Thoughts on Twilight

I did and did not enjoy reading the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer. There were times when I couldn't put the books down, and times when I had to force myself to continue reading. Yet, strangely, as if through hindsight, everything came together upon finishing the last, Breaking Dawn. Everything seemed in its place. I'm only going to address the first book in the series, because I have friends who are on all stages of finishing, and I don't want to spoil things that were spoiled for me.

First, I'd like to address why the books are so wildly popular with young adult women. Then I'll go on to pick at the things like the good English major I've been raised to be.

Why It Succeeds:
Edward pursues Bella. Like nobody's business. Once he has come to the conclusion that he is so attracted to her that he cannot live without her, he makes sure that he's around her as much as possible. She intoxicates him. It almost comes close to worship, which I'm not ok with. Still, Edward watches out for Bella. He's always there when she needs him. He would easily die so that she may live. Girls don't get this from guys anymore (or have they ever?). Please don't misread me: I don't think guys should worship girls, or be at their beck and call at all times. Far from it. That would be an unbalanced relationship (which I will address in the next section). But girls want and like to be pursued. They love to know that there is someone in this world who has them as their first priority. In this sense, Edward is the perfect man. No wonder girls everywhere go weak at his name (insert eye-roll from me). Stephanie Meyer is setting a very high standard for men everywhere, but I say that it's about damn time. Men everywhere are not being shown how to strive for the full meaning of masculinity, a part of which is to treat women - no, every human! - with the dignity and respect they deserve. In my experience, this is the difference between a guy and a man. Even if that man is 18, 14, or 7 years old. He is more of a man than most 20-somethings. To those men, I say thank you.

The other reason I think young girls find comfort and solace in these books is that they find their own worth as Bella is convinced of hers. Bella doesn't exactly have great self-esteem at the beginning of the series: she's very klutzy, she does not find herself pretty, she's used to being an observer in the corner. She's also frustratingly stubborn on holding to these beliefs, though Edward and others try over and over to tell her otherwise. She doesn't think she deserves anything Edward does for her, or even Edward himself (god-like vampire that he is). What Bella has to believe again and again is that she is worth it. That she is beautiful, that a man can love her, that she is not defective in any way. And believe you me, girls NEED TO HEAR THIS. Self-doubt, self-pity, and low self-esteem run rampant through the minds and hearts of girls of all ages, particularly teenage girls. So when teenage girls find a book that makes them believe in their own worth again, of course they will embrace it as their own.

As for moral values and ethics, I trusted the fact that Stephanie Meyer does not hide her religion (Mormon) and the moral implications that she has written into the books. Edward is staunchly against having sex. In fact, I found this trait of his character refreshing: he controls himself. He controls his desires. He's the one to stop before they go too far. What a crazy thought - we are in control of our passions. Let me tell you, even if I weren't a devout Catholic, I would believe this. It's truth. We should be the ones in control, not our desires. If you answer to them, then you are a slave. Edward does it because he doesn't want to physically hurt Bella (he's super strong), but that also means that he puts his love for Bella above the satisfaction of his desires. He's old-fashioned. This world could do with a bit of old-fashioned.

Combined, the relationship between Edward and Bella can be described as old-fashioned guy meets modern-society girl, where the old-fashioned guy has it correct. It's a refreshing twist on the old chivalric love story.

Why I Pray That They Will Not Be Read In My Children's English Classrooms
It IS a refreshing twist on the old chivalric love story. Which, I think, is why I can believe in their love despite their age. Sure, the story can be compared with some of the greats in terms of the loves - Stephanie Meyer does it herself with Romeo and Juliet, and Cathy and Heathcliff (Wuthering Heights... still need to read that one...). But I shudder when the books are compared thus. The writing is nowhere near what it takes to make a book a classic. Twilight, as her first book, was very difficult for me to read, because she used keywords like "alluring" and "irrevocably" and "smoldering" far, far too often. Her writing develops over the four books, so that I liked the fourth the best. This is simply evidence of the fact that she has not been a struggling writer. She had a dream one night, and wanted to know more about these characters in her dream, so she set out to write a book. Though it's not a good thing that many authors struggle for years to get published, those failures almost always make them better writers. The mere practice of writing makes you a better writer. Stephanie Meyer didn't have any of that, so her writing style is simplistic (not a bad thing) and still changing as she shot to author-stardom. She's compared to J.K. Rowling often, but I don't think she has the wit and charm of Rowling, and definitely less imagination (ex: don't tell me you can read the last half of Breaking Dawn without thinking X-Men). The characters are flat, and the only development they receive is in jumps, like Edward realizing he can't be Bella's jailer. The dialogue isn't bad, but there's little real communication. I wanted to scream at Bella, "WHY DON'T YOU TELL HIM THAT? HE'D UNDERSTAND YOU BETTER!!!" many times. Real people, especially healthy couples, talk to each other much more often than Stephanie Meyer would have you believe. What do Edward and Bella even have in common? But it is a modern fairy tale of sorts, so I shouldn't probe at the reality of their day to day lives.

Although the love between Edward and Bella has a lot of good things to say to both men and women, I am also worried about some of the repercussions of the way it's written. There may not be any illicit sex, but there is PLENTY of kissing, touching, cuddling, necking, etc. Very sensual. I sometimes felt guilty for reading the stuff. I worry that teenagers will come to believe that this is an acceptable behavior in a young relationship. Edward had great resolve to stop things going further, but I doubt teenagers will be able to do the same. Especially, let me clarify: you cannot sleep side by side in a bed without something happening. That doesn't even bother me compared to the fact that, overall, I think Edward and Bella's relationship is unstable. Many times, Bella's love (it's told from her perspective, so I can't speak for Edward) is selfish rather than self-giving. Yeah, she'll die for him at least once a book, but she wants him to herself, she wants him to be ok with her more-than-friendship with another guy, she wants him to give in physically. That's not the model of love I know. Something happens in the fourth book that drastically changes Bella's character - she becomes more selfless than selfish, and I finally liked her. She finds more to live for than just herself and her desires. When two people are living for each other, it can become a dangerously off-balance relationship. Think about it: if character 1 makes character 2 the center of their life (picture 1 revolving around 2), and character 2 makes character 1 the center of their life (2 in turn revolves around 1), they create an ellipse in which there is no definitive center. They could spin out of control anytime. If God is the center of a relationship, both 1 and 2 revolve around God in stability. Edward and Bella's love gives what I believe is the complete wrong impression of what a good relationship should be. And I fear that this aspect of a deeper message is what teenagers will take away from these books.

I'd probably let my children read them if they wanted, but there would certainly be discussion of the delicate process of literary discernment - what to take and what to forget. That's nothing new. It's what every smart reader must do. I guess, in the end, we have to decide if the truth and the beauty in the book is worth the other stuff. My jury is still out on Twilight, but don't hold your breath. I think it'll always be in limbo for me.

Divine '09

I realize this sounds trite already, but I can't believe it's 2009. It may not be a remarkable year in the numeric sense, or even the aesthetic sense. It's just always been a year far in the future. Was it five years ago that Jay Leno announced that Conan O'Brian would take over for him on The Tonight Show in 2009? Four, five, or six years it must have been. It always seemed like such a long time for us Conan fans to await his promotion to 10:30pm! (11:30pm for those on the east coast - you poor people, having to stay up so late.) And now the time has come. Of course, NBC is afraid to lose such a high profile person as Leno, so they're shifting him to 9pm instead, the cowards. And I'm usually not in front of a TV during the semester, so I'll have to make an effort to see his first few shows... to see whether they crush his soul or not. That's neither here nor there.

The Tonight Show changing-of-the-guard isn't the only remarkable thing awaiting for me in 2009. For three and a half years, I have been a member of the Class of 2009. I still am. I've seen it on my facebook profile page. I'm used to it. But now it's here. It somehow did not hit me in the last few months that my college years would soon be at an end, but now it's going to scream at me every time I write the date. My mild meltdown has finally found me. I'm graduating in five months. Unreal.