
The Twilight series of books by Stephanie Meyer is all the rage at the moment. Even before the first film was released, we had all heard of this series. So, like half the population of the Western world, I jumped on the bandwagon and read the books too. The problem now is that I seem to be the only person who does not see the token relationship between Bella and her beau, Edward as one of romance and admiration.
Sure, there is the obvious issue of the fact that he is a vampire and she is a human, but I could have ignored that fact if it was written in a healthy, positive manner, but it isn't. Bella is an independent, fiesty character who soon loses her appeal right along with her identity when she falls for vampire Edward, and her love becomes an obsession.
The books provide a perfect example of the co-dependant relationship, whereby neither can imagine life apart. Bella will happily give up every human experience to spend eternity with Edward. Okay, that would be romantic, expect for this to happen, she sees it essential to give up doing what she enjoys, right down to her friendship with her best friend and werewolf, Jacob. And instead of being annoyed by this controlling behaviour of her boyfriend, she accepts it and makes excuses for it. He leaves, and she falls apart in a way that indicates it is perfectly normal not to function properly again without this person, until he comes back. Suddenly Bella can not even leave the house without Edward's permission. He is there every second, even watching her sleep. This control is not healthy.
Do we really want our youth falling into the belief that it is healthy and romantic to do everything our partner tells us and giving up everything we love, other than him/her? No. Personally, I don't think it is a positive example at all and while I rarely get carried away with analysing the books I read, this was one book that had an impact for all the wrong reasons. The scary thing is, even the independent women in their mid twenties whom I work with continue to make comments about how romantic Edward is and how much they wish they could be Bella. Suddenly their desks are covered in pictures of the actor who portrays him, all due to their obsession with this literature relationship. It is far more concerning the impact this perception will have on impressionable teenage girls whom the books are most directed towards.
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