His Dark Media
HisDarkMaterials.org
SherlockChronicles.org
Right then. Twilight. I had this book thrust upon my unwilling self by friends adamant that I would read it, and what was more, I would like it too! I was less sure than them. To that date I had never read a romance book that I had enjoyed (and yet I love romantic comedy films, how strange), and I was not of the opinion that that was about to change. Though I did admit that vampires were pretty cool, as I had just finished reading Bram Stoker’s Dracula. Then I was told it contained werewolves (that’s Twilight there, not Dracula), so I decided to take the risk and read it. If I didn’t like it, well, I could always stop.
To my continued and everlasting shock, Bella’s story interested me from the very beginning. She weaves an interesting tale about one of the most staple stories ever to grace the literary world: forbidden love. Edward and Bella’s love is very much forbidden, and they know it, but they don’t care. When written well, forbidden love can be incredibly powerful as the complex emotions and situations resolve themselves, and we are treated to many of these throughout Twilight, the most obvious of which being of course, Edward’s vampirism.
This of course leads me to the sheer audacity of the Stephenie Meyer to combine two plot elements that according to everything that has gone before just should not work. Vampires and romance going together is just a resounding no. Lust, yes. Plenty of lust with vampires. And damned love. But true, genuine, romantic love? Everything in the literary canon screams out in denial of this. And yet, in Twilight, that was precisely what we had.
What was even more surprising was that it worked. Sure, the vampires of Twilight really can’t be compared back to the horrifying figures of turn-of-the-century Gothic Fiction. For instance, Dracula never once sparkled. Edward Cullen is not your traditional vampire, and should not be considered one. He is instead your hero for a more modern readership. Of a younger, female audience who do not possess the patience to wade through masses of archaic language and prose. He is the romantic idol with a darker side. The lover who could kill you with the merest touch. He is Bella’s flirt with constant danger, as well as being devilishly handsome and oh so proper. He represents the unknown and perfect love.
Is there any surprise then that the book has become so popular, if it contains the archetype for the perfect romantic hero? I tell you something, Edward sure trumps Emily Brontë’s Heathcliffe.
Written by pommie for TwilightSaga.org, part of HisDarkMedia.com
Comments (0) — Add Yours
There are no comments yet. Please add yours below!
Post a Comment
You need to be logged in to post comments.
No account? Feel free to register an account.