Edward's Dangerous and I Don't Mind
Jun. 11th, 2012 01:36 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lliira I want to make something clear before I go on with Twilight, because this comes up over and over again. People yell about Bella being "stupid" for wanting Edward, since he is deadly dangerous and has to fight down the urge to kill her. The fact that Edward is deadly and has cravings to kill Bella does not bother me, nor do I think she is stupid for wanting to be with him. In fact, if this book were well-written, I would enjoy this relationship dynamic.
Twilight is a romantic fantasy. Many women, self included, like to fantasize about dangerous men. I don't worry that girls are going to read Twilight and think they should seek out men who want to harm them. I'm someone who likes dangerous men in fantasy and I have never been drawn to abusive men in real life.
When critics rail about Edward being dangerous because he thirsts for Bella's blood, they're missing the point. The entire reason for this fantasy is that Edward is dangerous to Bella. Critics who freak out like this also usually seem to think that girls are going to follow in Bella's footsteps. Those critics are basically saying that girls can't tell the difference between fantasy and reality, and that's pretty insulting.
These critics are also missing something that I think might be one reason the books are so popular. I've seen a lot of criticism of the fact that Edward could easily harm and even kill Bella. Most teenage boys could easily harm and even kill most teenage girls, if they wanted to. Edward is like an assault rifle where most boys are revolvers, but once you get to "strong enough to completely incapacitate me easily," extra strength doesn't matter all that much. Heroines who kick ass are nice, but a book that acknowledges the reality of male vs. female physical strength and tells girls that they don't have to be ashamed for being physically weaker than boys is also nice. Or would be, if it were written well, which Twilight isn't.
Much of speculative fiction has heroines who are basically men with boobs, and who can do everything any man can do physically. The heroine often legitimizes herself through beating men at a physical game. These works often say in so many words that a woman who cannot or does not want to do this is weak, stupid, and utterly worthless. More stuff is being written now that does not do that, but it's still common.
So along comes Twilight. It lavishes attention on Edward's looks. Edward's dangerous. And Bella isn't some Action Girl: she's the opposite, in fact! Twilight is one of those strange books that, if I only look at the plot outline and certain important themes, I think I would like; then I open the book and start ranting about subject-verb agreement. I truly can see why so many girls and women like Twilight, though -- their imaginations are doing the book's work for it. Most bestsellers are just plain terrible, and I have no desire to analyze them. Twilight is more interesting than those.
I only wish Meyer could write with a minimal level of competence. And that she'd get rid of the misogyny, racism, and classism.
Twilight is a romantic fantasy. Many women, self included, like to fantasize about dangerous men. I don't worry that girls are going to read Twilight and think they should seek out men who want to harm them. I'm someone who likes dangerous men in fantasy and I have never been drawn to abusive men in real life.
When critics rail about Edward being dangerous because he thirsts for Bella's blood, they're missing the point. The entire reason for this fantasy is that Edward is dangerous to Bella. Critics who freak out like this also usually seem to think that girls are going to follow in Bella's footsteps. Those critics are basically saying that girls can't tell the difference between fantasy and reality, and that's pretty insulting.
These critics are also missing something that I think might be one reason the books are so popular. I've seen a lot of criticism of the fact that Edward could easily harm and even kill Bella. Most teenage boys could easily harm and even kill most teenage girls, if they wanted to. Edward is like an assault rifle where most boys are revolvers, but once you get to "strong enough to completely incapacitate me easily," extra strength doesn't matter all that much. Heroines who kick ass are nice, but a book that acknowledges the reality of male vs. female physical strength and tells girls that they don't have to be ashamed for being physically weaker than boys is also nice. Or would be, if it were written well, which Twilight isn't.
Much of speculative fiction has heroines who are basically men with boobs, and who can do everything any man can do physically. The heroine often legitimizes herself through beating men at a physical game. These works often say in so many words that a woman who cannot or does not want to do this is weak, stupid, and utterly worthless. More stuff is being written now that does not do that, but it's still common.
So along comes Twilight. It lavishes attention on Edward's looks. Edward's dangerous. And Bella isn't some Action Girl: she's the opposite, in fact! Twilight is one of those strange books that, if I only look at the plot outline and certain important themes, I think I would like; then I open the book and start ranting about subject-verb agreement. I truly can see why so many girls and women like Twilight, though -- their imaginations are doing the book's work for it. Most bestsellers are just plain terrible, and I have no desire to analyze them. Twilight is more interesting than those.
I only wish Meyer could write with a minimal level of competence. And that she'd get rid of the misogyny, racism, and classism.
no subject
Date: 2012-06-12 06:07 pm (UTC)She decides to attempt suicide to hear Edward's voice--but 'accidentally', not in a way that can be traced to admitting to have conscious motives. Her life is a series of blank pages without Edward or Jacob around to give her meaning and purpose by being men romantically interested in her. Her demands consist of asking Edward to turn her but repeatedly giving in to weddings and big parties that she claims not to want.
Depends on what you mean by "war-like." That has negative connotations to me. But I never said showing women warriors was bad. I said that very often works that do that are actually presenting men with boobs and calling them women, and that they very often explicitly insult any woman who cannot or does not want to be a warrior, and look down on things like needlework.
That's one of my pet peeves too--the woman who presents as superior because she's just like men and hates women who do needlework. :) Or in fandom, making the fanauthor's supposed Strong Woman enjoy feeding the hated Weak Woman to crocodiles.
Alice is the most powerful Cullen, one of the most powerful vampires in the world, powerful enough for the Volturi to want to recruit her. They want Alice and don't particularly care about any of the other Cullens. Rosalie doesn't actually have any vampire power, but lots of vampires don't, including Emmett and Dr. Cullen. And I don't see why Bella's power should be discounted or looked down on because it's defensive. That makes no sense at all to me. It's like saying body armor is useless.
Edward is also regarded as powerful, and Alice is often depicted as obeying his orders within the Cullen family--for example, kidnapping Bella at his request. In actual fight scenes with Victoria and others, Edward tends to have more action while Alice is protected by Jasper, even though she's supposed to be equal. Rosalie is presented as being so beautiful it's close to a superpower for her. Body armour and shielding powers are not useless in themselves, but giving the female character the defensive power is part of a sexist pattern. I think I'd also have been more impressed if Meyer had Bella use her powers in some strategic, interesting way rather than being granted suddenly large amounts of power basically at authorial will. For example, Susan Storm of the Fantastic Four has invisible force fields as a power and comes up with innovative ways to use them in combat.
There would be zero vampire romance novels if we said that people must always run away from those who pose a real danger to them. There would be a lot fewer romance novels, period. Perhaps this is a kink someone has to share to understand, but it is not something that should be condemned.
I think it's Bad Writing in Twilight. There are better ways to plot out a story where the psychological realism can come alongside the fantasy, or where the fantasy is emphasised enough that the dissonance is no longer felt between realistic setting and poorly characterised behaviour.
no subject
Date: 2012-06-12 06:22 pm (UTC)