturb me most about Twilight:

Love at First Bite?
Posted December 15th, 2008 by alexandra.stratyner
By Hannah Slavitt

I recently read the Twilight series because I wanted to see what all
the buzz was about. Many of my friends had read it, and my younger sister
couldn’t put it down.
Stephanie Meyer has done an admirable job riding the wave of success that the Harry Potter books have enjoyed. She followed the trend of midnight book release parties and big-budget blockbuster movies featuring dreamy British lead actors. She stands to make a fortune. And, despite the fact the she is a bad writer with stunted style who is in desperate need of a thesaurus, the plot is somewhat engaging and it doesn’t take huge commitment or any brain power to breeze through the books.
Many have said that Stephanie Meyer’s series advocates, at times subtly and others explicitly, abstinence. While this may be true, the series still manages to present the most over-sexualized, unhealthy teenage relationship imaginable. The central
relationship between Bella, a mere mortal, and Edward, a vampire, is presented
as a tragic romance akin to that of Romeo and Juliet. Their relationship, however, is no model for a healthy high school courtship

— and neither is Romeo and Juliet’s, for that matter.

Before Bella and Edward even start a relationship, Edward uses his vampire super powers to sneak into Bella’s room and watch her sleep. That is creepy stalker behavior, more sinister than romantic. When they do start a relationship, it displays classic signs of an abusive relationship. Edward is controlling, needing to know where Bella is at every moment. Bella has no normal friends or social life for most of the series, and spends all of her time with Edward. When Bella makes one friend outside of her relationship, Edward doesn’t approve; he forcefully demands she end that
friendship, once again using his vampire powers to thwart any attempt she might dare make to see her friend. Any sensible person would be alarmed of this sort of behavior took place outside of the pages of a fictional book. Another disturbing element of their relationship is the constant undercurrent of references to suicide. Bella and Edward both declare in every book that they refuse to live without the other. Is it really healthy to present some twisted, overwrought suicide pact a la Romeo and Juliet as the romantic ideal? Finally, Bella and Edward act like that annoying high school couple who are convinced they are going to get married; but usually, in the real world at least, that couple breaks up and they date other people. And yes, I think dating more than one person is an important part of growing up and
getting to know yourself. But no, Bella gets married and pregnant–with a vampire
child, of course–at the ripe old age of eighteen.
I think that it is really problematic and irresponsible to present a relationship like Bella and Edward’s in an extremely romanticized way, especially considering the audience to which these books and movies are being marketed. It’s hard enough for young people to form healthy relationships, without them being presented with unrealistic, unhealthy models of love and sex.
If my little sister brought home Edward, there would be drama.

Slavitt, a sophomore English major, can be reached at hslavitt@brynmawr.edu.