As I said in my last post, I am a huge Twilight fan. I've read all of the books more than once and fell into the world of vamps and love each time. This time however, I read the book with a "feminine lens."
While I still love the story, Edward, and Bella, it surprised me how dangerously flawed the story is when it comes to gender roles and stereotypes. When looking at it through a feminist perspective, the fact that Bella is always listening to Edward, always cooking for Charlie and hardly ever standing up for herself is sending the wrong message to young girls; that women "belong in the kitchen" and should always follow orders. The plot really plays off of Bella's insecurities, making her lack of passion for anything other than Edward seem slightly pathetic. The way Bella's peers are described is very stereotypical, with the jocks, boy-crazy girls and awkward chess players. While this does make these characters easily identifiable, Meyer is also selling them short, creating characters without real personalities, simply stereotypes.
Bella is undoubtedly a passive, self-conscious, ordinary young girl, but these characteristics are what make Bella so relatable to young women today. Granted, at times she is whiney and almost all she does is think/miss/want Edward; but haven't we all been there? Aren't we all a little whiney? And if I was the object of Edward's affection, I'd think about him all the time too. The fact that this beautiful, "angel-like," strong, and sensitive-while-also-dangerous "bad boy" loves Bella and only Bella, will do anything to protect her, and is constantly thinking about her and her best interests, is enough to make any romantic swoon. Edward is her knight in shining armor. Maybe he is a tad on the over-protective side. But when you fall in love with something so "breakable" it would be hard not to be. (note Edward's lion and lamb comparison)
I agree that Bella's character is way under-developed in this first novel, but after reading the series Bella's personality does shine through. She is stubborn and resilient, clumsy and accident prone. She does stand up to Edward, and she really comes out of her awkward shell (spoiler-alert) when she becomes a vampire. She states that she has never connected to other people in her world, and that it is almost like she was "born" to be a vampire. Yes, I realize this is kind of a cop-out, letting girls think that they have no hope in ever fitting in unless they can somehow become a vampire, but I think it's really about finding yourself, the you that you are comfortable and happy with.
I understand the criticisms that people have with Twilight, and I admit that gender stereotypes are overly emphasized, but I just can't not love it. Meyer's epic love story makes the Twilight saga impossible to put down, even the third time around.
Peace, Love & Vampires
-Kgirl
2 comments:
Some interesting points in your post:
"Granted, at times she is whiney and almost all she does is think/miss/want Edward; but haven't we all been there?"
Yes. This brings up the question about what the function of literature (YA lit too) should be? Is it enough to relate to it? Should it challenge these stereotypes too?
I think you make good points. And Meyer successfully appeals to a lot of young and middle-aged women for these reasons.
Even though Bella does cook for Charlie I feel that it is because she does not think he can take care of himself. When looking at it through a feminist lens you would be correct though. I completely agree with you on the fact that Bella has many insecurities and that makes her susceptible to being taken advantage of.
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