Literature Review On Critical Analysis Of “Twilight”

Arguably, one of the most successful literary sensations in the past decade has been the arrival of Stephenie Meyer’s “Twilight” series. Quickly gaining notoriety on bestseller lists across the globe, “Twilight,” is popular with audiences young and old. Their primary draw is that of a young, but also aging, vampire named Edward Cullen, a werewolf, Jacob, and young Bella Swan, who falls into a haphazard love triangle with two creatures. While a woman wrote the series, and Swan portrays the novel from a first person perspective as a female protagonist, it betrays the many opportunities a female character would have to be strong, independent, or progressive. Instead, the novel proves to betray all progression for the female gender, subscribing to typical gender roles, proving that the literature is not only bizarre, but also regressive for the feminist ideology.
Despite its overwhelming success, there has been much debate over the damage “Twilight,” and Bella Swan have done to gender roles and the feminist ideology. Her personality traits, for example, leave much to be desire for those who are trying to promote a sense of independence, or even a sense of self, in young women. According to Hellen Anne Peterson, “ author of, “That Teenage Feeling: Twilight, Fantasy, and Feminist Readers,” many readers misconstrue Swan’s actions as those of a simple teenage girl in love, when in fact Meyers has managed to show a young girl who quickly learns the telltale feelings of codependency . Other critical analyses attempt to label her actions as heroic because Swan never gives up on Cullen, even after he distances himself from her, and eventually abandons her completely. In the novel, Swan even begins isolating herself from friends and family, attempting dangerous actions that could potentially end her life in an effort to attract Edward back to her . These are not an act of a hero, but instead the actions of a desperate woman who does not believe she can survive without a boy. Flinging herself off a rocky ledge into freezing water is not brave, but rather suicidal .
It is suspected, as well as analyzed, by Holly Brown, author of, “A Disciplined and Virtuous Vampire,” that the supposed sexual purity maintained throughout much of the series is linked to the Mormon faith . While this may be true, or may not be true, it still draws attention to the fact that Edward controls the sexual aspect of Cullen and Swan’s relationship once they are involved. He mentions multiple times once they are together that he must control himself around her, and that he is worried about what he may do if he, “loses control,” in reference to sexual activity with her, as well as drinking her blood . While many readers were voracious for this racy material, feminist culture immediately noticed the setback in gender roles. Women have sought equality in all areas of life and relationship for decades, including sexual aspects of intimate partnerships. Cullen being a vampire with an insatiable, unexplainable attraction to Swan’s blood above all others puts him in a unique, somehow romantic, position to dictate when they can and cannot touch one another. While Swan is in constant need and desire of Cullen’s affection, romantic and sexual, she is unable to ask for it or assert herself sexually in the relationship. His vampiric tendencies have forced Swan into an archaic gender role wherein she is the goodly homemaker, patiently waiting for her partner to take notice of her . Meyer’s appears to make this regressive gender role permissive by making Cullen distant, but also a caring figure. Throughout the novel, he keeps her alive, often risking his own safety as much as the undead possibly could, in order to keep Swan alive. Risking his own life to save Swan from being crushed in a car accident makes him seem like a lovable, wounded animal, rather than the traditional distanced and emotional abuser.
A large part of the feminist movement or the feminist ideology does also simply not need a boyfriend at all. It is not about the superficial “Girl Power” of the 1990’s, but it is about allowing yourself to have flaws, allowing others to have theirs, and understanding friendships can nourish you much like a romantic relationship can nourish you. Brown points out those women have often been held back throughout time because there were too many stipulations put upon them remaining flawless . However, that is exactly what Swan projects. Not only does she appear to lack any flaws a normal person, or woman would have, but she also is a terrible friend who neglects those around her as soon as she begins to feel sustained by Cullen. She is a self-proclaimed hard-working, caring young woman who does no complain, and tries to be kind to those around her. Without doing anything for those around her in her new home, everybody in town adores her and wants to be her friend. There is no effort on her part to make friends, but rather others desperately seek her out, almost demanding to be her friend. There are also several young men at school that are smitten with her, also for no apparent reason . However, when Swan begins having feelings for Cullen, and Cullen for her, she suddenly must work extraordinarily hard just to get him to acknowledge her because he resists his urges for her so desperately .
Swan’s constant pursuit of Cullen takes a toll on the friendships in which she never had to cultivate in the first place, somehow. Meyer’s never writes her as anybody who appears that interested with her friends, or anybody who is remarkably friendly toward another person with the exception of Cullen, of course. In fact, she often acts like her high school friends are beneath her, while the only male figure that gives her a chance to progress toward a modern feminist ideology, Jacob, is repeatedly treated badly by Swan . It is as if she has decided to be subjugated into an outdated gender role, allowing Cullen to make her subservient in the name of romance. Even after Cullen distances himself from her, abandons her, appears in her bedroom with no explanation to watch her sleep, and continues to deny her advances, her friend Jacob is there to respect her and attempt to give her options as a woman. Swan’s only reaction to Jacob’s advances are to give him friendship. Eventually she spurns his advances so thoroughly he is forced to do something known as “imprinting” on her daughter. It opens up an entirely new conversation about interspecies relations, as well as pedophilia; Jacob imprints upon Swan’s daughter when he is of age and the child is only days old . In short, Bella is deeply flawed and perhaps one of the worst examples of a female friend in the history of literature.

Works Cited

Brown, Holly. A Disciplined and Virtuous Vampire. Analysis. San Luis: California Polytechnic State University, 2010.
Meyer, Stephanie. Twilight. New York: Little Brown Books, 2011. Book.
Peterson, Helen Anne. "That Teenage Feeling: Twilight, fantasy, and feminist readers." Feminist Media Studies (2012): 51-57. Article.