Link here note: this is not the full review. for that, go to the link.
QUOTE
Anyone who reads The Twilight Saga will notice that the story is full of disturbing things. The main character Bella is in a romantic relationship with a vampire, Edward, who does have to fight the urge to kill her and smell of elderberries her blood every time they are together. She doesn’t tell people when they go out alone together, because she doesn’t want him to get in trouble if she never comes home. How romantic! When Edward leaves for a time, Bella begins indulging in reckless behavior which can cause her death. She does this because it enables her to imagine Edward’s voice reprimanding her, which makes her feel like he cares. She notices that she is becoming an adept liar due to the complicated nature of their relationship. Their physical involvement damages her body and covers her in bruises because he has super human strength. Carrying a half human/half vampire baby breaks her ribs and spine, covers her in yet more bruises and leads her to the frequent practice of drinking human blood out of a styrofoam cup to keep the unborn baby’s thirst satiated. Meanwhile, Bella’s beloved Edward tries to persuade her to abort the child and consent to be impregnated by their friend Jacob instead, since Jacob’s child would not cause her the same difficulties. Jacob’s response to this suggestion? “Impossible. Wrong. Sick. Borrowing Bella for the weekends and then returning her Monday morning like a rental movie? So messed up. So tempting. I didn’t want to consider, didn’t want to imagine but the images came anyway…” (Breaking Dawn, p.181) Jacob offers his services to Bella, to which she responds “‘There isn’t much you wouldn’t do for me, either, is there…I really don’t know why you bother. I don’t deserve either of you.’” (Breaking Dawn, p.196)
If there is anything striking in The Twilight Saga it is Bella’s seemingly total lack of a sense of her own dignity and worth. Ultimately, she is killed during the delivery of Edward’s child because the vampire baby eats its way out of her body. She is then reanimated by vampire venom which allows her to go on living - not as a human, but as a vampire. This requires the surrender of her human soul, which she willingly relinquishes because, as she says earlier to the already damned Edward “You can’t make me go somewhere you won’t be…That’s my definition of hell.” (Eclipse, p.455) And of course, it is Bella’s definition of hell that matters, right? She defines her own reality. She has decided that it is Edward who gives her life any sense of meaning or purpose even though their relationship has quite literally turned her into a monster. In spite of all this, the series ends with Chapter 39 of Breaking Dawn entitled “The Happily Ever After”. The only way we can be driven to accept the title of the ending is to confess with Bella in Twilight “I’ve always been good at repressing unpleasant things” (p.169).
And repressing unpleasant things is exactly what many are doing in response to The Twilight Saga. Some are praising the series. Phrases like “old fashioned morals” are being used to describe the content. Bella and Edward’s relationship has been called a chaste courtship because they do not consummate it until after they are married. We parents are meant to be happy about this, placated by the fact that our teen daughters will not be reading the most erotic scenes until the fourth book. Isn’t that laudable? But honestly, what effort is being made at living chastely in the first three volumes when the couple repeatedly place themselves in occasions of sin and then act on their impulses? Edward sneaks into the house without her father’s knowledge and lies in bed with her all night long - every night! Old fashioned? Chaste? The descriptions certainly aren’t. After a particularly intense pre-marital encounter which Meyer describes in disturbing detail, Edward says “I’m going to spontaneously combust one of these days - and you’ll have no one but yourself to blame.” (Eclipse, p.186) Words every parent would love to to find attributed to their daughter’s boyfriend. What a gentleman! There’s nothing like taking responsibility for your actions. While we’re pretending the couple’s behavior is chaste, we may as well pretend it is prudent, honest and obedient. There is a reason Bella’s father would not allow this behavior if he knew about it. Why should our daughters play along?
If there is anything striking in The Twilight Saga it is Bella’s seemingly total lack of a sense of her own dignity and worth. Ultimately, she is killed during the delivery of Edward’s child because the vampire baby eats its way out of her body. She is then reanimated by vampire venom which allows her to go on living - not as a human, but as a vampire. This requires the surrender of her human soul, which she willingly relinquishes because, as she says earlier to the already damned Edward “You can’t make me go somewhere you won’t be…That’s my definition of hell.” (Eclipse, p.455) And of course, it is Bella’s definition of hell that matters, right? She defines her own reality. She has decided that it is Edward who gives her life any sense of meaning or purpose even though their relationship has quite literally turned her into a monster. In spite of all this, the series ends with Chapter 39 of Breaking Dawn entitled “The Happily Ever After”. The only way we can be driven to accept the title of the ending is to confess with Bella in Twilight “I’ve always been good at repressing unpleasant things” (p.169).
And repressing unpleasant things is exactly what many are doing in response to The Twilight Saga. Some are praising the series. Phrases like “old fashioned morals” are being used to describe the content. Bella and Edward’s relationship has been called a chaste courtship because they do not consummate it until after they are married. We parents are meant to be happy about this, placated by the fact that our teen daughters will not be reading the most erotic scenes until the fourth book. Isn’t that laudable? But honestly, what effort is being made at living chastely in the first three volumes when the couple repeatedly place themselves in occasions of sin and then act on their impulses? Edward sneaks into the house without her father’s knowledge and lies in bed with her all night long - every night! Old fashioned? Chaste? The descriptions certainly aren’t. After a particularly intense pre-marital encounter which Meyer describes in disturbing detail, Edward says “I’m going to spontaneously combust one of these days - and you’ll have no one but yourself to blame.” (Eclipse, p.186) Words every parent would love to to find attributed to their daughter’s boyfriend. What a gentleman! There’s nothing like taking responsibility for your actions. While we’re pretending the couple’s behavior is chaste, we may as well pretend it is prudent, honest and obedient. There is a reason Bella’s father would not allow this behavior if he knew about it. Why should our daughters play along?
