By: Aisley Oliphant
In October 2005, stay-at-home mother Stephenie Meyer released her premiere novel, Twilight: the first of what was to become one of the hugest sensations the world has ever seen. It set the imaginations of women everywhere on fire with dreams of romance and desire and led to the birth of a feminine fan base completely obsessed with werewolves, vampires, and forbidden romances. These Twihards, so to speak, of all ages, persuasions and marital statuses drive the success of each of the movies and books as they were released, camping out in front of book stores, cinemas, throwing all night parties to celebrate the new releases to the Twilight saga. The results of such culture initiated the beginning of a new feminist movement, one completely backward to the modern feminist movements found in history, revealing the female desire for male over dominance and sensual, pleasure-seeking ideals of modern day women.
The Twilight Saga sets a standard for how relationships between men and women should be defined. Erica Jong, in her work What do Women Want?: bread roses, sex power, states that “Men must be stripped of arrogance and women must become independent for any mutually nurturing alliance to endure between the sexes” (Jong 54). From the beginning of the first book, Bella Swan finds herself unable to stand on her own and function independently. The moment Edward and Bella begin dating, Bella finds herself severely dependent on Edward; she is unable to go anywhere by herself, unable to sleep without him there (Meyer 311), she even is unable to drive herself places. It becomes clear through the series that the relationship between Edward and Bella is severely codependent, leaving women who read these novels believing that the only way to have a good relationship is if the male is predominant, controlling and obsessive.
The symbol of Edward simply reinforces this through his inherent superiority in phallic strength and sensuality. Virginia Wolf said:
“Since in Darwinian terms…survival of the fittest means the triumph of the most aggressive human beings, men are and always will be superior to women in terms of their ability to protect and extend their own authority. Therefore women, being ‘weaker’ (less aggressive), will always be at the mercy of men” (Dworkin 60).
Edward consistently exercises masculine control over Bella in all aspects of her life. He is able to make her faint upon command through seduction (Meyer 319), and on many occasions forced safety precautions upon her without her permission, asserting that she is “incredibly breakable” (Meyer 310).
The endorsement of codependency through the relationship of these two characters hinders the feminist movement toward female independency. Codependency oppresses women, causing them to become severely depressed and dysfunctional. “In our culture women are especially trained to be codependent” (Smith), and perpetual underlings to their male counterparts.
The archetypal figure that Bella presents to women is of the ultimate damsel in distress. Bella is in consistent need of being rescued, considered brainless with nothing but her good looks going for her, “distrusting [her] capabilities and sending out the message, ‘I do not know how to take care of myself’” (Pearson 31). She inevitably finds herself unconscious and/or wounded in the arms of Edward or even the werewolf Jacob. Any action she takes in the heat of battle is impulsive, stupid, and fruitless and puts her into even more danger than she was in the beginning. Bella tells women through her example, that the only way to have a satisfying relationship is through being consistently rescued. This archetype prevents women from furthering their potential into becoming something more than what they already are. “Women need to learn to struggle, to fight for themselves and others” (Pearson 86) to break free of the damsel in distress archetype and discover their self-worth, and find a new definition of themselves.
In concordance with being the damsel in distress, Bella represents the desire to be desired. The main conflict in the Twilight saga is defined by the competition between Jacob and Edward for Bella’s affections (Meyer 556). Many women with low self-esteem tend to wish to be the object of desire, and look for any way to attain that status. Bella is presented as stupid, impulsive and needy, thereby asserting that in order to become the object of desire, one needs to also be stupid, impulsive and needy. This once again reinforces the ideology that men should be the dominant force in a relationship, because it gives them the power to manipulate and control women. This presents a problem to the progress of women through, because it prevents, as stated in the above paragraph, the furthering of character, and the ability for the woman to achieve her goals and a sense of independence that is necessary to break the damsel in distress archetype.
In concordance with being the damsel in distress, Bella represents the desire to be desired. The main conflict in the Twilight saga is defined by the competition between Jacob and Edward for Bella’s affections (Meyer 556). Many women with low self-esteem tend to wish to be the object of desire, and look for any way to attain that status. Bella is presented as stupid, impulsive and needy, thereby asserting that in order to become the object of desire, one needs to also be stupid, impulsive and needy. This once again reinforces the ideology that men should be the dominant force in a relationship, because it gives them the power to manipulate and control women. This presents a problem to the progress of women through, because it prevents, as stated in the above paragraph, the furthering of character, and the ability for the woman to achieve her goals and a sense of independence that is necessary to break the damsel in distress archetype.
On the other hand, Bella is also presented as a hero, because of her abilities to control Edward and Jacob through her sexuality. Numerous times, she is able to manipulate Edward and/or Jacob into giving into her way because of their deep feelings for her. She is able to convince the werewolves and the vampires to work together to eliminate one of her opponents, and thereby showing women that it is okay to use sexuality to get ones way, as long as it is for the greater good. But the definition of a hero does not come from one’s singularity, but from the teamwork with “everyone involved [having] [their] say and everyone’s thoughts and feelings…respected” (Ross 232). Bella’s manipulation brings to light the idea that men are easily controlled merely by sex, and by manipulating them just so, makes the woman a hero.
Bella takes a backward step into traditional feminism through her inability to assert herself, and function independently. The relationship between Edward and Bella is extremely one sided, and does not allow for growth on either end. In Arguing with the Phallus: feminist, queer and postcolonial theory, a psychoanalytic contribution, Jan Campbell asserts that “The first phase, stressing equality or sameness between men and women, is characterized by Simone de Beauvoir’s exhortation to women to find their true humanity and free themselves from the bonds of traditional feminism”(Campbell 98). The main goal for modern feminism is to “[define], [establish] and [defend] equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women” (“Wikipedia”), and also develop a new sense of oneself that will empower the woman to become independent and accomplish things they would not otherwise be able to do under the oppression of the male figure. It is only through this independence that women find the ability to stand as an equal partner in society.
Additionally, the female population is faced with the problem of breaking free of the stereotypical relationship, with the women carrying around a “petty, stiff, primitive man” and the men “an ambivalent, sensual, somewhat inferiority-afflicted woman” (von Franz 159). Women are presented with examples through Bella and Edward of the restrictive traditional feminism in an appealing fashion that entices women to accept and even settle for less than what they deserve. Through the breaking of this mold, women assert themselves in an acceptable fashion, and prevent an overbearance of the male symbol.
Not only does the craze over Twilight reveal the underlying desires of women to be subjected to overbearing male patriarchy, control and manipulation, it reveals a sensual and pleasure-seeking side of women that is considered “liberating”. The Twihard movement of modern day society can be likened to the “flapper” movement of the 1920’s:
“Nearly half of all young women engaged in premarital intercourse, a proportion that would not change until the 1960’s, while many others eagerly ‘explored the borderlands.’ Not inhibition, but ‘sex starvation’ dominated the complaints of these insatiable innovators. Having achieved widespread recognition, female desire now threatened to engulf the nation… Magazine tabloids and Hollywood motion pictures, for example, played it up. The advertisement for Flaming Youth, a highly successful Hollywood film, guaranteed titillation from ‘neckers, petters, white kisses, red kisses, pleasure-mad daughters and sensation-craving mothers’” (Buhle 91).
While these Twihard fans may not be physically promiscuous, their desires and addiction to the books bring out a whole new level of satisfaction of said “sex starvation”.
For women, gaining sexual satisfaction is risky business. When a woman lives by the saying “I take whatever I want, and baby, I want you”, it is considered “socially unacceptable” (Pearson 31). While the flappers in the 1920’s gained their satisfaction through promiscuity, the Twihards reach for a more subtle satisfaction. They reach for their Twilight books. While a men’s arousal comes from touch and images, a woman’s arousal comes from emotional attachment and feelings. By reading these books, women receive the same feelings (to a point) that men would get from having sex, thereby satisfying their thirst for sexual satisfaction.
The modern society does not, in fact, encourage fidelity to one person. Modern day pop culture emphasizes having more than one partner, or even avoiding marriage altogether. Twihards fall prey easily to this notion because of their desire to have an “Edward” or a “Jacob”. The encouragement of “pleasure-mad daughters and sensation-craving mothers” drives infidelity home. In essence, members of the Twihard persuasion that are married, and are completely obsessed with Jacob or Edward (or both even) are not remaining entirely devoted to their husbands. By reading these books, it allows women to practice a sort of infidelity to their husbands if they are not satisfied with his sexual performance, or even with their own. It empowers women with the opportunity to seek after what they want, and the ability to get it.
With the release of the Twilight movie in November 2008, the craze only deepened. Hollywood motion pictures did indeed “play up” the movie, designing it specifically for those sex-starved individuals that made up the majority of the Twihard population. Completely geared toward women, it placed a face, to the much desired Edward Cullen (Robert Patterson) and Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner), thereby igniting a new level of fanaticism to the starvation. Not only can women now embark on a sensual journey through the imagination, but also visually.
One of the most widely valued ideals of society is self-image, the way that one looks to others in the community, world, etc. Upon the addition to human faces to the highly coveted vampire and werewolf boyfriends, greater importance was placed on being seen as attractive, and being with someone attractive. With the release of Twilight, the psychosis of appearances brought to light that if one has an attractive boyfriend, they have earned the right to the high life in society. It is through this that women are encouraged to look solely at how much money someone has, or how good looking they are, rather than focusing on the personality, and long lasting qualities of a person. More emphasis is placed on finding “trophy” husbands and/or wives along with lust and desire rather than a truly compatible companion who possesses an undying and true love for their partner.
Since the initial release in October 2005, the Twilight saga has exploded into an all-out feminist movement that rippled across the United States, influencing an enormous pool of people. The creation of the Twihard culture revealed the female desire for male dominance in romantic relationships, and also the undying thirst for sexual satisfaction. It is almost inconceivable that a simple stay-at-home mother could possibly begin a movement has drastically changed the face of feminism as found in the history books. The examples found in Edward and Bella’s relationship have greatly influenced the way that relationships function and are viewed in modern society, and even have initiated a “sexual liberation” of the woman in ways that no one could have predicted.
Works Cited:
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