or Should you hate Twilight for THAT reason?

I’m feeling brave today.  I’m feeling counter-cultural.  Okay, here goes.

You don’t like the Twilight series?   Why?

I don’t like Stephenie Meyer’s writing, and/or…
Vampires don’t sparkle, and/or…
Edward is a controlling stalker, and/or…
Bella is weak

Your first criticism I’ll let you get away with.  But remember, there are a wide variety of legitimate writing styles.  It might be there’s nothing wrong with her style, it just may not be a style you particularly enjoy.

Second, vampires don’t sparkle.  I hate to break it to you, but vampires don’t do anything.  They are fictitious creatures!

But, you say, she’s messing with the cannon of what it means to be a vampire.  Ms. Meyer is certainly not the first to do this.  If you look at Bram Stoker’s vampires, they are largely without conscience and vicious.  Yet, today’s average vampire in books, TV, and movies, gets to choose to be good or bad.  Most get to go out during the day!  Bam – tradition already messed with.*

Thirdly, and the loudest complaint, is the man himself, Edward.  How could any self-respecting modern girl root for Edward?  He stalks Bella… he wants to kill her.  He controls her movements.

These are serious charges, indeed.  But what’s really going on in this world Meyer created?

In this world there are good vampires (subsisting on animal blood) and bad vampires (living off human blood).  These creatures have the strength of gods.  The rules that apply to us mere humans, don’t apply to them.  In fact, the bad vampires see us humans as a lower species, to be used according to need.

Edward smells Bella and wants to eat her, a.k.a. kill her.  Creepy?  You bet!  But the rules of this story aren’t the same rules that apply to us because, again, vampires don’t exist.  According to the rules of the story, vampires eat people.  That’s what they do… unless, unless they find a way to fight the vicious nature that’s been given to them.

Edward turns out to be the hero.  He is able, through sheer force of his will and decades of right habitation, to refrain from doing what his natural instincts scream at him to do.  He doesn’t kill Bella, though he very much wants to.  Edward is not a human, he is a vampire.

“Fine,” you say, “he stalks her because he’s trying not to kill her.  And in this attempt, he falls in love with her.  Blah, blah, blah.  That’s very well and good, I guess, but he’s a total control freak!”

But is he?  I’m not so sure.  You see, Bella doesn’t really understand the world she’s gotten involved with.  She doesn’t have the experience many of the other characters do.  She doesn’t recognize the danger. How could she?  She wants to be with her vampire lover and play the game, but she doesn’t see the fire that’s threatening to engulf her at every turn.

Edward does see, though not perfectly (he’s not that kind of God).  He’s doing his best to help Bella stay out of harm.  This is much different than a truly 17-year-old human boy telling a 17-year-old human girl what to do.  Entirely different.

What’s my point?  If you are going to judge Edward, you need to do it within the context and parameter of the paranormal world into which he is written.

What do you think?

(I know I didn’t get to #4.  That will have to wait for another day!)

*Maybe you simply don’t want your fictitious vampires to sparkle.  You are well within your rights to want vampires to be a certain way, say, like, Damon & Stefan (TVD) or Adrian (Bloodlines).  It just strikes me as odd to insist vampires don’t sparkle, as if it’s impossible, when they already belong to the category of nonexistent creatures!