Today on Jezebel, there was a great post about abusive ’80s romance novels and someone in the comments mentioned the ‘Twilight’ series and suddenly I had an epiphany. While I enjoyed the novels, there was something that just didn’t sit right with me. And I’m not talking about a minor annoyance. Something was digging at my core and I couldn’t figure it out. And now, suddenly, it’s clear: BELLA FAILS AT FEMINISM.
OK, let me clarify, Bella is imaginary therefore it is her creator who fails at feminism, but since I don’t know the author personally, I’ll focus on the character she created.
Throughout all three novels, we find Bella completely unable and unwilling to do for herself. She goes off walking in a strange town and almost gets herself assaulted by hooligans; Edward has to save her. An errant vampire wants to kill her and what does she do? Goes off by herself to try to fight him. Good one, kid. When Edward takes off, she engages in self-destructive behavior so she can hear his voice.
She lives at the mercy of the whims of others. She moves from her home to her father’s (whom she treats like crap) because of her, apparently emotionally unbalanced, mother. Upon arrival, instead of embracing her new home, Bella whinges and whines. Oh the horrors of having people happy to see you! Later she allows herself to be dominated physically and emotionally by Edward and Jacob. Granted, I’m on Team Edward all the way, as I am often emotionally difficult and over protective of things and people that I love.
And since we brought the male protagonists up, let’s discuss her reactions to them for a while. I won’t hate on her infatuation with Edward. I, too, am instantly attracted to any boy who’s mean to me. The difference between me and Bella? I know that shit is unhealthy and I try to stop. And as much as I do love Edward’s character, he is emotionally domineering and practically a bully in some situations. Now Jacob. Passive aggressive and manipulative. Just what I want in a man! And this is where I feel Edward comes out on top. He makes no bones about it. He tells Bella that it’s in her best interests to go the fuck away. Jacob on the other hand plays the ‘I’m not bad; nope, not me!’ hand.
How would a girl with self respect handle this predicament? By telling Jacob to fuck off and staying the hell away from Edward. Of course, there goes the plot of Mrs. Meyers’ novels, but hey, whatever.
Bella cannot form her own personality without the help of either Jacob or Edward. She doesn’t start to stretch her proverbial legs in Forks until she and Edward become an item. When Edward leaves, she completely erases herself and only begins to put herself back together when she realizes she can hear his voice in her head. Of course, who does she enlist for help in this? Jacob, who makes it very clear what his hopes and intentions are. She also lets him dominate and bully her. He also sexually assaults her on two occasions by forcing her to kiss him through physical force and coercion and threats of self harm. Fucking charming.
The line that really did me in though was, ‘We’re both wolf girls’ when she was hanging out at Emily’s house. I wanted to put my head through a window. NOOOOOOO! You are Bella. Please, grow some ovaries and start trying to figure out who you are and what you want. Please form an identity outside of your parents, Edward and Jacob.
At the ripe old age of 24, I know there’s nothing romantic about a domineering man. Nothing is worse than tying your identity to another person. I know these things. I fear the 14-year-olds who are also reading these books may not.
Again, I enjoyed the series for its entertainment value. Vampires! Werewolves! Teenage drama! Oh my! But I worry about the message it might be sending to confused young women. So, any young ladies reading this, take it from me: It is not romantic when a guy treats you like shit! Need proof, read my post about The Boy.
This is probably not my best work on the subject, and I’ll probably be revising and adding more to this after I’ve had a night of rest. But, please, discuss.
3 Comments
June 27, 2008 at 1:48 am
Wonderful. I was feeling I’d be pretty unsatisfied whether she ended up with Jacob or Edward, but couldn’t pinpoint exactly why.
I’m a bit of a skeptic when it comes to romance, so I’m not a big Edward fan, and Jacob was just a bit irritating with how he wouldn’t back off.
Anyway, what my point was supposed to be was that I hated how Bella was so stubborn and helpless at the same time. Always running off to try to save the day in the mos irrational way ever, where she’s obviously going to have to be rescued.
June 27, 2008 at 9:51 am
i hate to say this but i felt like a bad feminist the entire time i read the “twilight” series, all for the reasons you just mentioned. in my head, i could hear my mom saying, “she needs HIM to save HER?” through like every book. yeah. that’s pretty bad.
i guess i’m used to whedonverse, where many if not all of the female characters are strong and don’t need saving (unless you count some of the crap he pulled on chicks in “angel.” kinda ticked me off a bit there). from buffy to gwen to river, the women were all powerful in their own way (anything from being super-strong physically to being a genius — or both), and the male characters were not just tolerant of strong women but were actually ATTRACTED to them. now that’s a concept our dear “twilight” author could use.
but yeah, i still enjoy the “twilight” books. and yeah, i do worry about young girls who read the series. the vagina is mightier than the penis!
i suggest mrs. meyer take a gander at joss whedon’s “equality now” speech on why he writes strong women characters: http://youtube.com/watch?v=cYaczoJMRhs
June 27, 2008 at 10:40 am
Oh Sheena, if all of our heroines could be like Buffy!
Honestly, that’s what made me want to read the books at first because I thought it was going to be a Buffy/Spike type relationship. I was sorely mistaken!
And honestly, the thing that I simply can’t get past is first off, Jacob’s character reads like sociopath to me. And second, HE SEXUALLY ASSAULTS HER! TWICE! UGH! Actually, when you think about it, more than that as he always snuck in little touches and whatnot. Gross.
And Genabelle, I feel you on the stubborn thing. It seemed like she always grew a spine at the most inappropriate times. Like if a marauding vampire is coming for me, ya know, I’ma sit back and let the other vampires handle this. I’m not going to go out and fight him, and then get fussy when they have to help me later on.
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