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Twilight: The Unveiling of Victims, Stalking, and Domestic Twilight: The Unveiling of Victims, Stalking, and Domestic
Violence, 21 Cardozo J. L. & Gender 39 (2014) Violence, 21 Cardozo J. L. & Gender 39 (2014)
Susan L. Brody
John Marshall Law School
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39
TWILIGHT: THE UNVEILING OF VICTIMS,
STALKING, AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
SUSAN L. BRODY*
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. Introduction .......................................................................................................... 41
II. History and Synopses of Twilight ...................................................................... 50
A. History .................................................................................................... 50
B. Synopses of the Books ............................................................................ 52
1. Twilight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 2
2. New Moon ....................................................................................... 53
3. Eclipse ............................................................................................. 54
4. Breaking Dawn ................................................................................ 54
III. Bella is Crafted to be a Victim of Her Own Life Circumstances and of
Edward’s Powerful World ........................................................................... 56
A. Bella Is A Victim Of Her Own World .................................................... 56
1. Bella Is A Victim Of Her Family Life Circumstances .................... 57
2. Bella’s Personality, Physical Traits, And Lack Of Interests
Also Make Her A Victim .............................................................. 60
B. Bella Is Allured By Edward And His World Because They Will
Magically Transform Her and Her Life. ............................................. 63
1. In Edward’s World, Bella Will No Longer Be Alone, And She
Will Have Instantaneous Family, Friends, And A Social
Group To Which She Belongs. ..................................................... 63
2. In Edward’s World, Bella Will Be Graceful, Agile,
Coordinated, And Beautiful; She Will Have Purpose And Be
Freed From Painful Human Emotions. ......................................... 65
C. Unveiling The Realities Of The Vampire World Reveal Bella To
Be A Victim There Too: Preyed Upon, Defined, Controlled, And
Dominated ........................................................................................... 66
1. The Vampire World Causes Bella To “Fall Prey” To Edward, -
Just As Humans Are Supposed To Do. ......................................... 67
* Susan L. Brody is a Professor of Law at The John Marshall Law School in Chicago, Illinois. The
author gratefully acknowledges and thanks Ashley Charen, Katherine Gaughan, Kristine Michel, Mary
Leukam, and Linlee Rohrer for their invaluable contribution, insights, and research assistance.
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40 CARDOZO JOURNAL OF LAW & GENDER [Vol. 21:39
2. The Vampire World Of “Secrecy” Will Keep Bella Isolated. ........ 67
3. The Vampire World Will Maintain Bella’s Attraction To
Domineering Men Who Offer Her Protection, Strength, And
Power But Exert Control Over Her. .............................................. 68
IV. Bella Is a Victim of Illegal Acts ........................................................................ 70
A. Bella Is a Victim of Stalking .................................................................. 70
B. Bella Is a Victim of Domestic Violence ................................................. 78
C. Bella Is Surrounded by Other Acts of Domestic Violence ..................... 85
V. Consequences of Twilight and the Remaking of Bella ...................................... 87
A. Consequences for the Reader ................................................................. 87
B. Alternatives to Make Bella a More Deserving Heroine and Role
Model ................................................................................................... 89
1. Bella Chooses Jacob ........................................................................ 89
2. Edward Is Lured Into Bella’s Human World. ................................. 91
3. Bella Has Become A Vampire But Realizes The Decision To
Do So Was Not Her Own And Wants To Become Human
Again. ............................................................................................ 92
4. Bella Chooses Edward, Becomes A Vampire, And Lives
Happily Ever After But She Has Different Life
Circumstances, And There Is No Control Or Violence. ............... 93
VI. Conclusion ......................................................................................................... 93
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2014] TWILIGHT 41
[L]arge purplish bruises were beginning to blossom across the pale skin
of my arm. My eyes followed the trail they made up to my shoulder, and
then down across my ribs . . . . It throbbed a little.
. . . .
. . . .
I tried to remember this—to remember pain—but I couldn’t. I
couldn’t recall a moment when his hold had been too tight, his hands too
hard against me. I only remembered wanting him to hold me tighter, and
being pleased when he did.
1
I. INTRODUCTION
These “morning after” reflections are those of seventeen-year-old Isabella
(“Bella”) Swan, the “heroine” of the love story presented in the Twilight saga.
2
The four-book saga tells Bella’s story as she falls in love with and ultimately
marries Edward Cullen, whom she does not at first realize is a vampire. Bella first
meets Edward, an extremely attractive teenage boy, when he sits next to her in what
is otherwise a typical high school biology class.
3
In a typical teenage boy fashion,
Edward virtually ignores her. Bella is unaware that Edward is a vampire who made
a commitment to no longer live on human blood. However, this commitment is
tested when he meets Bella because she has a scent that is particularly delectable to
him.
4
In spite of such obstacles, Bella and Edward are able to develop a deep and
lasting romantic relationship, taking the reader on a 2,000-plus-page journey.
5
Published between 2005 and 2008, the books in the Twilight saga were an
instant success. The books alone sold over one hundred million copies
6
and have
1
STEPHENIE MEYER, BREAKING DAWN 1, 89 (2008) [hereinafter BREAKING DAWN].
2
Perhaps one of the most intriguing cultural phenomena to date in the twenty-first century, the
Twilight saga is comprised of author Stephenie Meyer’s books I through IV: T
WILIGHT (2005)
[hereinafter T
WILIGHT], NEW MOON (2006) [hereinafter NEW MOON], ECLIPSE (2007) [hereinafter
E
CLIPSE], and BREAKING DAWN (2008) respectively. That the books are a cultural “phenomenon,” is
even acknowledged by the publisher who took a chance on Stephenie Meyer, a previously unpublished
author. See Harriet Alexander, Twilight: Book Breaks Sales Records, T
HE TELEGRAPH (Nov. 17, 2009),
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/6590249/Twilight-book-breaks-sales-records.html (“CEO and
publisher at Little, Brown said, ‘Popular doesn’t even begin to describe it—the Twilight saga is a
phenomenon in its own right and like Harry Potter it has generated a global sensation that crosses
several media.’”).
3
TWILIGHT, supra note 2, at 23. Because the books and the series have the same name, in the text
and in the narrative portion of the footnotes, the term Twilight (without italics) will refer to the
series/cultural phenomenon, but Twilight (with italics) will refer to the first book of the eponymous
series.
4
Id.at 270 (Edward describing the way Bella’s fragrance affects him: “The fragrance coming off
your skin . . . . I thought it would make me deranged . . . . [T]he scent was maddening . . . . It was easier
outside, when I couldn’t smell you anymore, to think clearly, to make the right decision.”); see also
T
WILIGHT, supra note 2, at 266-68 (describing Bella’s scent being more irresistible to Edward than
anyone else’s).
5
The four books of the Twilight saga were published originally at a combined length of 2,444
pages.
6
Little, Brown to Publish Official ‘Twilight’ Guide, PUBLISHERS WKLY. (Oct. 6, 2010),
http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-book-news/article/44733-little-
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42 CARDOZO JOURNAL OF LAW & GENDER [Vol. 21:39
been translated into thirty-seven languages.
7
The books were on the New York
Times Bestsellers list for 190 weeks
8
and dominated the USA Today Best-Selling
Books list.
9
Author Stephenie Meyer dominated that list, breaking records
previously set by J. K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series.
10
More than
four million copies were sold in a twelve-month span.
11
Each book was chosen
through an American Library Association poll to join the teen choice “Best Book
for Young Adults.”
12
But the fanfare goes beyond merely reading. Fans created
brown-to-publish-official-twilight-guide.html (noting that the Twilight saga had sold over 116 million
copies by October 2010).
7
See Kenneth Turan, You Wanna Neck? L.A. TIMES (Nov. 21, 2008),
http://articles.latimes.com/2008/nov/21/ entertainment/et-twilight21 (noting that the books had already
been translated in 37 languages by the time the first movie came out); see also P
UBLISHERS WKLY.,
supra note 6 (noting that the publication rights for the Twilight saga have been sold in nearly 50
countries).
8
See Best Sellers: Children’s Series, N.Y. TIMES (Apr. 17, 2011), http://www.nytimes.com/best-
sellers-books/2011-04-17/series-books/list.html (last visited Sept. 9, 2013) (The Twilight saga spent 190
weeks on the New York Times Bestsellers List: Children’s Series.).
9
See Carol Memmott & Mary Cadden, Twilight Series Eclipses Potter Records on Best-Selling
List, USA
T
ODAY (Aug. 9, 2009), http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/books/news/2009-08-03-twilight-
series_N.htm (noting the Twilight series dominance on the best-selling books list as compared the Harry
Potter series); see also, Bob Minzesheimer & Anthony DeBarros, Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight Series
Sweeps Top Four Spots, USA
T
ODAY (Jan. 14, 2010), http://usatoday30.usatoday.com
/life/books/news/2010-01-14-topsellers14_ST_N.htm (observing that the Twilight saga held the top four
spots in the best-selling books of the year in 2008 and 2009, which had never been done before in the
list’s 16 years).
10
The Harry Potter series is a seven-book young adult series that tells the story of an orphan boy
wizard’s adolescence and fight against the dark powers that killed his parents and threaten his world.
The seven books were published between 1997 and 2007. Like the Twilight series, it is a young adult
book series with fantasy themes written by a previously unknown author, who was raising children and
not currently employed outside out the home. The Harry Potter series was enormously successful, and
each book’s release was heavily anticipated. The series was also turned into eight films, which also
launched the careers of the young actors portraying Harry and his friends. The seven books are the best-
selling book series in history and have sold over 450 million copies in sixty-seven different languages.
The Harry Potter brand is worth billions of dollars. See Bob Brad Minzesheimer, Harry Potter Gets
New Book Cover for 15th Anniversary, USA
T
ODAY (Feb. 13, 2013),
http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/books/2013/02/12/harry-potter-new-book-covers/1914149/ (noting
that the books have sold over 450 million copies to date); Rowling Makes £5 Every Second, BBC (Oct.
3, 2008), http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/ 7649962.stm (observing that the books have been
translated into 67 languages); Patrick Foster, Business Big Shot, T
IMES (U.K), at 43, (Apr. 2, 2008).
Given the similarities between the creation, publication, and immediate success of the Twilight and
Harry Potter young adult fantasy series, many comparisons have been made. See Casey O’Lear,
Twilight v. Harry Potter: Fantasy Showdown, T
HE NEV.SAGEBRUSH (Nov. 18, 2008),
http://nevadasagebrush.com/blog/2008/11/18/ twilight-vs-harry-potter-fantasy-showdown/; Jeffrey A.
Trachtenberg, Booksellers Find Life After Harry In a Vampire Novel, W
ALL ST.J. (Aug. 10, 2007),
http://online.wsj.com/articles/SB118670290131693667; Eric Veal, Twilight vs. Harry Potter, Which
Franchise is #1?, T
HE A&T REGISTER (Jan. 31, 2012), http://www.ncatregister.com/business/
local_business/twilight-vs-harry-potter-which-franchise-is/article_35b497c4-1008-11e1-a793-
001a4bcf6878.html; see Alexander, supra note 2 (noting that Twilight sold over one million copies
faster than Harry Potter).
11
Lev Grossman, Stephenie Meyer: A New J.K. Rowling?, TIME MAG. (Apr. 24, 2008).
12
The American Library Association (“ALA”) creates an annual Top Ten List of the Best Books
for Young Adults (“BBYA”), which is decided by popular vote during a month of voting once a year.
See Young Adult Library Services Association (“YALSA”), ‘About the Teens’ Top Ten,
http://www.ala.org/yalsa/teenstopten; BBYA 2006 Top Ten with Annotations, YALSA,
http://www.ala.org/yalsa/booklistsawards/booklists/bestbooksya/annotations/06toptenbbya (Twilight
made the 2006 Young Adult Library Services Association); New Moon was listed in the 2007 YALSA,
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2014] TWILIGHT 43
hundreds of internet fan sites,
13
not only in English but also in Spanish, French,
German, and Italian.
14
The books were also made into five immensely successful movies with
astounding attendance and earning billions of dollars at the box office.
15
Both the
books and the movies drew large crowds to meet the stars and author or attend
midnight release parties.
16
At one book event, 3,000 fans arrived just to meet
2007 Teens’ Top Ten, http://www.ala.org/yalsa/teenreading/teenstopten/07ttt; Eclipse was on the 2008
YALSA, The 2008 Teens’ Top Ten, http://www.ala.org/yalsa/teenreading/teenstopten/ttt2008; Breaking
Dawn was listed on the 2009 Young Adult Library Services Association, The 2008 Teens’ Top Ten,
http://www.ala.org/yalsa/booklistsawards/booklists/bestbooksya/annotations/06toptenbbya. Twilight was
also named on the ALA Top Ten Challenged Books lists in 2009 and 2010, citing complaints about the
book’s “religious viewpoint,” “violence,” “sexually explicit” behavior, and being “unsuited to the age
group.” See Banned & Challenged Books, Frequently Challenged Books of the 21st Century, A
M.
LIBRARY ASS
’N, http://www.ala.org/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/top10. Other books on the ALA
lists that parents seek to have banned from schools, including recently, Toni Morrison’s Beloved, Ralph
Ellison’s Invisible Man, and the children’s book series Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey. See,
Emanuella Grinberg, Banned Books Week: ‘Captain Underpants’ Tops List of Challenged Books, CNN
(Sept. 24, 2013), http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/24/living/banned-books-week/index.html (noting that the
ALA ranked Captain Underpants the number one banned book in 2012 because of complaints of
“offensive language” and that the book was “unsuited to the age group.”); see also Elizabeth Blair, Hold
on To Your Tighty Whities, Captain Underpants is Back!, NPR (Jan. 15, 2013),
http://www.npr.org/2013/01/15/169326364/hold-on-to-your-tighty-whities-captain-underpants-is-back.
(Captain Underpants has been a hugely successful series. The books are on the ALA Hit List of most
complained about books because of nudity, vulgar language, and disrespect for authority); Banned
Books Weeks Highlights What’s Taken Out at Schools, NPR (Sept. 23, 2013),
http://www.npr.org/2013/09/23/225334760/banned-books-week-highlights-whats-taken-out-at-schools
(observing that Captain Underpants is the most banned book in America, and the “whole series is said to
be unsuited for kids.”).
13
There are 377 fan websites listed on Stephenie Meyer’s website in English alone. Twilight
Series Fansites,
STEPHENIEMEYER.COM, http://stepheniemeyer.com/ts_fansites.html (Meyer’s website
lists 377 English language fansites). Another collection of sites said there were 979 Twilight fan
websites listed in their collection: Twilight Wiki, W
IKI, http://twilightsaga.wikia.com/wiki/Fan_sites.
14
See id.(additional languages for the fansites include: Czech, Dutch, Estonian, Finnish, Greek,
Hebrew, Hungarian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbian,
Slovak, and Swedish).
15
Dorothy Pomerantz, Looking at Twilight by the Numbers, FORBES (Nov. 16, 2012),
http://www.forbes.com/sites/dorothypomerantz/2012/11/16/looking-at-twilight-by-the-numbers/
(estimating that the movie franchise has earned $2.5 billion worldwide, and if the DVD and televisions
showings were included, the amount would be nearer to $5 billion); see also Total Twilight Franchise
Sales/Revenue, S
TATIC BRAIN, http://www.statisticbrain.com/total-twilight-franchise-sales-revenue
(estimating total franchise sales of the movies and merchandise to be $5.7 billion as of November 27,
2012).
16
See Louise Saunders, That Will Make Their Friends Greene With Envy, DAILY MAIL, July 12,
2012, at http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2172490/Comic-Con-2012-Twilight-stars-meet-
fans.html (describing the crowds that the movie fans draw when they attend events, such as Comic Con);
Madison Vanderburg, Twilight Stars React to Woman’s Death at Comic Con, H
OLLYSCOOP (July 11,
2012), http://www.hollyscoop.com/twilight/twilight-stars-react-to-woman---s-death-at-comic-con.html
(one fan was even killed crossing the street to ComicCon to meet the Twilight movie stars); Nick Clark,
Stephenie Meyer Fans Queue From 5am till Twilight for The Host Book Signing in London, T
HE
INDEPENDENT (Mar. 5, 2013) http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/news/stephenie-
meyer-fans-queue-from-5am-till-twilight-for-the-host-book-signing-in-london-8521428.html (fans have
waited in line up to 13 hours at book signing events to meet Stephenie Meyer). See also Breaking Dawn
Photos,
STEPHENIEMEYER.COM, http://stepheniemeyer.com/bd_parties.html (providing a photos of a
variety of midnight release parties for the fourth book in the Twilight saga, Breaking Dawn, including
the fans who dressed up as their favorite characters to show their excitement).
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44 CARDOZO JOURNAL OF LAW & GENDER [Vol. 21:39
Stephenie Meyer.
17
The franchise launched Meyer’s career
18
and many of the
movies’ young stars.
19
In addition to viewing their love story on screen, Edward
and Bella fans can also purchase dolls in their likeness,
20
wedding gowns designed
to be identical to the dress Bella wore when she and Edward wed,
21
bedding, phone
cases, and jewelry all inspired by the Twilight series.
22
17
See Grossman, supra note 11.
18
See infra note 19.
19
Kristen Stewart was cast as Bella when she was 17, which launched her career; by 2010, Stewart
earned approximately $28.5 million for her work in three movies that year and was the highest earning
female actress on Vanity Fair Magazine 2010’s Top Hollywood Top Earners. Floyd Allen, Twilight
Star, Kristen Stewart Hollywood’s Highest Earning Female Actress, I
NT’L BUS.TIMES (Feb. 4, 2011),
http://au.ibtimes.com/articles/108743/20110204/2010-top-hollywood-earners-kristen-stewart-highest-
earning-female-actress.htm#.Ulok9hD91tA. Robert Pattinson, who plays Edward Cullen, earned a lot
from the Twilight films, and he was #50 on the Forbes Celebrity 100, naming the most powerful
celebrities. The Celebrity 100, F
ORBES, http://www.forbes.com/lists/2010/53/celeb-100-10_Robert-
Pattinson_TZ0B.html. In 2010, Pattinson was also named to the Time Magazine 100 Most Influential
People in the World. Chris Weitz, The 2010 Time 100: Robert Pattinson, T
IME MAG.,
http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1984685_1984940_1984948,00.html#ixz
z0mUOIhqVr (the rave comments in Time’s tribute were written by the director of one of the Twilight
movies).
20
Mattel’s Barbie doll line has created a Twilight saga series: including Edward, Bella, Jacob, the
other members of the Cullen family, Victoria, and Jane (a member of the Volutri). Notably, Bella has
two dolls: one when she is a human where she is wearing jeans and a long sleeve shirt, and another for
Breaking Dawn, Part II, which is after she becomes a vampire where she is fashionably dressed in all
black. Mattel, The Twilight Saga Collection, B
ARBIE COLLECTOR,
http://www.barbiecollector.com/collection/twilight-saga-collection.
21
Daisy Dumas, How to Look Like a Wedding Bella: $799 Replica of Breaking Dawn Gown Hits
Stores Just Days After Movie Release, D
AILY MAIL (Nov. 23, 2011),
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2064849/Twilight-Breaking-Dawn-wedding-dress-How-look-
like-Kristen-Stewarts-Bella-Swan.html. See also Debra Krein, Inspired by the Edward and Bella
Wedding: The Bella Swan Wedding Dress and Accessories, M
Y WEDDING CHAT (Dec. 2, 2011),
http://www.weddingshoppeinc.com/blog/index.php/2011/12/02/bella-swan-wedding-dress-replica/.
22
A variety of paraphernalia is available. See Destroy Your Soul Duvet, AMAZON.COM,
http://www.amazon.com/Twilight-New-Moon-Edward-Destroy/dp/B002R0DOMM/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-
and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1342704197&sr=1-1 (last visited Sept. 11, 2014) (among other bedding
available, the duvet has a large photo of Edward’s face above the question he poses to Bella in Twilight:
“What choice have I? I cannot live without you, but I will not destroy your soul.”); Ring Puzzle,
A
MAZON.COM,http://www.amazon.com/Twilight-Eclipse-Jigsaw-Puzzle-Ring/dp/B003NNVAIW/ref=
sr_1_19?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1342704267&sr=1-19 (last visited Sept. 11, 2014) (a 1000
piece jigsaw puzzle that creates the image of Edward putting the engagement ring on Bella’s finger);
“Turn Me” Doll, Complete with the Walking Cast, A
MAZON.COM, http://www.amazon.com/AMAZON-
EXCLUSIVE-Tonner-Turn-Bella/dp/B002CMLDUU/ref=sr_1_24?s=toys-and-
games&ie=UTF8&qid=1342704267&sr=1-24 (last visited Sept. 11, 2014) (providing a fifteen inch doll
of Bella wearing the dress she wore to her high school prom in Twilight. The doll includes a “walking
cast” on her foot as Bella had in the book, because prom was while she was recovering from her life-
threatening injuries obtained when James attacked her and the Cullens had to come to Arizona to save
her life); Edward as an Action figure, A
MAZON.COM, http://www.amazon.com/Twilight-Edward-Cullen-
Action-Figure/dp/B002O5PK9K/ref=sr_1_4?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1342704267&sr=1-4
(last visited Sept. 11, 2014) (a seven inch action figure of Edward Cullen, as inspired by the New Moon
movie); Cullen Crest Jewelry Kit, A
MAZON.COM, http://www.amazon.com/Twilight-AMAZON-
EXCLUSIVE-Replica-Jewelry/dp/B002WGHXI2/ref=sr_1_9?s=toys-and-
games&ie=UTF8&qid=1342704267&sr=1-9 (last visited Sept. 11, 2014) (the kit includes Edward’s
wristcuff, Rosalie’s necklace, Esme’s bracelet, Bella’s ring, Carlisle’s ring, and Alice’s choker all
bearing the Cullen family crest); Bella Hair Comb, A
MAZON.COM, http://www.amazon.com/Twilight-
Breaking-Dawn-Bellas-Velvet/dp/B005TKVM2G/ref=pd_sim_t_1 (last visited Sept. 11, 2014) (a
replica of the jeweled hair comb that Bella wore at her wedding to Edward in Breaking Dawn); Replica
Wedding Rings, A
MAZON.COM,http://www.amazon.com/Twilight-Breaking-Bellas-Engagement-
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2014] TWILIGHT 45
The sensation over Edward and Bella is not limited to teenagers. Indeed the
AARP devoted an article to the Twilight phenomenon, positing that the books take
women of mature years back to a time “when they were 17” or younger, when
“they had crushes”, [or] “when the cute guy they watched from afar actually spoke
to them.”
23
Women in their 30s, 40s, and 50s are also included alongside the
scores of young girls swooning over Edward Cullen.
24
Some adult women were
reported to have been obsessed to the point of sleeplessness, disintegrating
marriages, and countless hours on internet fan sites and blogs.
25
Even more
stunning is a report that the vastly successful adult book series, beginning with
Fifty Shades of Grey,
26
began as Twilight fan fiction,
27
targeting an older reading
Wedding/dp/B005TLNETE/ref=pd_sim_t_2 (last visited Sept. 11, 2014);
Engagement Ring, A
MAZON.COM,http://www.amazon.com/Twilight-Eclipse-Bellas-Engagement-
Replica/dp/B003NNVAPU/ref=pd_sim_t_3 (last visited Sept. 12, 2014); Edward’s Name Heart
Necklace, A
MAZON.COM,http://www.amazon.com/Twilight-Eclipse-Edward-Script-Necklace
/dp/B003NNVAQE/ref=pd_sim_t_14 (last visited Sept. 12, 2014); Charm Bracelet Replica,
A
MAZON.COM, http://www.amazon.com/Twilight-Eclipse-Bellas-Heart-Bracelet/dp/B003NNVAQ4/ref
=pd_sim_t_5 (last visited Sept. 12, 2014) (imitating the one that Bella wore in the books, including the 2
charms she had: one from Jacob and one from Edward. The packaging including photos of Edward and
Jacob turned away from each other, above each of their charms); Phone Cases, A
MAZON.COM,
http://www.target.com/s?searchTerm=twilight+phone+case&category=0|All|matchallpartial|all+categori
es (last visited Sept. 12, 2014) (phone cases for iPhones, one including a photo of Edward and Bella
embracing, and another of Jacob in the woods); Reversible Bag, A
MAZON.COM,
http://www.target.com/p/twilight-saga-new-moon-team-edward-team-jacob-reversible-bag/-/A-
12277894 (last visited Sept. 12, 2014) (one side was for “Team Edward” and the other for “Team
Jacob”); Jacob “Dog Tags,”A
MAZON.COM, http://www.target.com/p/twilight-saga-new-moon-dog-tags-
jacob-in-the-forest/-/A-12277642 (last visited Sept. 12, 2014); Twilight Reprinted As A Graphic Novel,
A
MAZON.COM, http://www.target.com/p/twilight-the-graphic-novel-1-reprint-paperback/-/A-13859608
(last visited Sept. 12, 2014).
23
Melissa Stanton, Confessions of a Grown ‘Twihard’, AARP (Nov. 16, 2012),
http://www.aarp.org/entertainment/movies-for-grownups/info-11-2011/Confessions-of-a-Grown-
Twihard.html.
24
Samantha Smithstein, Craving a ‘Twilight’ Romance, What the Wild Things Are, PSYCHOLOGY
TODAY BLOG, Jul. 2, 2010, http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/what-the-wild-things-
are/201007/craving-twilight-romance.
25
Id.
26
Fifty Shades is a trilogy of erotic romance books that centers around the relationship between a
naïve, inexperienced young woman and a domineering man, who sexual preferences lean toward
bondage. The trilogy holds the record as the fastest selling paperback, and its weekly sales surpassed
both Harry Potter and the Twilight saga. See Paul Bentley, ‘Mommy Porn’ Fifty Shades of Grey
Outstrips Harry Potter to Become the Fastest Selling Paperback of All Time, D
AILY MAIL (Jun. 18,
2012), http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2160862/Fifty-Shades-Of-Grey-book-outstrips-Harry-
Potter-fastest-selling-paperback-time.html. The author, E. L. James, is a former television executive and
the mother of two, living in West London. The story grew out of her self-published online Twilight fan
fiction. She published fan fiction under the pseudonym, “Snowqueens Icedragon.” See Belinda
Luscombe, James’ Bondage: The Shy British Mum Whose Naughty Book Set U.S. Hearts Afire, T
IME
MAG. (Apr. 9, 2012) (readily acknowledging that the Fifty Shades series started as Twilight fan fiction
called, “Master of the Universe,” with protagonists called Bella Swan and Edward Cullen and was
published on fanfiction.net, among the almost 200,000 of other Twilight fan fiction pieces published
there. From there, James was asked to speak at Twilight fan-fiction panels at Comic-Con, and her
popularity grew before she was published by a small publishing house that was made as outlet for fan
fiction authors’ works. The publisher coaxed James for over a year to publish Fifty Shades); see also
Rebecca Keegan & Nicole Sperling, ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ by E.L. James is Selling Books (And More),
L
OS ANGELES TIMES (Apr. 17, 2012), http://articles.latimes.com/2012/apr/17/entertainment/la-et-fifty-
shades-of-grey-20120417 (a 37-year-old married mother of three, who usually reads biographies and
classics, studied English literature in college, and donates money to the Feminist Majority said, “‘I was a
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46 CARDOZO JOURNAL OF LAW & GENDER [Vol. 21:39
audience.
28
Indeed the craze and popularity of the Fifty Shades series is an
astounding cultural phenomenon in its own right.
29
That its motivation stems from
the Twilight series only strengthens the force of the impact Twilight has on
American culture and those who read it.
Twilight’s popularity and impact may be good for the author and perhaps the
economy, but not necessarily for the teenage readership. Insofar as these books are
written for teens and read by thousands—if not millions—of teenage women, it
goes without saying that teens are, consciously or not, likely taking in Bella Swan
as a role model. Even if teen women do not seek Bella as a role model in all
respects, at the very least, some teen women, may “see” themselves “in” Bella, as
she is embarking on a teenage journey of self-discovery. Bella’s view of herself,
her self-worth, her potential role/s in life, and her judgments and decision-making
cannot help but influence young teen women who are embarking on a similar
journey. Likewise, teen women dreaming of a “romantic” relationship similar to
that shared by Edward and Bella may, consciously or not, view Edward’s treatment
of Bella as model behavior for a lover or a mate.
Unfortunately, the characters in the Twilight saga do not give readers healthy
role models. Though many readers identify with Bella’s “every-woman” character,
Bella’s decisions and actions should not be emulated. The easy relationship
little horrified that I would be this fascinated by a story of a man dominating a woman . . . . I’ve
definitely started reading more smut [after reading Fifty Shades]’.” Another reader who is 34 and lives
in New York City has read the trilogy three times, and does not want to read other books because of her
attachment to the male protagonist: “‘It’s very bizarre . . . I’ve never had a book that captures my
attention the way this book has. I have never fallen in love with a character as I have fallen in love with
Christian Grey. As much as he is a freak and there is something wrong with him, there is something
about him that you want to be a part of.”); see also Of Brooms and Bondage, T
HE ECONOMIST (May 5,
2012) (discussing the fast sales Fifty Shades of Grey and how its internet following, e-books publication,
and popularity spread by word of mouth reflect current changes in the publishing industry).
27
See Ewan Morrison, In the Beginning, There Was Fan Fiction: From the Four Gospels to Fifty
Shades, T
HE GUARDIAN (Aug. 13, 2012), http://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/aug/13/fan-fiction-
fifty-shades-grey (starting with the early use of tropes or folklore in creating Shakespearean stories, to
the Jane Austen and Sherlock Holmes fan groups who used similar characters or would write new stories
the author’s characters. Science fiction stories started to attract fan fiction. As fan fiction grew into
other genres, a theme of dark sexual undertones developed. The styles of fan fiction are also discussed
including “slash,” “mashups” and “AU” [alternative universe] fanfiction. Much of Twilight AU
fanfiction is pornographic. Fifty Shades developed in this strain of Twilight fanfiction: “Although the
author then tried to erase evidence of its fanfic origins, it’s clear that rather than being some lightning
bolt new genre called ‘Mommy porn,’ Fifty Shades is actually a very generic work of Twilight fanfic
from amongst tens of thousands already created. It is, in fact, a piece of ‘AU het slash Twilight fic,’ and
as we’ve seen, in all slash fic, sex and sexual violence are the predictable components of the genre.’”);
see also Kara Warner, ‘Twilight,’ ‘50 Shades of Grey,’ and The Fanfic Phenomenon,
MTV.COM,
http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1682408/twilight-50-shades-of-grey-fan-fiction.jhtml/ (noting the
similarities between Twilight and Fifty Shades of Grey, including the naïve woman who is drawn to the
older, experienced, wealthy man. Also, much fanfiction is explicitly sexual, but seeing that some
fanfiction authors are breaking into mainstream publishing.).
28
Meredith Bennett-Smith, ‘50 Shades of Grey’ Grey: What is the appeal?, THE CHRISTIAN
SCIENCE MONITOR (Mar. 15, 2012), http://www.csmonitor.com/Books/chapter-and-verse/2012/0315/50-
Shades-of-Grey-What-is-the-appeal (discussing that the books arose from Twilight fan fiction, but
readers are generally a little older than the young women who read Twilight, and discusses the
“pornographic” or “erotic” nature of the stories).
29
See Bentley, supra note 26.
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2014] TWILIGHT 47
between the reader and Bella misleads readers into a false romanticization of
Bella’s exciting, chosen life as the heroine of a supernatural love story. The author
has fashioned Bella’s most human and relatable traits as a lack of confidence, low
self-esteem, and minimal self-worth. Worse yet, she has fashioned her most human
and relatable experiences in acts of male domination and control, which legally
constitute both stalking and domestic violence. Bella is unable to recognize these
wrongs and tragically romanticizes them, which paralyzes her and prevents her
from having any ability to walk away. Instead of creating a heroine who believes
in her own power, protects herself, and teaches young women about courage, self-
esteem, and meaningful choice, Meyer’s “heroine” is a victim who makes decisions
from a place of vulnerability. Although Bella eventually obtains strength and
power, it is given to her only after she submits to her man’s world and becomes a
vampire. Bella is a dangerous role model for impressible women who relate to
Bella’s foibles and vulnerability as their own and who subliminally learn from
these books that weaknesses and doubts about themselves can be overcome by
finding true love; in other words, strength comes from what a man and his world
can give heterosexual women.
Many, including “Twihards,”
30
defend the Twilight saga as merely fantasy
and fun, and thus refute all the themes that will be presented by this Article.
Indeed, an “it’s-just-a-fantasy” assertion is not only a valid one, but perhaps the
strongest one in favor of Twilight and its story. This Article will show, however,
that sexual violence and control of Bella are so deeply embedded and intertwined
with Bella’s fantastical love story, that she—and the reader—cannot recognize the
legal wrongs perpetrated against her. Worse yet, they are glamorized as acts of
love. The setting and style of Twilight give the reader a message, albeit subliminal,
that acts of violence should not only be considered “normal” and “disregarded” or
tolerated when the perpetrator loves you, but they are to be savored. Here is how.
Bella and Edward meet in a setting and under circumstances with which the
every-day-human-teen can relate. The Twilight saga unfolds in Bella’s world: in
her high school,
31
in her science class,
32
school cafeteria, and among her
classmates and friends. Edward is just a good-looking classmate who sits next to
Bella in Biology class,
33
and his vampire siblings attend the same high school as
well.
34
The vampires are embedded in Bella’s typical world of homework, reading
assignments, movies, dances, proms, and dilemmas with friends. The vampires do
30
A term for diehard Twilight fans.
31
TWILIGHT, supra note 2, at 12 (“Forks High School”) is the backdrop that typifies Bella’s human
world.
32
Id. at 23 (“When we entered the [Biology] classroom, Angela went to sit at a black-topped lab
table exactly like the ones I was used to . . . . [A]ll the tables were filled but one . . . . I recognized
Edward Cullen . . . sitting next to that single open seat.”).
33
Id.
34
Id. at 18 (“It was there, sitting in the lunchroom . . . that I first saw them . . . . There were five of
them.”); Id. at 20-21 (Jessica explains to Bella that they are a family, adopted by Dr. Cullen and his
wife).
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48 CARDOZO JOURNAL OF LAW & GENDER [Vol. 21:39
not elicit deathly fear in humans, do not come out only on dark nights, and do not
live entirely isolated from human society. In stark contrast, albeit somewhat
unusual in looks and behavior,
35
they are extraordinarily nice, live nearby,
36
are
devoted to family,
37
and even are interested in helping the world. Carlisle Cullen,
the patriarch, is a brilliant doctor
38
who works a normal job at the local hospital.
39
The supernatural elements of the vampire world also first appear in Bella’s
ordinary life. Edward saves her life by using his speed and strength to keep her
away from a moving car in the high school parking lot that would have crushed
her.
40
When Bella ultimately falls for Edward, it is within her own world, one
relatable to all young women. The setting and characters thus encourage the reader
to fantasize that it is possible for your very own “Edward” to be your neighbor or
sitting right next to you in school. Bella’s journey could be the reader’s own.
Further adding to its “ordinary” tone, the story is told from Bella’s first-
person perspective, making her even more relatable. The reader experiences the
encounters of violence from Bella’s viewpoint, and the reader is manipulated into
accepting Bella’s glamorized views, as “romantic,” without fully recognizing the
danger.
41
When Bella accepts, in the name of love, that Edward’s strength may at
35
Id. at 24 (“I couldn’t stop myself from peeking . . . at the strange boy next to me . . . . [H]e never
relaxed . . . . What was wrong with him? Was this his normal behavior?”).
36
Id.
37
Id. at 36, 37 (“[T]hey stick together the way a family should.”).
38
Id. at 36 (Charlie tells Bella, “Dr. Cullen is a brilliant surgeon . . . . [A]n asset to the
community.”)
39
Id. at 336.
40
Id. at 26-7.
41
Stephenie Meyer released a draft of the first several chapters of a book that has never been
published called Midnight Sun. This book idea tells the Twilight story from Edward’s perspective; it
uses the same dialogue as Twilight, but is narrated by Edward. When the story is told in Edward’s
voice, he recognizes the legal wrongs he perpetrates and the danger he poses to Bella. He refers to
himself as a “stalker” twice. Stephenie Meyer, Midnight Sun, 75, 189 (unpublished manuscript) (on file
with author) Edward is amazed when he admits to his crime, and Bella only smiles: “I’d just admitted to
stalking her, and she was smiling.” Id.at 189. Edward also refers to himself as a “peeping tom.” Id. at
106, 163. The first night he watches her sleep, he says: “I was repulsed by myself as I watched her toss
again. How was I any better than some sick peeping tom? I wasn’t any better. I was much, much
worse.” Id.at 106. However, as Bella and Edward continue to develop their relationship, Edward’s
behavior does not change, and he justifies it as protecting her in ways that other men could not. When
he eavesdrops on Bella’s conversation with her father, Charlie, he eventually leaves them to their
evening and says he would return when she was sleeping: “I would not trespass on her privacy the way a
peeping tom would have. I was here for her protection, not to leer at her the way Mike Newton [Bella’s
classmate] no doubt would have, were he agile enough to move through the treetops the way I could. I
would not treat her so crassly.” Id.at 163. Not only does Edward recognize the dangers of his own
behavior, but notices that Bella does not recognize the danger he poses to her, instead claiming that she
has the “wrong instincts.” Id.at 196. Edward recognizes the Bella is careless with danger, and when she
admits she knows he is vampire, he describes Bella: “Her reactions were always wrong—always
completely wrong. She pulled danger toward herself. She invited it.” Id. at 201. Edward says that her
lack of fear was indicative of her “disturbing tendencies” and considered if Carlisle Cullen’s medical
connections would find her a therapist: “Perhaps something could be done to fix whatever was wrong
with her, whatever [sic] it was that made her content to sit beside a vampire with her heart beating
calmly and steadily.” Id.
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2014] TWILIGHT 49
any time crush her,
42
the reader too accepts that. When Bella accepts and even
glamorizes that in the name of love, Edward follows her,
43
watches her sleep at
night,
44
tails her car,
45
prevents her from using her car,
46
elicits his sister to keep
her from going anywhere when he is not around,
47
repeatedly scares her,
48
and
ultimately causes bodily harm to her,
49
the reader accepts that too. From Bella’s
view, when she finally experiences sex, violence and control are so intertwined
with love, that she and the reader are manipulated into accepting them as a
“normal” part of a relationship. Bella is unalarmed by these acts. In fact, Bella
appears to relish in them,
50
and throughout the series, conflates love with acts of
violence. Ultimately, Meyer’s presentation of the story undercuts the argument that
“it is just a fantasy.”
This Article posits that although Bella Swan appears independent, confident,
strong-willed, mature, and ready to face the world, she is actually dependent and
insecure; she is uninformed and lacks judgment; she needs to be cared for, helped,
protected, and rescued. These foibles leave her vulnerable to Edward’s magical
other world, and she is lured into his supernatural vampire reality where she
believes she will be protected, loved, and in which all her foibles will be disappear.
All she has to do is surrender to Edward, allow him to make her a vampire, and
leave the human world. Like the sweep of a magic wand, she will drift into the
happily ever after. Bella is “Cinderella
51
of the supernatural.” Edward is her
“preternatural prince.”
42
TWILIGHT, supra note 2, at 248 (“My decision was made, made before I’d ever consciously
chosen, and I was committed to seeing it through. Because there was nothing more terrifying to me,
more excruciating, than the thought of turning away from him. It was an impossibility.”).
43
Id.at 174-95; see infra text accompanying notes 186-200; see also infra Part IV.A.
44
Id. at 293; see infra text accompanying note 198.
45
Id. at 174; see infra text accompanying note 190.
46
See infra text accompanying note 195.
47
See infra text accompanying note 196.
48
TWILIGHT, supra note 2, at 175.
49
See TWILIGHT, supra note 2, at 103, 284; NEW MOON, supra note 2, at 561; BREAKING DAWN,
supra note 1, at 89, 91, 95-96, 378-79; E
CPLISE, supra note 2, at 83-84; see also infra Part IV.B.
50
See infra text accompanying notes 238-54, and accompanying text.
51
JACOB GRIMM &WILHELM GRIMM, Ashenputtel,KINDER UND HAUSMÄRCHEN, 119-26 (1857).
An English translation that remains close to the original tale is found in J
ACOB GRIMM &WILHELM
GRIMM, Cinderella,GRIMM’S FAIRY TALES,156-67(Edna Henry Lee Turpin, ed. and trans., 1903).
Much like Cinderella, Bella is a beautiful, dutiful daughter who cooks, cleans, and cares for her family.
She meets a forbidden man, Edward, and they fall instantly in love. Edward is smart, charming, and
incredibly wealthy. All the other girls desire to be with him, and the other girls (namely Bella’s
classmates, because Bella has no siblings) are jealous and wonder what hold Bella has over the “prince,”
Edward. Edward is enthralled by her and decides Bella is the one for him. He seeks her out over
everyone else. Through their relationship, Bella gains wealth, power, and fashion sense. She starts to
wear different clothes, which magically appear often, only in Twilight they come from Alice rather than
the magical tree in the fairy tale or the Fairy Godmother of Disney’s Cinderella film. Edward and Bella
finally marry, and Bella moves to Edward’s family’s beautiful home, drives their expensive vehicles,
and wears designer clothes. Her marriage brings her from rags to riches, and she and Edward are to live
happily ever after. See also, Tanya Gold, Twilight is not Feminist: It’s Female Masochism, T
HE
GUARDIAN (Nov. 16, 2012, 4:30 PM), http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/nov
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50 CARDOZO JOURNAL OF LAW & GENDER [Vol. 21:39
This Article will first present a history of the Twilight saga, including
information about the author and a brief synopsis of each of the four books.
Thereafter, it will explore Bella’s life circumstances and personal traits, showing
her to be a victim rather than the strong, independent young woman she appears to
be. Her decisions are undercut by specific traits from both her family background
and personal characteristics that make her especially weak and which construct her
as ideal prey for Edward’s world, the perfect counterpoint to her current life. What
Bella does not realize is the realities of the alluring vampire world do not free her,
but constrain and even victimize her, giving her little choice in deciding who she
will be.
In the next section, this Article will then show Bella as a victim from a legal
perspective as well, specifically of stalking and domestic violence. However, she is
incapable of recognizing these legal wrongs because she entangles love and sex
with violence and control. Finally, the last part of this Article will conclude by
suggesting unfortunate consequences of Bella’s portrayal for Twilight readers and
young women generally. This section will ultimately suggest that while preserving
the joys of fantasy and fiction, there are alternative ways that Bella and her story
could have been crafted. These alternatives would make Bella a better role model
and a more deserving heroine, which would allow the Twilight saga to have a
compelling role in preparing young women for the challenges of becoming
independent in our increasingly complex and challenging world.
II.
H
ISTORY AND SYNOPSES OF TWILIGHT
A. History
On June 2, 2003, Stephenie Meyer had a vivid dream of a human who loved a
vampire, and was immediately inspired to write their story.
52
She wrote the entire
first novel in three months, and the manuscript was accepted for publication within
six months.
53
By November 2003, Meyer’s transcript made its way to its future
publisher, who read it on a cross-country flight.
54
The story entranced the
publisher, who as soon as she landed, promptly called the then-unknown Meyer to
buy the story, and Twilight was published on October 5, 2005.
55
Meyer was in her
late-twenties and a stay-at-home mother of three young boys.
56
Meyer was an
/16/twilight-not-feminist-sado-masochism (observing the close connection to the themes in Twilight,
fairy tales and “princess fiction”).
52
Stephenie Meyer, The Story Behind Twilight (Oct. 5, 2005),
http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/twilight.html
53
Id.
54
Id.; Lev Grossman & Bryan Alexander, It’s Twilight in America: The Vampire Saga, TIME MAG.
52 (Nov. 23, 2009).
55
Id.
56
Meyer, supra note 52; Michael R. Walker, A Teenage Tale With Bite, BYU MAG. (Winter,
2007), http://magazine.byu.edu/?act=view&a=1972.
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2014] TWILIGHT 51
observant Mormon who lived in the Phoenix suburbs.
57
Before setting her books
there, Meyer had never been to Washington State. She did not have literary
ambitions and originally did not intend to try to publish Twilight after she had
written it.
58
The Twilight franchise has been incredibly successful, and Meyer has
since written other books and produced movies.
59
She was the bestselling author in
the United States in 2008
60
and is considered a powerful celebrity.
61
Meyer did not specifically intend to include her religious beliefs in the
stories, but recognizes that her Mormon faith likely influenced her writing. Meyer
has stated that “[u]nconsciously, I put a lot of my basic beliefs in the story.”
62
Meyer says she does not intentionally include moral or social messages in her
books, but instead writes stories she enjoys.
63
Meyer’s understanding of true love
could underlie her stories: “To me, true love is that you would hurt yourself before
you would hurt your partner, you would do anything to make them happy, even at
your own expense, there’s nothing selfish about true love. It is not about what you
want. It’s about what makes them happy.”
64
Meyer’s love story includes large
57
Trachtenberg, supra note 10.
58
Walker, supra note 56.
59
In 2008, Meyer released an adult, science fiction novel called The Host and she says she has
plans for sequels. She also has written a novella based on a Twilight character called, The Short Second
Life of Bree Tanner, and contributed short stories to the collection called Prom Nights from Hell. In
2011, Meyer started her own film production company which produced the films from her books
Breaking Dawn, Part I, Breaking Dawn, Part II, The Host, and adaptations from other books:
Austenland and Down a Dark Hall. See Sara Vilkomerson, Down a Dark Hall: What will be the
Stephenie Meyer Effect?, E
NTM’T.WKLY. (Apr. 19, 2012), popwatch.ew.com/2012/04/19/down-a-dark-
hall-stephenie-meyer/. See also, Projects, F
ICKLE FISH FILMS,
http://www.ficklefishfilms.com/projects.html (last visited Sept. 23, 2013); About the Book, T
HE HOST,
http://www.thehostnovel.com/ (last visited Sept. 24, 2013); S
TEPHENIE MEYER,THE SECOND SHORT
LIFE OF BREE TANNER:AN ECLIPSE NOVELLA (2010); Breaking Dawn Part I, IMDB.COM,
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1324999/fullcredits?ref_=tt_ov_st_sm (last visited Sept. 24, 2013);
Breaking Dawn Part II,
IMDB.COM, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1673434/fullcredits?ref_=tt_ov_st_sm
(last visited Sept. 24, 2013); S
TEPHENIE MEYER ET AL, PROM NIGHTS FROM HELL (2007).
60
See Bob Minzesheimer & Anthony DeBarros, Sellers Basked in Stephenie Meyer’s ‘Twilight’ in
2008, USA
T
ODAY (Jan. 16, 2009), http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/books/news/2009-01-14-top-
sellers-main_N.htm (commenting that Meyer was the bestselling author in 2008 and was the first author
to hold the top four spots on the USA Today’s 2008 Best-Selling Books list). Even in 2009, when
Meyer did not release any new books, she sold almost as many books as in 2008. See Diane Roback,
The Reign Continues: YA Queen Stephenie Meyer Holds the Top Spots, P
UB.WKLY, (Mar. 22, 2010),
http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-book-news/article/42533-children-s-
bestsellers-2009-the-reign-continues.html.
61
See The World’s Most Powerful Celebrities, FORBES (June 3, 2009) (where Meyer was named as
number #26 on list of the 100 most powerful celebrities); see also The Celebrity 100, F
ORBES (June 28,
2010), http://www.forbes.com/lists/2010/53/celeb-100-10_The-Celebrity-100.html (noting that
Stephenie Meyer is listed at #59 on the 2009 Forbes Celebrity 100 List. Observe also that the young
movies actors, Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart, who became stars with Twilight, were also on the
list.).
62
Steve Barey, “Twilight” Author’s Mormon Faith a Big Influence in Books, Film, THE ST.J.
R
EG. (Nov. 23, 2008).
63
Kira Cochrane, Stephenie Meyer on Twilight, Feminism, and True Love, THE GUARDIAN (Mar.
10, 2013). http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/mar/11/stephenie-meyer-twilight-the-host.
64
Id.
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52 CARDOZO JOURNAL OF LAW & GENDER [Vol. 21:39
amounts of sexual tension, but without sexual acts outside of marriage.
65
Further,
the characters are deeply concerned with the existence—or not—of souls and
possibility for an afterlife,
66
which is a continuing tension between Bella, as a
human, and Edward, as an immortal. Finally, the characters do not swear, smoke,
or drink alcohol, adhering to the Mormon Word of Wisdom.
67
Instead of preaching
a religious message, Meyer believes her books provide a message that anyone can
determine his or her own fate regardless of that person’s situation.
68
B. Synopses of the Books
1. Twilight
69
Seventeen-year-old Bella Swan moves to Forks, Washington, to live with her
father, Charlie, upon the remarriage of her mother, Renee. When her parents were
together, Bella lived with her parents in Forks, though Bella does not seem to have
many memories of this time. Her parents divorced when she was young, and she
had been living with her mother in Arizona since. Bella is a clumsy, quiet girl who
likes to read classic novels.
When she starts at the local high school, Bella meets Edward Cullen in her
junior year biology class. Edward turns out to be a vampire who lives in a coven,
which Edward identifies as his “family” of other vampires who choose to live off
animal blood rather than human blood. However, Bella proves a challenge to
Edward’s commitment to avoid killing humans because her scent is particularly
attractive to him. Edward overcomes his reluctance to be with Bella and controls
his urges to kill her because he loves her. Bella loves Edward, but she also
develops a close friendship with Jacob Black, whom she knew as a young child
before her parents divorced. Jacob is from a nearby Native American reservation
whose people have a history of animosity with the vampires.
As Bella and Edward’s relationship grows, Edward’s perfect vampire family
envelops Bella’s world. While spending time with Edward’s family, Bella
encounters other vampires who still live on human blood, and after a minor scuffle,
65
See Trachtenberg, supra note 10; see also Grossman, supra note 54, at 52 (in which the
screenwriter for the Twilight films notes the yearning undertones of the books: “Nobody hooks up in
Twilight. Meyer put sex underground, transmuted it back into yearning, where it became, paradoxically,
exponentially more powerful. For me the appeal of the vampire is safe sexuality . . . . It’s the ultimate
romantic ideal. You have the allure of the danger. And yet there’s only so far you can go.”)
66
See Trachtenberg supra note 10.
67
The Doctrines and Covenants of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, § 89,
https://www.lds.org/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/89?lang=eng. Mormons must comply with the Word of
Wisdom to be baptized, participate in full-time mission work, and attend church schools and temples.
The text of this doctrine restricts followers of the faith from using tobacco, drinking tea, wine and
alcoholic beverages, narcotics, and encourages sparing meat consumption.
68
See Grossman, supra note 11 (noting a major theme in Meyer’s books is a “willingness to choose
a different way in general,” and quoting Meyer as saying, “I really think that’s the underlying metaphor
of my vampires . . . . It doesn’t matter where you’re stuck in life or what you think you have to do; you
can always choose something else. There is a different path . . .”)
69
TWILIGHT, supra, note 2.
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Bella becomes the prey of one of these vampires who forces her to return to
Arizona for shelter, though in fact the vampire is using Bella as bait to kill Edward.
The Cullens save Bella’s life and kill the vampire when he attacks her.
70
Bella
recovers from her injuries in an Arizona hospital with help from her mother and
Edward. Bella lies to her parents about the source of her injuries.
71
The book ends
with Edward taking Bella to prom in Forks despite the cast she is still wearing on
her leg from the attack.
2. New Moon
72
In an effort to be gallant and prevent further harm to Bella’s life, Edward
leaves Bella to entice her to move on with her life. Edward’s abandonment leaves
Bella emotionally and physically bereft. After months of wallowing in emptiness,
Bella begins to recover, and at her father’s urging, turns to her friendship with
Jacob Black, who lives on a Native American reservation. They form an easy
camaraderie, and Bella begins to go out and socialize instead of secluding herself at
home and reeling in self-pity. Jacob introduces her to his family and other friends
on the reservation, and they become her friends. Around this same time, Jacob
discovers that he and some of his friends can phase into werewolves, the enemies
of the vampires.
With her new friends, Bella engages in several adventurous and dangerous
exploits, including motorcycle riding and cliff diving. In these reckless moments,
she hears Edward’s voice in her head giving advice and warnings. So Bella begins
to seek dangerous situations in order to hear Edward’s voice. Bella also encounters
a dangerous vampire—whom she met in the previous book with the Cullens—and
he informs her that a deadly vampire, Victoria, is hunting her because Edward
killed her mate to save Bella’s life in the first book.
73
Edward vowed to end his
own existence if Bella died, and when he wrongly believes that a vampire killed
Bella, he attempts to have himself killed in Italy by the ruling vampire family, the
Volturi. Edward’s vampire sister brings Bella to Italy to show Edward that Bella is
actually alive to prevent Edward from ending his life.
74
Edward and his family
70
Id. at 461 (when Bella asks what happened to James [the vampire who attacked her] Edward tells
her that Emmett and Jasper “took care of him,” implying that they killed him. He does not come back in
later books, but his death is central to why Victoria [another vampire, James’ lover] attempts to kill
Bella in retaliation later in the series.).
71
Id.at459, 462 (The Cullens lie to Renee, Bella’s mom, by saying they came to Arizona to
convince Bella to come back to Forks and that on Bella’s way to their hotel room, she tripped down the
stairs and fell down two flights of stairs and through a window. Bella’s mom believes this story because
Bella is consistently portrayed as accident prone and clumsy.).
72
NEW MOON, supra note 2.
73
Id. at 235-45 Bella sees another vampire who had previously been associated with Victoria and
her lover, James. This vampire, Laurent, finds Bella when she is alone, and he tells her that Victoria
sent him to find her because Victoria wants to kill her in revenge. However, Laurent is “thirsty” when
he finds Bella and is going to kill her himself, but the werewolves show up and scare him away. This is
the first time Bella sees the werewolves.).
74
Id. at 419 (Bella says she will do anything to save Edward when Alice explains the situation.
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54 CARDOZO JOURNAL OF LAW & GENDER [Vol. 21:39
return to Forks, and Bella and Edward resume their romantic relationship. They
agree that they will be together for eternity and Edward will one day make Bella a
vampire.
75
3. Eclipse
76
Edward’s return created a rift in Bella’s relationship with Jacob, who harbors
romantic feelings for Bella. In spite of her father’s and Jacob’s aversion to the
Cullens,
77
Bella centers her life around them. Bella struggles to balance her
relationships with Edward and Jacob. On the one hand, Bella is sure that she and
Edward are eternally bonded, but she deeply values her friendship with Jacob,
although she knows that she is hurting him by remaining with Edward.
Edward and Charlie force Bella to consider college as she starts her senior
year in high school. Several colleges accept Bella, but she plans to become a
vampire instead. The bad vampire, Victoria, continues to hunt Bella and creates a
dangerous army of out-of-control young vampires that leave a trail of carnage in
their wake. Jacob and his pack of werewolves continue to serve as protectors for
humans against the vampires, and like the Cullens, they want to end the bloodshed
caused by the bad vampires. Despite their rivalry, the Cullens and the werewolves
protect the humans and successfully confront the dangerous vampires. Jacob
confesses his love for Bella, and though Bella acknowledges that she has feelings
for Jacob, her love for Edward is stronger. Bella finally accepts Edward’s
proposal, and the two of them plan a wedding.
4. Breaking Dawn
78
Bella and Edward have a large formal wedding and go on their honeymoon at
the Cullens’ secret, private island. Edward is concerned about his ability to control
his strength in his physical relationship with Bella, but she insists on sleeping with
him while she is still human. Their first sexual experience occurs on the
honeymoon. Edward had refused to have sex until marriage despite Bella’s
Though Alice reminds Bella that it is dangerous for both of them if they go to Italy, Bella insists on
going.).
75
Id. at 540-42 (Edward and Bella decide they do not want to be apart. Bella wants to become a
vampire and spend eternity with Edward, and she wants Edward to be one to turn her into a vampire.
Edward tells Bella that he will personally turn her into a vampire, on the condition that she marry him.
Bella does not initially want to get married (though she does not waiver in her commitment to Edward,
only the institution of marriage). Edward does not “propose” and give Bella an engagement ring until
Eclipse, and they have a wedding in the beginning of Breaking Dawn. However, Edward and Bella have
committed to each other by the end of New Moon.).
76
ECLIPSE, supra note 2.
77
Though Bella’s father, Charlie, does not know that Edward and his family are vampires, he does
not particularly like Edward. He thinks that Bella spends too much time with Edward and would prefer
that Bella choose Jacob. So, Charlie is averse to Edward being a boyfriend for Bella, but that is not
rooted in Edward’s vampire nature because Bella and the Cullens keep it a secret from Charlie
throughout all four books, including after Bella becomes a vampire herself.
78
BREAKING DAWN, supra note 1.
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persistence otherwise. Due to Edward’s superhuman strength, sexual intercourse
with him is extremely violent: he demolishes the bedroom furniture and leaves
Bella bruised and swollen from head to toe.
On their honeymoon, Bella becomes pregnant with Edward’s child. The half-
human, half-vampire baby is extremely strong and grows quickly. Because of its
unique physical strength and needs, it seriously endangers Bella’s life, placing her
in frequent pain and rendering her without energy, strength, or ability to nourish
herself adequately. Moreover, little information is available about the implications
for the child’s future, considering few vampires have had children with humans.
Edward and his family encourage Bella to abort the child and save her life, but
Bella refuses. Jacob stays with Bella during the difficult pregnancy, and they
continue their close friendship. Bella’s human body is destroyed delivering her
child. At the moment of her death, Edward injects vampire venom into her heart to
make Bella a vampire, and the transition puts Bella in excruciating pain.
Once transformed, Bella learns to live as a vampire, and she discovers she
has the special power to be a “shield” for others and protect others from danger.
Her special shield power also explains Bella’s ability to rebuff other vampire’s—
including Edward’s—attempts to read her mind, a power that some vampires have.
Bella works to develop this gift to envelop those around her. Edward and Bella’s
daughter, Renesmee, has the gift to communicate with people though physical
contact. The child grows quickly and develops a close relationship with Jacob,
who “imprinted” on her when she is an infant. “Imprinting” is a trait of
werewolves that determines the werewolves’ fated soul mate by creating an
unconditional bond, severing all other connections, and the imprinter will do
anything to please and protect the chosen imprintee. The imprintee essentially has
no choice; it is virtually impossible to reject imprinting.
79
Thus, from her infancy,
it has been determined that Renesmee will be bonded as Jacob’s mate forever.
After Bella gets over the initial shock at Jacob’s feelings for her daughter, Bella is
glad that Jacob will care for and protect her daughter.
The existence of a young human-vampire child concerns the Volturi, the
ruling Italian vampires, who previously declared that half-human, half-vampire
offspring are not allowed. The Volturi set out to destroy the Cullens because they
believe the Cullens have broken the rules and gained too much power in the
vampire world. Other vampires take the Cullens’ side and flock to Washington.
The day of reckoning arrives, and the good vampires – as well as the werewolves—
band together to face the Volturi. The Cullens diffuse the situation without
violence, largely due to Bella’s help as a “shield.” Bella and the rest of the
characters live happily ever after.
79
Id. at 122-25. There is only one female werewolf in the band near Forks, Leah, and it is not clear
that she can imprint. Only male werewolves imprint in Twilight.
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III. BELLA IS CRAFTED TO BE A VICTIM OF HER OWN LIFE CIRCUMSTANCES AND OF
EDWARD’S POWERFUL WORLD
Bella has been created to have life circumstances, personality, and physical
traits that make her a stereotypical girl in need of rescue. At first blush, it appears
to the reader that Bella’s circumstances have made her strong-willed, independent,
and capable of sound decisions. At the mere age of 17, she knows what she wants:
to be Edward’s wife; to become a vampire; and to live in the Cullens’ secret world,
giving up her “humanity” entirely, no matter the emotional or physical price, and
even to face death as she knows it. Bella appears amazingly strong and ready to
face her new world, regardless of the danger it poses. Indeed, to the casual reader
and certainly to the impressible, naïve, young reader, Bella appears to be a modern
day heroine.
A deeper look underneath this exterior, however, reveals the opposite is true.
The circumstances that make Bella appear strong actually render her quite
defenseless; produce foibles that cause her to need care, protection, and rescue; and
disenable her either to recognize or to assess adequately her own situation, so that
she makes decisions from a position of weakness and vulnerability, rather than
from a strong and informed point of view. In this way, Bella is victimized by her
own life circumstances and is perfect prey to be allured by a magical world.
Not surprisingly, the author fashioned Edward and his world as the perfect
counterpoint to Bella’s own, filling every hole in Bella’s life,
80
curing her foibles,
making her woes vanish, and promising an enchanted new life. Edward, the man in
her life, holds the “magic” to entice Bella, in the name of love, to take a dangerous
journey into a “happily ever after.” Bella gives herself completely to Edward’s
world, where she will become flawless.
But will this new vampire world actually free Bella from her weaknesses and
imperfections? Unmasking the realities of Edward’s world will question whether it
holds a new life for Bella or whether it will constrain, control, and victimize her
once again, merely in another—more glamorous—context, one painted with a
“love-conquers-all” veneer enchanting both Bella and the reader.
A. Bella Is A Victim Of Her Own World
At only seventeen, Bella’s upbringing has required her to make many
decisions that children usually do not make for themselves. For example, Bella
decided to leave her mother and move in with her father because “she” has decided
80
ECLIPSE, supra note 2, at 533 (Edward does not blame Bella for feeling something for Jacob
when she kisses him, telling her, “There are holes in your life that I can’t fill. I understand that.” Bella
replies, “There are no holes.”) In this context Bella is implying that she feels even more horrible about
feeling something for Jacob also, because she has no need for anything more than Edward, who is
individually able to fill the holes in her life.
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it is best for the family.
81
Indeed much of the “story of Bella’s life” is predicated
upon “her” “decisions.”
82
Despite her youth, she has been making many decisions
for much of her life and has played the role of “mature adult” and “caregiver” in
her relationship to both her mother and father,
83
lending—what feels to her and
looks to the reader like—confidence and maturity from the onset of the story. So,
Bella appears to be remarkably strong.
However, a closer look at Bella will reveal that the opposite is true.
Exploring the characteristics that stem from Bella’s family circumstances,
personality, and physical traits will show that she was crafted to be filled with
vulnerabilities, indeed the perfect “catch” to be seduced by a magical, supernatural
world. Thus, Meyer establishes her as the ideal target to be allured by Edward.
1. Bella Is A Victim Of Her Family Life Circumstances
Bella’s family background is stereotypically unstable and as a result, she has
been alone and isolated for almost all her life. She is the only child of divorced
parents, both of whom are constructed to be quite inept as parents. Bella’s mother
Renee has nurturing skills that are deficient at best. Indeed, Renee herself is in
need of care and nurturing, which is yet another of Bella’s tasks.
84
Bella
recognizes this and refers to herself as “the responsible one; the grown-up.”
85
Renee is also not a strong role model. She seems to lack ambition and
appears to have been a bit flighty with her own interests and goals. Once Bella
leaves for Forks, Renee leaves her job as a kindergarten teacher for a less stable job
81
TWILIGHT, supra note 2, at 4 (at the beginning of Twilight, Bella makes the decision to move to
Forks, WA to live with her father even though she thinks of this act as exiling herself. Although Renee
tells Bella she “doesn’t have to,” Bella perjures that she “wants to” make the move); see also, id.at 49
(Bella later confesses to Edward that she “sent [her]self” to live with Charlie so her mother could travel
with her new husband, Phil, whom she was unhappily missing when he traveled and moved for his
career.).
82
Id. at 49.
83
See infra text accompanying notes 85-99.
84
SeeTWILIGHT,supranote 2, at 33 (in her first correspondence with Bella after her move, Renee
quickly turns her e-mail from one asking about Bella to an e-mail about herself and her needs instead,
and she says she is packing for Florida and asks Bella where her pink blouse is, to which Bella can
answer is at the cleaners and was supposed to have been picked up already); see id.at 35 (Bella
considered Renee to be “an imaginative cook, and her experiments weren’t always edible”); see id.at 32
(Bella also did all the shopping for them, which is why she felt “normal” once inside the Forks
supermarket); see id.at 106 (Renee even jokes that Bella was born thirty-five years old and just gets
more middle-aged each year, to which Bella acknowledges her role with “someone has to be the adult.”
Renee, on the other hand, is “very young for her age” and feels “even younger” with Phil.).
85
SeeECLIPSE, supra note 2, at 45; see also TWILIGHT,supranote 2, at 4 (Bella also decided to
move to Forks to allow her mother and step-father space. Renee, her mother, allows Bella to move, but
leaves Bella concerned for her “erratic, hare-brained mother to fend for herself;” she notes that her mom
“had Phil now, so the bills would probably get paid, there would be food in the refrigerator, gas in her
car, and someone to call when she got lost, but still.”).
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58 CARDOZO JOURNAL OF LAW & GENDER [Vol. 21:39
as an elementary substitute teacher in Florida, so she can follow
86
her new, young
husband who is seeking a career in minor-league baseball there.
87
Renee’s lack of parenting and role modeling is also evident when Bella and
Edward visit Renee and her husband in Florida.
88
Renee has no idea Edward is a
vampire or that Bella plans to give up her “humanity”
89
to be with Edward
eternally. To Renee, Bella is her teenage daughter bringing home her first
boyfriend to meet her family. Bella is anxious, expecting that Renee will believe
Bella is “too young” to make serious decisions regarding marriage, her future, or
forgoing college.
90
Shockingly, however, Renee “knows” immediately that even at
the age of seventeen, Bella has found her life’s mate in Edward, who is barely older
than Bella, and that it is just fine for her to get married so young, sacrifice college
86
See NEW MOON, supra note 2, at 151.
87
See TWILIGHT,supranote 2, at 466 (Renee’s new husband, Phil, was a minor league baseball
player, and he signed with the Suns in Jacksonville, Florida).
88
Renee meets Edward for the first time at the end of Twilight when Bella is recovering from a
vampire attack and the two of them are with her in the hospital. Bella is hospitalized with a “broken leg,
four broken ribs, some cracks in [her] skull, bruises covering every inch of [her] skin, and [the loss of] a
lot of blood.” Id. at 260. Renee does not know this was caused by a vampire attack, because she was
told that Bella’s injuries were a result of her falling “down two flights of stairs and through a window.”
Id. at 459. When Renee first meets Edward, she is concerned about Bella’s relationship with him.
Renee tells Bella that Edward does seem to love her, but she is still young. Bella’s observes, “[h]er
voice was unsure; as far as I could remember, this was the first time since I was eight that she’d come
close to trying to sound like a parental authority.” Id. at 467-68. Bella assures her mother that Edward is
“just a crush” to which Renee quickly accepts and agrees with, ending the conversation. Id.at 468.
Renee does not comment on Bella and Edward’s relationship again until Eclipse. Bella and Edward take
a weekend trip to Florida where Renee is surprisingly insightful into Bella and Edward’s serious
relationship. See E
CLIPSE, supra note 2, at 66-67. Renee senses the intensity of Bella and Edward’s
feelings, but when Renee attempts to express her concerns, she worries she is just “being silly.” Id.at
68. Bella seems to long for her mother to act as a mother: “Renee was so easily swayed. Sometimes it
was a good thing, because not all of her ideas were practical. But it pained me to see how quickly she
caved in to my trivializing, especially since she was dead right this time.” Id.at 68-69 (emphasis added).
89
Renee cannot comprehend the full nature of Edward and Bella’s relationship because Renee does
not know that Edward is a vampire. Renee acknowledges that there is some part of Bella’s relationship
with Edward that she does not grasp, “I feel like I don’t really understand your relationship. Like there’s
some secret I’m missing.” Id.at 68. Bella’s relationship with Edward forces Bella to keep secrets from
her mother, which was a new element to their relationship: “Until now, there had never been a secret I
[Bella] couldn’t tell her [Renee].” Id.
90
Bella feared telling her mother about her engagement even more than telling her father, Charlie,
which is why Charlie relished in the thought of Bella having to explain the news to Renee. Bella knows
her mother is not an advocate for her marriage: “The ultimate doom: telling Renee. Early marriage was
higher up on her blacklist than boiling live puppies.” B
REAKING DAWN, supra note 1, at 17. See also
N
EW MOON, supra note 2, at 541 (Bella notes, “I’m . . . afraid of Renee. She has some really intense
opinions on getting married before you’re thirty.”).
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and her “self” for marriage.
91
Her mother unequivocally supports this with hardly
a question.
92
Bella’s father Charlie is equally deficient when it comes to taking care of
Bella, being a role model, and providing direction and advice. Charlie is rarely at
home: he is either working or fishing.
93
When he is around, he spends most of his
time alone in the living room, watching sports on television, and he lacks the skills
to care for or nurture Bella.
94
Like Renee, Charlie needs more care and nurturing
himself than he is able to provide for his daughter. From the time of her arrival in
Forks,
95
Bella shops,
96
cooks,
97
and cleans for him.
98
Charlie also has trouble
expressing himself and is insecure about how to parent or communicate with Bella.
91
Renee’s reaction to Bella’s engagement: “You’re not making my mistakes, Bella. You sound like
you’re scared silly, and I’m guessing it’s because you’re afraid of me . . . Of what I’m going to think . . .
But commitment was never your problem, sweetie. You have a better chance of making this work than
most forty-year-olds I know . . . My little middle-aged child. Luckily, you seem to have found another
old soul.” B
REAKING DAWN, supra note 1, at 18. Bella is confused by Renee’s quick acceptance: “But
aren’t you going to say that I sound exactly like every other infatuated teenager since the dawn of time?”
Renee’s opinion does not change: “You’ve never been a teenager, sweetie. You know what’s best for
you.” Id.at 19.
92
When Bella, as a high-schooler, brings her boyfriend Edward to across the country to Florida to
meet her mother and step-father, Renee never questions the seriousness of their relationship. Edward
and Bella discuss the differences between Renee and Charlie:
“[Bella:]’Renee is so much more . . . . perceptive than Charlie in some ways. It was making me jumpy.”
Edward laughed. ‘Your mother has a very interesting mind. Almost childlike, but very insightful. She
sees things differently than other people.’
Insightful. It was a good description of my mother—when she was paying attention. Most of the time
Renee was so bewildered by her own life that she didn’t notice much else. But this weekend she’d been
paying plenty of attention to me.” E
CLIPSE, supra note 2, at 66. Bella continues, later on the trip: “I
wondered if Renee was about to give me a lecture on responsibility, too. I didn’t mind that the way I
had with Charlie. It wasn’t embarrassing with my mom. After all, I’d been the one giving her that
lecture time and time again in the last ten years.” Id. at 67. Again, Renee’s perceptiveness plagues
Bella, “I’d forgotten how much my mother saw. Something about her simple view of the world cut
through all the distractions and pierced right to the truth of things. This had never been a problem
before. Until now, there had never been a secret I couldn’t tell her.” Id. at 68. Renee comes to
Washington for Bella’s wedding, and then Renee only asks Bella: “Does he make you happy, Bella?”
and “Are you ever going to want anyone else?” B
REAKING DAWN, supra note 1, at 19.
93
See, e.g., TWILIGHT, supra note 2, at 11; Id.at 38 (Bella observes Charlie’s devotion to his job,
“Charlie left first, off to the police station that was his wife and family.” Charlie leaves Bella home
alone because Charlie often worked weekends); Id. at 132 (observing if Charlie was not working he was
usually fishing).
94
Id. at 35 (Charlie watching TV in the living room while Bella cooked dinner); Id. at 37 (after
dinner Charlie back to the TV while she does dishes); Id. at 122 (Charlie is fine with dinner not being
made yet since a baseball game was on); see, e.g., N
EW MOON, supra note 2, at 22 (Charlie does not care
if Edward takes Bella out the night of her birthday—the first one she’s celebrating since moving back in
with him—since there is a baseball game on).
95
TWILIGHT, supra note 2, at 5.
96
Id. at 32.
97
Id. at 31.
98
See id.(Charlie can not cook according to Bella who immediately takes over all domestic chores
at the house); see id.at 32 (Bella shops for the groceries); see id.at 37 (Bella does the dishes after
dinner); see id.at 38 (Bella cleans the house to fill her time); see id. at 149 (though it seems impossible
to the reader, Charlie reminds Bella that he did fend for himself for the many years he lived alone).
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As soon as Bella arrives in Forks, the reader can sense his inability to
communicate; he even struggles to welcome her.
99
Perhaps the most disturbing event that shows Charlie’s deficiencies as a
father is when Jacob,
100
who loves Bella throughout most of the story, forcibly
kisses Bella, and she breaks her hand hitting him.
101
Rather than protecting or
comforting Bella, Charlie conspicuously congratulates Jacob for his efforts,
102
a
shocking response from a father, not to mention one who is also a police chief.
Bella hears Charlie’s congratulations.
103
Charlie’s reaction speaks volumes of the
harmful messages it gives to his daughter.
104
More critically, his immediate failure
to teach Bella that women should never be forced to kiss or be otherwise physical
with any man can only encourage lack of self-respect and feelings of guilt, self-
blame, and responsibility to “please others” and make them happy, all which
permeate Bella’s feelings during the entirety of the Twilight series.
105
Bella’s
home life circumstances make her appear to the reader as strong and capable, but in
reality render her alone, helpless, and needy, stereotypically seeking all the care,
protection, and direction she has never received.
2. Bella’s Personality, Physical Traits, And Lack Of Interests Also Make Her A
Victim
Beyond her isolating family life, Bella is also quiet and shy. She is
uncomfortable in large social gatherings and can have a difficult time connecting
with others or forming relationships. She does not like crowds or parties.
106
She
99
Id. at 5 (Charlie gives Bella “an awkward one-armed hug” when she arrived).
100
Jacob is the son of Charlie’s old friend, and Jacob knew Bella from her prior trips to Washington
when she came as a child. Jacob is a member of a local Quileute tribe. Jacob is a friend to Bella, and
when Bella is struggling with Edward’s departure, she turns to Jacob. Jacob eventually learns that he,
and several of his friends, are actually werewolves, the natural enemy of the vampires. See supra text
accompanying notes 69-72.
101
ECLIPSE, supra note 2, at 330-31.
102
After Bella breaks her hand she and Jacob go into her house, where Charlie is excited to see
Jacob with her. When Jacob tells Charlie that Bella broke her hand, Charlie sounds more amused than
concerned and even laughs with Jacob when he explains that it happened when Bella hit him.
Displaying more loyalty to Jacob than to his injured daughter, when Jacob tells Charlie that Bella hit
him because he kissed her, Charlie shows no sign of the protective father one would expect from a
police chief with one teenage daughter. Instead, he congratulates Jacob with, “Good for you, kid[.]” Id.
at 336.
103
Id.
104
At the time of the incident, Charlie does not say anything directly to Bella about the incident
until Edward is on his way over after the incident. Bella walks past Charlie, at which time he asks how
her hand is, jokes she should pick on someone her own size. Id.at 338. When Bella asks about using
her dad’s baseball bat [against Jacob] Charlie replies, “Enough Bella.” See id.at 339. Later, after
graduation during a “heartfelt” conversation, Charlie indicates he feels guilty Bella has her hand injury,
and within other joking remarks, tells her “if someone kisses you without your permission, you should
be able to make your feelings clear without hurting yourself.” Id.at 362-63.
105
See infra text accompanying note 118.
106
See NEW MOON, supra note 2, at 12 (observing Bella does not like to be center of attention); see
id. at 25 (Bella dreads going to her birthday party).
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refuses to go to school dances.
107
She is physically plain. She prefers jeans,
sneakers, and jackets to any other clothing.
108
She has no interest in make-up or
fixing her hair.
109
The reader justifiably believes that all this is attributable to
independence and individuality. Indeed these traits certainly could have been
developed to lead to that conclusion throughout the book. But instead, Meyer uses
these traits to exhibit Bella’s insecurity, her lack of self-confidence, and her belief
that she is not worthy of attention, especially from boys.
110
These characteristics are moreover used to support the need to “rescue”
Bella—once rescued and under Edward’s control, Bella paradoxically acquires the
very conventions she has seemingly rejected; she is molded to be conventionally
and stereotypically feminine and beautiful: made-up, coiffed, adorned in dresses
and the latest fashion.
Bella is also constructed to be awkward, clumsy and uncoordinated.
111
In
fact, her clumsiness often makes her the subject of ridicule, particularly by Charlie
and Edward.
112
It also causes her multiple injuries, which get her into further
trouble.
113
By making Bella clumsy and prone to injury in contexts where she
interacts with others, Meyer provides another basis for the reader to accept quite
107
TWILIGHT, supra note 2, at 81 (after Charlie asks if Bella is going to the Spring Dance she replies,
“No—I don’t dance, Dad.”). Bella only goes to prom at the end of Twilight because Edward makes her.
Id. at 484.
108
Id. at 140 (Bella wears jeans and a t-shirt, but implies that if she were going outside, she would
only adding a layer of her “default” jacket); see also E
CLIPSE, supra note 2, at 36 (Bella observes, “Alice
was scrutinizing my boring jeans-and-a-t-shirt outfit in a way that made me self-conscious . . . My
indifferent attitude to fashion was a constant thorn in her side.”).
109
There is sparse mention of Bella’s disinterest in fashion throughout Twilight. In fact, not until
the nervous anticipation of meeting all of the Cullens at their home, does Bella express concern over her
physical appearance. T
WILIGHT,supranote 2, at 252.
110
Bella is surprised by the attention that she receives from young men in Forks. She wonders if it
stems from her novelty in this small town, with her “crippling clumsiness [is] seen as endearing rather
than pathetic, casting [her] as a damsel in distress.” Id. at 55. She also thinks she is stupid for wanting to
see Edward at school because she “was well aware that [her] league and his league were spheres that did
not touch.” Id. at 54. Analyzing Edward’s fascination with her, “I couldn’t imagine anything about me
that could be in any way interesting to him.” Id.at 228.
111
See, e.g.,TWILIGHT, supra note 2, at 116 (Bella remembers many falls she took as a child. At the
beach she would fall into the tide pools, and her dad had to pull her out); see id. at 117 (Bella was
cognizant of her past clumsiness when she fell while out with her new friends in Forks, sustaining palm
scrapes on her hands and grass stains on the knees of her jeans).
112
See, e.g.,TWILIGHT, supra note 2, at 58 (Charlie laughed at the idea of Bella playing baseball);
E
CLIPSE, supra note 2, at 88-89 (Edward jokes that Bella has “bad luck” and could not fly cross country
without bringing a plane down); T
WILIGHT, supra note 2, at 364 (Edward could not help but laugh at her
when she falls off his back after running her to the baseball game); Id. at 328 (Edward jokes when Bella
finally shows a reaction to vampire talk, “I was beginning to think you had no sense of self-preservation
at all.”); E
CLIPSE, supra note 2, at 342 (After Bella hurts her hand punching Jacob, Emmett jokes “Fall
down again, Bella?” (Note that in the movie his joke is harsher; he says “Trying to walk and chew gum
at the same time again, Bella?”)).
113
See TWILIGHT, supra note 2, at 95 (on one occasion, Bella must be taken to the nurse because she
has fainted during a blood type-sampling experiment). See also N
EW MOON, supra note 2, at 28-29
(when the Cullens throw her a birthday party, Bella gets a bloody paper cut as she clumsily unwraps a
gift, and the vampires rush to attack her. Bella responds by falling over, and further injuring herself so
she ends up needing stitches).
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readily, even if subliminally, that Bella needs to be watched, protected, and
rescued. Bella even calls herself a “damsel in distress.”
114
Crafted by Meyer to lack nurturing and to be socially and physically
awkward, it is no wonder Bella’s actions and self-perceptions are dominated by
overriding guilt. The books are filled with such examples, all of which are
emotionally painful for Bella, often accompanied by self-doubt, self-loathing,
anguish, and tears.
115
Bella feels guilty when she cannot reciprocate feelings
toward others. She repeatedly feels guilty about not reciprocating Jacob’s intense
feelings.
116
Simultaneously, she feels guilty for her inability to let go of Jacob or
whatever relationship she has with him.
117
She feels guilty as well when she fails
to “make others happy.”
118
She even feels guilty about things that are not her fault,
for example, that a vampire is hunting her
119
and that Jacob decides to show up at
her wedding.
120
Bella is also filled with self-blame. She blames herself and takes
responsibility for the actions of others. For example, when Jacob apologizes to her
for coming between her and Edward, she blames herself for that.
121
When Edward
feels bad for not protecting her, she takes the blame for that too.
122
Feeling bad
about many of these events naturally shows how deeply Bella cares about others.
But the intensity and pervasiveness of her guilt and self-blame, together with the
need to be responsible for the happiness of others contradicts the self-assured,
confident Bella, raises doubts about Bella’s true emotional maturity, and
exacerbates her vulnerabilities. Notably, Edward justifies Bella’s guilty feelings as
114
TWILIGHT, supra note 2, at 55.
115
See, e.g., TWILIGHT, supra note 2, at 411; NEW MOON, supra note 2, at 272, 368, ECLIPSE, supra
note 2, at 17, 419, 517, 595.
116
See, e.g., ECLIPSE, supra note 2, at 517 (when Edward hurts Jacob by telling him of Bella’s
engagement, Bella says, “A new sob broke from my chest. I was hurting everyone today. Was there
anything I touched that didn’t get spoiled?”); Id. at 379, 517, 593 (Bella describing herself as “selfish,”
and berating herself for “hurting” those she loved); Id.at 528 (Bella berating herself after she kisses
Jacob: “I loved him, much more than I should, and yet, still nowhere near enough. I was in love with
him, but it was not enough to change anything; it was only enough to hurt us both more. To hurt him
worse than I ever had. I didn’t care about more than that—than his pain. I more than deserved whatever
pain this caused me. I hoped it was bad. I hoped I would really suffer”).
117
See, e.g., NEW MOON, supra note 2, at 271; see, e.g., ECLIPSE, supra note 2, at 515, 517, 528;
see, e.g.,
B
REAKING DAWN, supra note 1, at 68.
118
See, e.g.,ECLIPSE, supra note 2, at 55 (Bella wins an argument with Charlie and feels guilty that
he may not like the result). Id. at 469, 617 (She does not want a big wedding but guiltily agrees to make
Alice happy).
119
See TWILIGHT, supra note 2, at 411 (Bella feels guilty that a vampire, James, hunted (and almost
killed) her).
120
BREAKING DAWN, supra note 1, at 68.
121
ECLIPSE, supra note 2, at 595-97.
122
See, e.g., NEW MOON, supra note 2, at 506-07; see also ECLIPSE, supra note 2, at 33 (“[Edward]
had only been trying to save me when he’d left, save my soul. I don’t hold him responsible for all the
stupid things I’d done in his absence, or the pain I had suffered.” [Bella to Edward:] “You were just
trying to do the right thing. And I’m sure it would have worked with anyone less mental than me.
Besides, you’re here now. That’s the part that matters”).
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being “only human,” thus foreshadowing, as well as subtly alluring, Bella’s
entrance to his world, where guilt and self-blame will diminish, if not disappear.
123
Bella also has no interests. There are several references in the books that
Bella has strong intellectual capabilities. She is in advanced classes,
124
does well
in school,
125
and was accepted into colleges.
126
Nevertheless, she never expresses
interest in what she “wants to be” or in pursuing any interests or career. There is
no indication Bella has ambitions beyond high school, except to be with Edward.
She steadfastly wants to become a vampire and enter the Cullens’ supernatural
world. Bella’s lack of direction merely augments her need for rescue and her
position as ideal prey to be wooed by Edward and his world.
B. Bella Is Allured By Edward And His World Because They Will Magically
Transform Her and Her Life.
A close look at Edward’s world will reveal it to be the mirror image of
Bella’s world, containing perfect counterpoints. Each weakness will disappear, and
Bella will have all that she does not, and she will be all that she has never been.
1. In Edward’s World, Bella Will No Longer Be Alone, And She Will Have
Instantaneous Family, Friends, And A Social Group To Which She Belongs.
As Bella begins to spend more time with Edward and the Cullens, Bella
recognizes their perfect family unit. The members of the Cullen family live
together eternally, and Carlisle and Esme are perfect parents. Their marriage
appears to be quite solid.
127
Carlisle is an accomplished doctor in the human
world:
128
he is patient and understanding with all of his children
129
and has strong
role modeling and parenting skills.
130
Esme is likewise a skilled and loving
parent.
131
123
BREAKING DAWN, supra note 1, at 430 (Bella says, “I cringed at the dim memory of shame and
guilt. It seemed odd now that I needed him [Jacob] so much then. That sense of absence without him
near had vanished; it must have been a human weakness.”).
124
TWILIGHT, supra note 2, at 47 (Bella was in an advanced placement program in Arizona).
125
See TWILIGHT, supra note 2, at 45 (Bella: “I’d already done this lab, and I knew what I was
looking for. It should be easy.”); Id. at 51 (while other partners struggled with the lab, “[Bella] didn’t
have any trouble with it”); N
EW MOON, supra note 2, at 95 (“[Bella’s] grades were perfect.”).
126
ECLIPSE, supra note 2, at 15-16 (University of Alaska Southeast); ECLIPSE, supra note 2, at 225
(Dartmouth).
127
See MIDNIGHT SUN, supra note 41, at 108 (Edward observes, “More than eighty years had
passed since Carlisle had found Esme, and yet he still looked at her with those incredulous eyes of first
love. It would always be that way for them.”).
128
SeeTWILIGHT, supra note 2, at 62.
129
SeeECLIPSE, supra note 2, at 20 (Edward tells Charlie that Carlisle supports whatever decision
he makes regarding his possible attendance at an Ivy League school); T
WILIGHT, supra note 2, at 343
(Edward explains that there was time during his vampire-life that he lived apart from Carlisle and Esme
and hunted humans, but when he returned to them a few years later wanting to recommit to Carlisle’s
unorthodox ways, they welcomed him back unconditionally.).
130
See TWILIGHT, supra note 2, at 288 (Edward notes that Carlisle is the most compassionate and
humane vampire in history, and Edward’s voice shows that he strongly respects his father figure); see id.
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Beyond their parenting, Carlisle and Esme provide Bella a home life unlike
her own. They live in a beautiful house,
132
which always appears to be immaculate
and sparkling.
133
Notably, because the Cullens are vampires and do not sleep or
eat food, there is no shopping to do, no cooking to prepare, no beds to be made, no
dishes or sheets to wash. The Cullens’ world does not require any of the
housekeeping for which Bella has been responsible for most of her life as a human.
Further, the Cullens are extremely wealthy and able to provide unlimited
luxury. Besides their home in the woods where they live outside of Forks,
134
they
also own an island.
135
They have expensive cars,
136
a large piano,
137
and an
enormous music collection.
138
Alice Cullen is obsessed with fashion, owns a
magnificent wardrobe, and is always dressing in the latest fashion. All the women
in the Cullen clan have outstanding make-up and hairstyles.
139
The Cullen men
also have a sense of style that exudes wealth and prominence.
140
Beyond their material possessions and perfect looks, however, Bella
primarily sees the Cullens as a source of virtually boundless support and protection.
Because of their shared secret nature as vampires, the Cullens are specially bonded.
Hence, the Cullens not only care for each other, but understand each other’s
at 340 (As a skilled doctor with such practiced self-restraint, Carlisle is able to work in the hospital,
saving lives, which is what he loves); see id. at 307 (Carlisle is compassionate).
131
See id.at 326, 368 (Esme was concerned Edward had been unhappy with his single life); id.at
368 (Esme has strong motherly instincts and thinks of her adopted children as her own); id.
at 368 (She
tells Bella that she referees the baseball games because she likes to keep everyone honest); id.
at 307
(Esme loves passionately).
132
Id.at 321-22.
133
See NEW MOON, supra note 2, at 529.
134
TWILIGHT, supra note 2, at 320-21.
135
BREAKING DAWN, supra note 1, at 78 (The island is off the South American coast, and Bella and
Edward honeymoon there).
136
Edward’s car: (“The nicest car here was a shiny Volvo, and it stood out.” TWILIGHT, supra note
2, at 14). Rosalie’s car: (“[Students] circled around Rosalie’s red [BMW M3] convertible, [with]
unmistakable lust in their eyes.” Id.
at. 223). Emmett’s car: (Bella: “[It] was a monster Jeep. Its tires
were higher than my waist. There were metal guards over the headlights and taillights, and four large
spotlights attached to the crash bar. The hardtop was shiny red.” Id.
at 359). Carlisle’s car: (“It was a
Mercedes S55 AMG. I knew the horsepower and the color of the interior. I knew the feel of the
powerful engine purring through the frame. I knew the rich smell of the leather seats and the way the
extra-dark tint made noon like dusk through those windows.” N
EW MOON, supra note 2, at 378). Alice’s
car: (Edward bribed Alice to keep Bella from visiting Jacob whenever he was out of town by giving her
“a shiny canary yellow Porsche” like the one she had stolen in Italy. E
CLIPSE, supra note 2, at 145-46).
137
TWILIGHT, supra note 2, at 324 (Bella had always wanted to give her mother a baby grand piano
like the one the Cullens had).
138
Id.at 343-44; ECLIPSE, supra note 2, at 366.
139
See TWILIGHT, supra note 2, at 18 ([Rosalie’s] hair was golden, gently waving to the middle of
her back . . . . [Alice’s] hair was a deep black, cropped short and pointing in every direction); Id.
at 19
(“They were faces you never expected to see except perhaps on the airbrushed pages of a fashion
magazine.”). Id.
at 322-23 (“[Esme] had the same pale, beautiful features as the rest of them. Something
about her heart-shaped face, her billows of soft, caramel colored hair reminded me of the ingénues of the
silent-movie era. She was small, slender, yet less angular, more rounded than the others . . . . It was like
meeting a fairy tale - Snow White, in the flesh.”).
140
See id.at 32 (“[I]t was obvious that they were all dressed exceptionally well; simply, but in
clothes that subtly hinted at designer origins.”).
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moods,
141
communicate well with each other,
142
and even more appealing, they
enjoy each other’s company and often do things together. Alice almost
immediately becomes Bella’s best friend, offering her sisterly friendship, including
advice about how to behave and what to wear.
143
The Cullen clan—their wealth,
their luxuries, and most importantly the family bond and friendship they offer
Bella—is thus the first counterpoint to Bella’s life, which has been substantially
deprived of any family and friends.
2. In Edward’s World, Bella Will Be Graceful, Agile, Coordinated, And Beautiful;
She Will Have Purpose And Be Freed From Painful Human Emotions.
As Bella and Edward’s relationship develops, she naturally learns about
vampires’ nature, including their physical attributes. She learns that Edward, like
all vampires, has marble-like impenetrable skin that glitters in sunlight.
144
Like all
vampires, he also possesses exceptional, in fact quite dangerous, power.
145
He has
razor sharp teeth
146
and extraordinary muscle mass, giving him excessive strength,
flexibility, and supernatural speed.
147
Vampires have extremely acute senses and
are unnaturally aware of their surroundings and protect themselves quite
astonishingly. Becoming a vampire will guarantee that Bella, too, possess these
superhuman characteristics.
Indeed Bella begins to change just by spending time with Edward, even
before she becomes a vampire. As Bella immerses herself in Edward’s world,
miraculously, she begins to look better and be a bit more coordinated. The more
she is with Edward, the more confident she becomes;
148
In Edward’s world, Bella
141
See, e.g., Id.at 324 (Jasper has the power to control the emotions of those around him so he often
creates a calming mood like the one he established when Bella first came to the Cullen house); Id.
at
326-27 (the Cullens provide Edward and Bella privacy; Edward explains Emmett and Rosalie struggle to
support Edward and Bella’s relationship, but Edward recognizes their feelings and understands; Edward
also understands Jasper’s difficulties being in close proximity to a human).
142
See id.at 316 (Edward tells Bella that his family already knows she is coming and that they
“don’t have secrets in the family. It’s not really feasible, what with [his] mindreading and Alice seeing
the future and all that.”); see also id.
at 336 (Especially with Edward’s mindreading, family members do
not even have to speak aloud to communicate with him. Bella found it “unsettling” to know that the
only reason Carlisle spoke aloud of his plans was for her benefit, since Edward already knew the instant
Carlisle knew).
143
See e.g., id.at 323 (Alice was the first family member to “approve of [Bella] so entirely” at the
onset of the relationship). See generally, E
CLIPSE, supra note 2, at 36 (Alice would love to give Bella a
makeover and play dress-up); Id.
at 147 (Alice enjoys having a “sleepover” with a pedicure included for
Bella); id.
at 351 (Alice buys Bella a new outfit for graduation); id.at 614 (Alice plays the role of
Bella’s wedding planner, dress designer, and only bridesmaid); B
REAKING DAWN, supra note 1, at 43-44
(Alice perfects Bella’s wedding hair and make-up); T
WILIGHT, supra note 2, at 413 (Bella acknowledges
her friendship with Alice early in their relationship: “And we were friends now, somehow—as she must
have know we would be all along.”); E
CLIPSE, supra note 2, at 465 ([Alice]: “I love you like you were
my own sister.” [Bella]: “To me, Alice, you are my sister.”).
144
TWILIGHT, supra note 2, at 260.
145
Id.at 264.
146
Id.at 131.
147
Id.at 364, 367.
148
NEW MOON, supra note 2, at 533 (Bella says, “this was my meeting”). After her transformation
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will increasingly wear beautiful clothes, all chosen by Alice, of course. She carries
herself with newfound elegance, grace, and aplomb. She is beautiful. Edward and
his world have the power to change her—indeed they have already begun to do so,
providing again a counterpoint to her current physical appearance and clumsiness.
These changes will be even more resplendent once she becomes a vampire.
149
In Bella’s world, she had no purpose or direction.
150
An identity as
Edward’s wife and a member of the Cullen coven, she will have purpose and even
acquire powers like other vampires. Some can move—fly—miles in minutes,
151
and possess extraordinary strength. Some can read minds;
152
some can tell the
future;
153
some can track both humans and inanimate objects, using supernatural
powers.
154
Bella will be given powers too. She will have a purpose to fulfill.
Edward’s supernatural world will also free Bella of human emotion: no more
fear, guilt, anguish or panic; she will view herself as an asset, not a liability.
155
Bella’s purpose/role as Edward’s wife in Edward’s world provide even more
critical counterpoints to her prior life.
156
C. Unveiling The Realities Of The Vampire World Reveal Bella To Be A Victim
There Too: Preyed Upon, Defined, Controlled, And Dominated
Through Bella’s eyes, the vampire world is unquestionably enticing.
However, a closer look shows the realities of the vampire world have been veiled
by the glamour, which has not merely captivated Bella, but has manipulated her
and the reader. In reality, Bella has been “preyed upon.” Her identity is defined by
the vampire world; and she has been given her powers by her vampire husband,
who has violently injected his venom into her. She is, for the most part, controlled
by the vampire society, which notably is governed predominately by its male
to being a vampire, Bella becomes even more brazen. See, BREAKING DAWN, supra note 1, at 430
(“‘Edward!’ I hissed, yanking him to a stop (and feeling a little thrill of smugness that I was able to do
it). ‘How can you say that?’”).
149
See BREAKING DAWN, supra note 1, at 639-40 (A man describing Bella says: “‘She looks like . . .’
His eyes ran from my face to my shoes appreciatively. ‘Well, she looks like a freaking super model,
that’s what she looks like . . . . Rocking body, pale as a sheet, dark brown hair almost to her waist,
need’s a good night sleep.’”).
150
See supra text accompanying notes 124-27.
151
TWILIGHT, supra note 2, at 279-80.
152
Id.at 180 (Edward can read minds but not all vampires can); NEW MOON, supra note 2, at 469
(Aro, a vampire with the Volturi, can also read minds but only through physical contact with the
person).
153
SeeTWILIGHT, supra note 2, at 290 (Alice can foresee the future).
154
See id.at 397, 400 (James is a “tracker,” which explains his ability to find Bella though she is
hiding thousands of miles away).
155
Bella is overridden with guilt throughout the saga. See supra text accompanying notes 115-23.
Fed up with the of guilt and anguish of the human world, she concludes that she is ready to join Edward
and his world, one in which she would never let such emotions get in the way again.
E
CLIPSE, supra
note 2, at 435.
156
Bella tells the reader, “I cringed at the dim memory of shame and guilt.” BREAKING DAWN, supra
note 1, at 430.
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members. Bella has been wooed by the glamour of eternal love, failing to
recognize these veiled, unfortunate realities.
1. The Vampire World Causes Bella To “Fall Prey” To Edward, - Just As Humans
Are Supposed To Do.
Edward and Bella have an irresistible attraction to each other. But because
the Cullens have committed not to eat humans, Bella and the reader believe Edward
is not preying upon or hunting her.
157
Rather, Edward’s attraction is due solely to
true love. Bella also believes that her overpowering attraction to Edward is
likewise grounded in true love, rather than his characteristically-vampire exquisite
looks,
158
attractive smell,
159
and captivating voice.
160
Notwithstanding any possibility of “true love,” Edward is nonetheless a
vampire. The mere fact that he is committed not to feed on her, or any other
human, does not magically negate his desire for her blood. Moreover, his very
nature, formulated for the precise purpose of alluring humans, draws Bella to him,
as all humans are supposed to be drawn to vampires’ irresistibly seductive looks,
smell, and voice. But Bella’s belief—and likewise the readers’—that Edward is
not specifically “hunting” her and does not want to hurt her obscures the reality that
Edward may not entirely be overcoming his vampire nature and indeed may be
preying upon her, even if subconsciously. It is easy to forget Edward is a vampire
because he is wholly integrated into Bella’s own typical small town neighborhood,
in her school, and among her friends and relatives.
161
Edward’s “vampireness” is
thus obfuscated.
So, how can the reader be sure Bella found real love, rather than merely
reacting to Edward as human prey is supposed to react to a vampire? There is no
objective way to be sure, and that is precisely what books and movies lead us to
believe love is all about: there is no objectivity to it; you just “feel it” and “know
it,” when it exists. It is the sheer delight of this “true love” that keeps at bay
Edward’s vampire desire to hunt Bella.
2. The Vampire World Of “Secrecy” Will Keep Bella Isolated.
Another reality of the vampire world – its secrecy—is also clouded by the
excitement and glamour that overtake Bella. The Cullens secretly possess magical
157
See TWILIGHT, supra note 2, at 186-87 (The Cullens do not hunt people); Id. at 264 (“I swear not
to hurt you.”).
158
Seeid. at 413 (attractiveness is one of the tools in a vampire’s lethal arsenal); ECLIPSE, supra
note 2, at 194 (most vampires are beautiful as the Cullens); T
WILIGHT, supra note 2,at 19 (Edward is
especially attractive).
159
See TWILIGHT, supra note 2, at 263 (“I smelled his cool breath in my face. Sweet, delicious, the
scent made by mouth water. It was unlike anything else. Instinctively, unthinkingly, I leaned closer,
inhaling.”).
160
See id. at 264 (“[H]is velvet voice unintentionally seductive.”).
161
See supra text accompanying notes 31-34.
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powers and supernatural strength
162
and are involved in a secret rivalry with Jacob
Black, and certain other members of his Native American tribe.
163
These particular
members of his tribe can secretly phase into werewolves and do so when they get
angry, and this enables them to fight.
164
Bella is entrusted with all these secrets
and cannot even tell her parents.
165
Perhaps the most important secret of all is that
Bella is to become a vampire.
166
Bella cannot see the consequences of these
secrets. While she certainly realizes how difficult it will be to give up her family,
she cannot see that the secrecy in her new world will isolate her no less than her
previous life circumstances did, only this time in a new, extraordinary, and
luxurious environment.
3. The Vampire World Will Maintain Bella’s Attraction To Domineering Men Who
Offer Her Protection, Strength, And Power But Exert Control Over Her.
Bella’s weaknesses explain why she is attracted to both Edward and Jacob.
Both offer her protection and strength, which are novel to her. These men are
attractive to Bella because they embody stereotypically male traits of power and
strength and offer her the security she has never known. Not surprisingly, these
character traits are precisely ones which Bella herself also lacks. Moreover, both
Edward and Jacob use these typically male traits of strength and decisiveness to
dote on Bella, watch over her, care for her, and rescue her from harm.
167
Besides his glittering good looks, wealth, and luxurious lifestyle, Edward
offers something to Bella that Jacob cannot. He offers her transformation. Edward
is a male who has the power to offer Bella a way out of her own skin, her current
world, and all its anguish. This power reinforces her attraction to domineering men
to whom she looks, rather than inside herself, as perhaps the only way to surmount
her current life’s challenges. Edward is able to change Bella herself and the very
world in which she will exist forever. Bella cannot resist this power.
Hidden underneath the veil of Edward’s protection and the anticipation of the
power he can provide lies control by a domineering and powerful man and his
world. The control is masked by the thrill, glamour, and excitement Bella
experiences. Edward and his family actually decide many things for Bella during
162
See TWILIGHT, supra note 2, at 290, 307, 413.
163
Id.at 124-26.
164
See NEW MOON, supra note 2, at 293 (Some members of the Quileute tribe can shape-shift into
werewolves); see also E
CLIPSE, supra note 2, at 244-45.
165
Seesupra text accompanying notes 89.
166
See ECLIPSE, supra note 2, at 25.
167
See supra text accompanying note where Bella experiences an attraction to an unknown
presence; see also N
EW MOON, supra note 2, at 309 (Jacob describing werewolves as “protectors”);
E
CLIPSE, supra note 2, at 212-13 (when Jacob puts himself in danger to protect Bella, and when Bella
expresses concern he disregards her concerns, implying his strength and power keep him out of danger);
id. at 227, emphasis in the original (When Bella is in danger, Edward tells her, “I don’t know [why
another vampire is hunting her]. But, Bella, I swear I will find out. I will.” Bella accepts his promise of
protection: “‘I know you will,’ I said, laying my head against his chest”).
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her human life. Alice begins to pick out her clothes;
168
the Cullens decide where
and how her birthday, wedding, and honeymoon will be celebrated.
169
Edward
decides when and if she can see Jacob.
170
Edward gets angry when Bella does not
behave as he would like.
171
Edward appears in her car,
172
in front of her home,
173
and in her bedroom.
174
But this all seems quite logical to Bella—and the reader—
because Edward loves her, and his world must remain a secret.
As their relationship intensifies, Edward even decides when and if he and
Bella can have sex, making fun of her human hormones and impatience, while he is
able to remain aloof and in control—at least before they are married.
175
He uses
sex as a bargaining chip in their relationship, for marriage and for becoming a
vampire.
176
All this behavior and all these decisions are made ostensibly to protect
Bella and out of concern and undying love for her. Under all these circumstances,
is Bella being solely protected and loved or is she being molded, if not controlled,
by a domineering male?
177
Even after becoming a vampire, the vampire world controls. Although Bella
becomes the strongest and the protector, indeed the “shield” for all of them,
178
this
role is not as empowering as it seems. After all, she gains her power only through
giving up her human life, becoming a part of Edward’s vampire existence,
submitting to his ways, and devoting herself to Edward as well as the conventions
of his secret world. She obtains her power through what her man gives her.
168
See TWILIGHT,supranote 2, at 482; see also text accompanying note 143.
169
See NEW MOON, supra note 2, at 25; see BREAKING DAWN, supra note 1, at 48; see supra note 135
and accompanying text.
170
See e.g., ECLIPSE, supra note 2, at 145-50.
171
See id. at 115 (Bella dreads the trouble she is going to be in after spending time with Jacob,
telling him, “[Edward] really hates it when I do things he considers . . . risky.”).
172
See id. at 361
173
See infra text accompanying notes 197-98.
174
See TWILIGHT, supra note 2, at 292-93; see infra text accompanying notes 199-200.
175
See ECLIPSE, supra note 2,at 186-90. Notable here is the contrast between the Bella Meyer has
crafted to be ostensibly mature enough to decide to give up both her humanity and her family with the
Bella who is not mature enough to decide when to have sex. When it comes to that decision, Bella is
infantilized and is not given any autonomy to decide this on her own. Rather, it is Edward, her male
partner, who decides for her.
176
See id. at 619.
177
There is one decision Bella appears to make completely on her own-- despite serious objections.
This is the decision to give birth of Renesmee though by doing so, Bella’s own life will be threatened.
Edward and others challenge her decision but Bella remains steadfast. Close analysis will show that this
decision is not without considerable vampire influence on Bella as to whom she should become. By the
time she makes this decision it is well into the fourth and final book. She has already relinquished
herself to the vampire society. She has married a vampire, is close to becoming a vampire herself, and
the baby she is carrying is half-vampire, too. Part of Bella’s transformation to the vampire world is to
finally have the confidence to make a stand for the something of her own. Her exposure to the vampire
world and the purpose it gives her is a critical influence on her decision. In spite of Edward’s personal
viewpoint it would be erroneous to conclude that Bella’s decision was completely independent and
without influence by the controlling vampire world she has been enticed by for the preceding 1828
pages, which span over two years of Bella’s short life. See B
REAKING DAWN supra note 1, at 180, 447.
178
See BREAKING DAWN, supra note 1, at 420, 430.
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Looking at Bella from within the vampire world at the very least raises
questions as to whether Bella made autonomous decisions when she gave her life to
Edward and became a vampire. On the surface, it appears that she has fallen in
love with Edward and made the decision on her own, but close reading suggests
that in some way Bella has been prey, just as humans are supposed to be, for
vampires. Instead of freeing Bella, the vampire world isolates her through its
inherent secrecy; instead of being able to identify her own values, desires, and
ability to make meaningful choices, Bella and her choices are defined by the
Cullens and the vampire society; and Bella’s empowerment is in actuality not
personal empowerment at all, but simply a benefit bestowed upon her after
relinquishing her prior life and committing herself to a husband and his vampire
society. Ultimately, Bella is more controlled by a domineering man—and is more
victim than heroine—than both she and the reader realize.
IV.
B
ELLA IS A VICTIM OF ILLEGAL ACTS
The allure of the vampire world also masks the illegal acts that have been
committed against Bella. Bella’s fans perceive her as a heroine because in the
name of love, she decides to sacrifice her humanity and become a vampire. In so
doing, Bella dedicates her life to her soul mate, Edward, and his world. Like Bella,
her fans are swept away by fairytale fog and allured by a narrow lens of love and
glamour, which does not focus on the entire landscape of Bella’s experiences.
Bella and the reader are manipulated into believing that love justifies all, even
isolation, fear, and injury. Opening the lens will show that Bella is more victim
than heroine—legally, of stalking and domestic violence.
A. Bella Is a Victim of Stalking
Under Washington state law
179
a person commits the crime of stalking
180
if,
without lawful authority:
(a) He or she intentionally and repeatedly
181
harasses
182
or repeatedly
follows
183
another person and
179
Because the book takes place in the state of Washington, Washington state law will be used to
explore the crimes of stalking and domestic violence.
180
WASH. REV.CODE ANN.§ 9A.46.110 (West 2013).
181
WASH. REV.CODE § 9A.46.110(6)(e) defines “repeatedly” as “two or more separate occasions.”
These separate occasions must be “distinct, individual, and noncontinuous.” City of Seattle v. Meah, 297
P.3d 69 (Wash. Ct. App. 2011), citing State v. Kintz, 238 P.3d 470 (2010). Though the acts must be
separate and distinct, there is no minimum amount of time that needs to separate these two incidents.
State v. Kintz, 238 P.3d 470 (2010) (court combined two cases where man in van would make several
passes in van and approach women out in their neighborhood within a few minute span of time and each
pass in the vehicle was a separate instance, though all on same day and he did not get out of vehicle.)
182
WASH. REV.CODE § 9A.46.110(6)(c) defines “Harassment” by referring to the definition of
“Unlawful harassment” in W
ASH. REV.CODE § 10.14.020 (2013):
“Unlawful harassment” means a knowing and willful course of conduct directed at a
specific person which seriously alarms, annoys, harasses, or is detrimental to such person,
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(b) The person being . . . followed is placed in fear that the stalker intends
to injure the person, another person, or property of the person or of another
person. The feeling of fear must be one that a reasonable person in the
same situation would experience under all the circumstances;
184
and
(c) The stalker either:
(i) Intends to frighten, intimidate or harass the person; or
(ii) Knows or reasonably should know the person is afraid,
intimidated or harassed even if the stalker did not intend to place the
person in fear or intimidate or harass the person
185
Throughout the four books, Bella is a victim of stalking by Edward and
numerous other characters.
186
Edward repeatedly follows Bella, both in and out of
her home, including when she is with her friends. He even breaks into her home to
watch her all night long.
Almost immediately after moving to Forks, Edward’s disturbing pattern
starts. Before she starts dating Edward, Bella was in a nearby town with two
friends, Jessica and Angela, when Edward just shows up: “‘I followed you to Port
and which serves no legitimate or lawful purpose. The course of conduct shall be such as
would cause a reasonable person to suffer substantial emotional distress, and shall
actually cause substantial emotional distress to the petitioner, or, when the course of
conduct would cause a reasonable parent to fear for the well-being of their child.
“Course of conduct” means a pattern of conduct composed of a series of acts over a
period of time, however short, evidencing a continuity of purpose. “Course of conduct”
includes, in addition to any other form of communication, contact, or conduct, the
sending of an electronic communication, but does not include constitutionally protected
free speech. Constitutionally protected activity is not included within the meaning of
“course of conduct.”
183
WASH. REV.CODE § 9A.46.110(6)(b) defines “follows” as:
deliberately maintaining visual or physical proximity to a specific person over a period of
time. A finding that the alleged stalker repeatedly and deliberately appears at the
person’s home, school, place of employment, business, or any other location to maintain
visual or physical proximity to the person is sufficient to find that the alleged stalker
follows the person. It is not necessary to establish that the alleged stalker follows the
person while in transit from one location to another.
Someone can be “followed” if someone deliberately matches the other person’s movements, so as to be
at the same place at the same time in an attempt to contact the person. See State v. Lee, 957 P.2d 741
(1998); see also State v. Askham, 86 P.3d 1224, 1229 (2004) review denied, 103 P.3d 201 (2004).
184
The Washington Pattern Jury Instruction for stalking defines “reasonable fear” in the stalking
statute through reference to malicious harassment: “reasonable fear is a fear that a reasonable person
would have under all the circumstances.” 11 Wash. Prac., Pattern Jury Instr. Crim. WPIC 36.21 (3d Ed).
See also “malicious harassment” W
ASH. REV.CODE § 9A.36.080(1)(c) (2013). This reasonable fear of
an alleged stalker can be shown in a variety of ways; see State v. Ainslie, 11 P.3d 318, 321 (2000)
(where court found reasonable fear because car repeatedly parked outside a 14-year-old girl’s home,
man would occasionally get out of the car to watch the girl, and man did not stop when father
approached and told him to); see also State v. Askham, 86 P.3d 1224, 1229 (2004) review denied, 103
P.3d 201 (2004) (reasonable fear could be found if one looked to the entire course of the harassing
conduct: where man was stalking ex-girlfriend’s new boyfriend by posting doctored inappropriate
photos of him online, registering him on racist websites, sending him threatening emails, and contacting
the man’s boss with the fake photos and fake information).
185
WASH. REV.CODE § 9A.46.110(1)(a)-(c) (2013).
186
In addition to Edward, Laurent, Victoria, James, and other representatives of the Volturi engage
in acts of stalking. See infra note 221.
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Angeles,’ he admitted . . . I wondered if it should bother me that he was following
me.”
187
He adds: “‘It’s harder than it should be – keeping track of you. Usually I
can find someone very easily, once I’ve heard their mind before’ . . . . ‘I was
keeping tabs on Jessica, not carefully . . . and at first I didn’t notice when you took
off on your own.’”
188
Edward continues, “Then when I realized you weren’t with
her anymore, I went looking for you . . . I could tell you’d gone south . . . and I
knew you would have to turn around soon. So I was just waiting for you, randomly
searching through the thoughts of people on the street – to see if anyone had
noticed you so I would know where you were.”
189
Edward intentionally followed
Bella to Port Angeles. He admits Bella is hard to keep track of, but also that he is
repeatedly following her and keeping track of her every move. He not only
physically follows her in his car but he also keeps track of her whereabouts by
reading the thoughts of others.
On another occasion, Edward tracks Bella and follows her in his car,
harassing and intimidating her by driving inches behind her. “It came out of
nowhere. One minute there was nothing but bright highway in my rearview mirror.
The next minute, the sun was glinting off a silver Volvo right on my tail . . . . The
Volvo followed inches behind me. I kept my eyes on the road ahead. Chicken
through and through, I drove straight to Angela’s without once meeting the gaze I
could feel burning a hole in my mirror. He followed me until I pulled to the curb in
front of the Webers’ house.”
190
Edward intentionally followed Bella. He harassed
her by following inches behind on the highway. Bella responds by driving straight
to a friend’s house. This reaction suggests that she was seeking to be with others to
hopefully avoid him and his continuing to follow and harass her—suggesting that
he indeed has made Bella “fear that the stalker intends to injure” her.
191
Edward also follows Bella when she is with her father, Charlie. When the
two go out to eat: “I had my back to the front windows, and I resisted the urge to
turn around and search for the eyes I could feel on me now. I know I wouldn’t be
able to see anything. Just as I knew there was no chance that he would leave me
unguarded, even for a second.”
192
When they leave the restaurant: “Something
moved in the shadows. My gasp turned into a sigh of relief as Edward appeared
out of the gloom.”
193
Additionally Edward follows Bella when she visits Jacob. Edward calls
while Jacob is with Bella, “darkly” saying he is “around the corner.”
194
An even
187
TWILIGHT, supra note 2, at 174, emphasis added.
188
Id. at 175, emphasis added.
189
Id. at176, emphasis added.
190
ECLIPSE, supra note 2, at 131-32.
191
WASH. REV.CODE § 9A.46.110 (b) (2013).
192
ECLIPSE, supra note 2, at 360.
193
Id. at 361.
194
Id. at 338.
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more intense example of Edward following, and thus harassing, Bella occurs just
before she is about to visit Jacob. Edward appears in her truck, startling her:
And then a small motion in my peripheral vision made me jump. “Gah!” I
gasped in shock when I saw that I was not alone in the cab. Edward sat
very still . . . only his hands moving as he turned a mysterious black object
around and around [part of her car’s engine so she would not be able to
drive] . . . “Alice called,” he murmured. Alice! Damn. I’d forgotten to
account for her in my plans. He must have her watching me . . . He spoke .
. . still looking at the piece of my truck’s engine as he twirled it in his
hands . . . “I’ll put your car back together in time for school.”
195
Edward has followed Bella and also had another person, his sister, Alice,
watch her to find out where she will be going and keep Edward informed.
196
Moreover, Edward also continued to harass Bella by letting her know that he would
put the car back together but only so she can get to and from school, and for no
other purpose. The threatening twirling motion of the engine piece in his hand,
coupled with his words that he will fix the car only in time for school, show his
repeated efforts to be watching and controlling where and when she goes.
In addition to repeatedly following Bella when she is with friends or in her
car, Edward shows up repeatedly outside and inside her home, even breaking in, for
the purpose of watching her. One morning when she is leaving for school: “It was
such a thick fog that I was a few feet down the driveway before I realized there was
a car in it: a silver car . . . I didn’t see where he came from but suddenly he was
there, pulling the door open for me.
197
Further, Bella invites Edward into her home for the first time, only to learn
that Edward has already been creeping inside almost every night to watch her sleep:
He reached the door ahead of me and opened it for me. I paused halfway
through the frame. “The door was unlocked?” “No, I used the key from
under the eave.” I stepped inside, flicked on the porch light, and turned to
look at him with my eyebrows raised. I was sure I’d never used that key in
front of him. “I was curious about you.” “You spied on me?” . . . “What
else is there to do at night?”. . . “How often?” I asked casually . . . “How
often do you come here?” “I come here almost every night.” I whirled,
stunned. “Why?” “You’re interesting when you sleep.”
198
There are also repeated instances when Edward secretly gets into Bella’s
195
Id. at 62-63.
196
If Edward is not able to personally watch Bella, he has his “sister,” Alice keep track of her. For
example, when Edward had to leave town, he has Alice invite Bella over to the Cullens’ house for a
“slumber party,” so Alice can watch Bella continuously. Edward even rewards Alice with a Porsche for
doing this. Id. at 145. Bella recognizes that Alice is monitoring her. Bella asks Alice, “‘You’re
kidnapping me, aren’t you?’ [Alice] laughed and nodded . . . . ‘you’re staying with me two nights, and I
will drive you to and from school.’” Id. at 145.
197
TWILIGHT, supra note 2, at 197, emphasis added.
198
Id. at 292-93, emphasis added.
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home and waits for Bella in her room.
199
This occurs so often that Bella expects
him to be there. On one of these occasions, Bella anticipates Edward is angry with
her, and she is undoubtedly uneasy and anxious about the repeated number of times
he follows her and appears in her room. As she leaves Charlie in another room, on
the way to hers:
See you later,’ Charlie called after me. If I survive, I thought to myself. I
shut my bedroom door carefully before I turned to face my room. Of
course, he was there. He stood against the wall across from me, in the
shadow beside the open window. His face was hard and his posture tense.
He glared at me wordlessly. I cringed.
200
These instances illustrate Edward repeatedly follows Bella sufficient to
satisfy the first element of stalking under Washington law.
In addition to repeatedly being followed or harassed, a stalking victim must
be placed in fear that the stalker intends to injure her, her property, another, or
property of another.
201
The feeling of fear must be one that a reasonable person in
the same situation would experience under all the circumstances.
202
Bella’s fear is
perhaps the most thought-provoking element to analyze.
A close analysis of Bella’s feelings, as she herself presents them—remember,
the story is told through Bella’s first person narrative—shows that Bella’s
descriptions of fear are intermixed with words that temper her fear and depicted
through a lens of allure, love and lust. This makes it easy for the author to justify
the fear. By creating Bella to be confused and to conflate pleasure with fear of
injury—and later injury itself
203
—Meyer has stripped Bella of the ability to sustain
the kind of “feeling” of fear a reasonable person in her situation would experience,
though she certainly does feel it. Instead, from Bella’s perspective, conflating love
and fear is romantic and should be savored, and—subliminally to the young female
reader—sought after.
For example, when Edward follows Bella to Port Angeles she thinks: “I
wondered if it should bother me that he was following me; instead I felt a strange
surge of pleasure.”
204
Edward tells Bella, “‘Your number was up the first time I
met you.’ I felt a spasm of fear at his words, and the abrupt memory of his violent
black glare that first day . . . but the overwhelming sense of safety I felt in his
199
See id. at 297 (After dinner Bella rushed to her bedroom and called out the window for Edward,
only to be startled by the sound of his “‘Yes’?” coming from behind her where “He lay, smiling hugely,
across [her] bed.”); see also E
CLIPSE, supra note 2, at 262 (when Bella wakes from a nightmare, she
observes “The first thing I realized was that I was not alone, and I turned to bury my face in Edward’s
chest”); id. at 46 (where Bella is writing an email to her mom in her room: “I didn’t realize Edward was
standing silently behind me again until after I’d turned off the computer and shoved away from the
desk.”).
200
ECLIPSE, supra note 2, at 140.
201
WASH. REV.CODE § 9A.46.110 (2013).
202
WASH. REV.CODE § 9A.46.110(1)(b) (2013).
203
See e.g. text accompanying notes 237, 238, 239, and 240.
204
TWILIGHT, supra note 2, at 174.
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presence stifled it. By the time he looked up to read my eyes, there was no trace of
fear in them.”
205
Similarly, when Edward appears at the end of her driveway and she sees his
car:
My heart thudded, stuttered, and then picked up again in double time. I
didn’t see where he came from, but suddenly he was there, pulling the door
open for me . . . . [He was] amused by my expression as he caught me by
surprise yet again. There was uncertainty in his voice. He was really
giving me a choice–I was free to refuse and part of him hoped for that. It
was a vain hope.
206
When he drives and follows the tail of her truck: “‘Aw, crap,’ I whimpered. I
considered pulling over. But I was too much of a coward to face him right away.
I’d been counting on some prep time . . . and having Charlie nearby as a buffer. At
least that would force him to keep his voice down.”
207
When Edward startles her
by appearing out of nowhere in her car, Bella is fearful that she will be
constrained—a type of injury—from going anywhere other than where he says.
She is afraid to be alone with him because he has permanently damaged her
property, a critical part of her truck’s engine.
In these instances Bella faces a mix of fear of injury to herself and her
property. Edward’s words, his glare, his loud voice, seeking Charlie as a “buffer”
before Bella will face Edward, and the harm to her truck engine, all illustrate fear
of some form of injury. Paradoxically, with some of these examples, Bella also
takes pleasure in the very same fear of injury that Edward has instilled.
208
She is
205
Id. at 175 (emphasis added).
206
Id. at 197 (emphasis added).
207
ECLIPSE, supra note 2, at 132 (emphasis added).
208
There are many other examples of the fear of injury intermixed with allure and ‘love.’ Bella
conflates love and fear not only when she is followed, but her love for Edward is consistently
intermingled with her fear of him. Even in Twilight, when Bella and Edward’s relationship is new, she
acknowledges, “I fluctuated between anticipation so intense that it was very nearly pain, and an
insidious fear that picked at my resolve. I had to keep reminding myself that I’d made my choice, and I
wasn’t going back on it . . . And what was my other choice – to cut him out of my life? Intolerable.
Besides, since I’d come to Forks, it really seemed like my life was about him.” T
WILIGHT, supra note 2,
at 251. Bella’s conflation of love and fear continues as their relationship matures: “His words sent a
thrill of fear through me.” N
EW MOON, supra note 2, at 288. Again, Bella tells Edward directly of her
fear, “‘I was wishing that I could believe that you were real. And I was wishing that I wasn’t afraid.’”
T
WILIGHT, supra note 2, at 262. Edward is particularly dangerous to Bella, not only because of his
vampire nature, but because Bella is a particularly appealing meal for Edward. When Edward
specifically reminds Bella of the appeal of her scent, Bella fails to respond to the danger and experiences
as a romantic caress: “‘And the smell of your throat’ . . . He raised his free hand and placed it gently on
the side of my neck. I sat very still, the chill of his touch a natural warning – a warning telling me to be
terrified. But there was no feeling of fear in me.” T
WILIGHT, supra note 2, at 275. Bella continues,
Eventually the throb of my pulse quieted, but he didn’t move or speak again as he held me. I knew at
any moment it could be too much, and my life could end – so quickly that I might not even notice. And
I couldn’t make myself be afraid. I couldn’t think of anything, except that he was touching me.
T
WILIGHT, supra note 2, at 276.
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allured and intrigued by it. She even seems to delight in it. Nevertheless, her fear,
no matter how short-lived or melded with love, is very real.
The third and final element of stalking under Washington law focuses not on
what the victim feels, but on the stalker’s mental state. The stalker must intend to
frighten, intimidate or harass the victim or the stalker must know, or reasonably
should know, that the victim is afraid, intimidated or harassed, even if the stalker
did not intend to place the victim in fear or intimidate or harass.
209
At the very
least, Edward knows or reasonably should know that Bella is afraid, intimidated, or
harassed. One might argue that he intends to frighten, intimidate, or harass,
because he is a vampire and that is exactly what they do. Edward’s words to Bella
illustrate what he knew
210
and/or intended:
“It’s just that you are so soft, so fragile. I have to mind my actions every
moment that we’re together so that I don’t hurt you. I could kill you quite
easily, Bella, simply by accident . . . . If I was too hasty . . . if for one
second I wasn’t paying enough attention, I could reach out, meaning to
touch your face, and crush your skull by mistake. You don’t realize how
incredibly breakable you are. I can never, never afford to lose any kind of
control when I’m with you.” He waited for me to respond, growing
anxious when I didn’t. “Are you scared?” he asked.
211
He also tells Bella: “It’s wrong. It’s not safe. I’m dangerous, Bella – please,
grasp that.”
212
“[T]he very worst was feeling . . . knowing that I couldn’t stop.
Believing that I was going to kill you myself.”
213
Bella responds, “But you
didn’t.”
214
And Edward admits, “I could have. So easily.”
215
When Bella suffers
a cut and bleeds, Edward and the other vampires are attracted to the smell of her
blood. After she receives stitches, Edward tells her: “Mike Newton [a human
classmate who likes Bella], could have held your hand while they stitched you up –
and he wouldn’t be fighting the urge to kill you the whole time he was there.”
216
209
WASH.REV.CODE § 9A.46.110(1)(c)(ii) (2011).
210
See generally MIDNIGHT SUN, supra note 41. In Stephenie Meyer’s unpublished draft of
M
IDNIGHT SUN she is particularly clear that Edward knew Bella should fear him. MIDNIGHT SUN was
drafted after the Twilight saga and is the only time the story is told from Edward’s perspective. The four
Twilight books are told mainly from Bella’s point of view, though some chapters in B
REAKING DAWN are
told in Jacob’s voice. When the reader does finally hear Edward’s point of view on his first interactions
with Bella in M
IDNIGHT SUN, he clearly recognizes that Bella should fear him. He specifically tells
Bella that they should not be friends, because it would be better for them.
Id. at 114. Later, he
acknowledges that Bella does not exhibit the proper fear of him “yet.” Id.at 124. Further, he admits to
his brother Bella’s vulnerability and the danger he puts her in, saying that he is dangerous to her and is
unlikely to touch her without hurting her. Id.at 152. Finally, he acknowledges that he should not be
following her, and that he cannot tell her because if she knew she would think he was “creepy.” Id.at
155.
211
TWILIGHT, supra note 2, at 310.
212
Id. at 190.
213
Id. at 472.
214
Id.
215
Id.
216
NEW MOON, supra note 2, at 45.
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Each of these instances show that Edward knew or reasonably should have known
that Bella would be frightened or intimidated by someone who is very attracted to
her, repeatedly follows her, and has to fight off the urge to kill her.
While it also could be argued that Edward’s ultimate goal was to protect
rather than frighten Bella, it is irrelevant for purposes of the stalking statute that
Edward might not have actually intended to place Bella in fear or intimidate or
harass her.
217
Edward need only have known or reasonably should have known
that Bella was afraid.
218
It is indubitable that Edward knew or should have known
that Bella was afraid or intimidated. Indeed that he is a ‘vampire’ in itself gives
him that knowledge. Bella’s words and actions show she is afraid, and Edward
knows it:
‘As if you could fight me off,’ he said gently. I sat without moving, more
frightened of him than I had ever been. I’d never seen him so completely
freed of that carefully cultivated façade. He’d never been less human . . .
or more beautiful. Face ashen, eyes wide, I sat like a bird locked in the
eyes of a snake.
. . . .
‘Don’t be afraid,’ he murmured, his velvet voice unintentionally seductive.
‘I swear not to hurt you.’ He seemed more concerned with convincing
himself than me. ‘Don’t be afraid,’ he whispered . . . ‘Please forgive me,’
he said formally. ‘I can control myself. You caught me off guard. But I’m
on my best behavior now.’ He waited, but I still couldn’t speak. ‘I’m not
thirsty today, honestly.’ He winked.
219
There is no doubt here that Edward knows or reasonably should know that
Bella is afraid. Why else would he try to convince her not to be? Why else would
Bella observe that Edward was convincing himself as well as her that he would not
hurt her?
The wink is perhaps the most troubling part of this scene. The message here,
carefully crafted by Meyer, is that a wink—usually associated with flirting—from a
sexy, irresistible guy assuages fear of him. Yet, his wink is what makes it certain
that Edward is aware of Bella’s fear. Why would he feel the need to flirt for any
reason other than to try to win her over by softening the fear he so obviously knows
she is feeling or reasonably should be feeling? The only answer can be to assuage
her fears.
Edward also takes advantage of the fear and intimidation Bella feels to
continue to follow Bella’s whereabouts:
I veered left, toward my truck. Something caught my jacket, yanking me
back. ‘Where do you think you’re going?’ he asked, outraged. He was
217
WASH.REV.CODE § 9A.46.110(1)(c)(ii) (2013).
218
WASH.REV.CODE § 9A.46.110(1)(b) (2013).
219
TWILIGHT, supra note 2, at 264-65 (emphasis added).
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gripping a fistful of my jacket in one hand. I was confused. “I’m going
home.”
. . . .
It was all I could do to keep from falling backward. He’d probably just
drag me along anyway if I did. ‘Let go!’ I insisted. He ignored me. I
staggered along sideways across the wet sidewalk until we reached the
Volvo. Then he finally freed me.’
. . . .
“Get in, Bella.” I didn’t answer. I was mentally calculating my chances of
reaching the truck before he could catch me. I had to admit, they weren’t
good. “I’ll just drag you back,” he threatened.
220
Here, Edward is aware Bella is afraid and intimidated by him, leaving her
little choice but to succumb to his following her and to go—or not go—where he
dictates. Edward’s conduct thus satisfies the stalking statute. He repeatedly
followed her; she was placed in fear of injury to herself and her property; and
Edward either intended to frighten her, or knew or should have known that she was
undoubtedly afraid or intimidated.
221
B. Bella Is a Victim of Domestic Violence
Even more unsettling than the examples of stalking that Twilight provides for
vulnerable teen readers are its messages about domestic violence. Twilight includes
disturbing scenes in which physical violence and bodily injury occur either between
teens who are dating or between spouses, both of which qualify as requisite to acts
of domestic violence.
222
Furthermore, within the Twilight series these acts are
accepted, even normal, justified, and valued, as long as they are done in the name
of love.
220
TWILIGHT, supra note 2, at 103-04 (emphasis added).
221
Edward is not the only vampire who stalks Bella and places her in fear of injury to herself, her
property or another. The other vampires who stalk her include Laurent, Victoria, and James and the
Volturi. Victoria, her lover James, and their friend, Laurent, stalk Bella first because James wants to
hunt her. After the Cullens kill James to protect Bella, Victoria and Laurent, stalk Bella to hurt the
Cullens and avenge James. The Volturi are an Italian family of vampires who are the de facto leaders of
the vampire world. Both these groups of vampires repeatedly follow Bella and make her fear for her
life. They also make her fear for injury to her property and her family. These specific instances of
stalking are outside the scope of this Article, which focuses only on Bella and Edward’s romantic
relationship. Interestingly, Bella seems more aware of the dangers the other vampires pose to her, and
she feels fear, attempts to flee from them, and even involves the Cullens in battles over them. Bella’s
fear of the other vampires is not assuaged by any pleasure, love, or allure.
T
WILIGHT, supra note 2, at
444, 461; see also text accompanying note 73.
222
WASH.REV.CODE ANN. § 26.50.010(2-3) (West 2008) (included in the law are spouses and
people over 16 years old and in a dating relationship, or had these relationships in the past). Bella and
Edward are both over 16 years old and begin dating near the beginning of Twilight. Bella and Edward
marry in Breaking Dawn, so for nearly the entire Twilight saga, their relationships would qualify as
those covered by the Washington Domestic Violation Prevention Act (“DVPA”).
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Under Washington law,
223
domestic violence that will result in a civil
224
order of protection
225
includes the following:
(a) Physical harm or
Bodily injury or
Assault
226
or
Infliction of fear of imminent physical harm, bodily injury, or assault
227
that is
(b) Between family or household members;
228
(Family or household
members include, among other categories: spouses, domestic partners,
persons sixteen years of age or older with whom a person sixteen years of
age or older has or has had a dating relationship.
229
Dating relationship
means a social relationship of a romantic nature.
230
) OR
(c) Stalking
231
of one family or household member by another family or
household member.
232
Bella is unquestionably a victim of domestic violence. First, Bella and
Edward qualify as “household members” within the meaning of the statute because,
throughout the entire series, they are in a dating relationship
233
and are eventually
spouses.
234
If Edward’s actions as analyzed in the prior section of this article
constitute stalking under Washington law, that alone would make Bella a victim of
223
Because the book is set in Washington, Washington law is being used.
224
The DVPA is § 50 of the Washington Domestic Relations Act, which is a civil statute. If a
domestic violence victim seeks a restraining order, it would be under this statute and, hence, would be a
civil action. See W
ASH.REV.CODE ANN. § 26.50.070 (West 2010). To get an order of protection, the
petitioner must “allege the existence of domestic violence” and these allegations must be “accompanied
by an affidavit made under oath stating specific facts and circumstances from which relief is sought.”
W
ASH.REV.CODE ANN. § 26.50.030(1) (West 2014). There need not be other litigation between the
parties for the petition to be made, but if there is other litigation then that must also be revealed at the
time the restraining order is requested. See W
ASH.REV.CODE ANN. § 26.50.030(1) and (2) (West
2014).
225
WASH.REV.CODE ANN. §26.50.010(1) (2008).
226
The term assault is undefined by the statute and so Washington courts apply its common law
definition. Three different definitions of assault are recognized: “(1) an attempt, with unlawful force, to
inflict bodily injury upon another; (2) an unlawful touching with criminal intent; (3) putting another in
apprehension of harm whether or not the actor actually intends to inflict or is incapable of inflicting that
harm.” State v. Hupe, 50 Wash.App. 277, 282 (Wash. App. 1988), disapproved of on other grounds by
State v. Smith, 159 Wash.2d 778, 786-87 (Wash. 2007). In Smith the court clarified that the three
definitions of assault were not alternative ways to commit an assault. The criminal assault statutes,
however, do constitute alternative means of committing assault.
227
WASH.REV.CODE §26.50.010(1)(a) (2008).
228
Id.(emphasis added).
229
Id. at § 26.50.010(2) (emphasis added).
230
Id. at § 26.50.010(3) (“Factors that the court may consider in making the determination of
whether there is a social relationship of a romantic nature include: (a) the length of time the relationship
has existed; (b) the nature of the relationship; (c) the frequency of interaction between the parties.”).
231
See supra notes 179-84 and accompanying text.
232
WASH.REV.CODE §26.50.010(1)(c) (2008) (emphasis added).
233
They are dating in the first three books and get engaged in ECLIPSE. See supra text
accompanying note 2.
234
They get married in the final book. BREAKING DAWN, supra note 1.
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domestic violence under the stalking section —(c) above—of the domestic violence
statute because they are household members.
235
Even if Edward has not stalked Bella, his actions constitute domestic
violence in Washington because he caused Bella to suffer each of the specific acts
listed in the statute, though only one is necessary: physical harm, bodily injury,
assault, and infliction of fear of imminent harm, bodily injury, or assault. What’s
most disturbing about the examples that follow is that Bella’s character was
constructed not only to conflate fear with love as explored in the stalking section of
this Article, but worse, to conflate acts of violence with love and sex. This
conflation gives young impressionable teen readers the subliminal message that
love makes it acceptable to be battered, bruised, physically tortured, and in fear of
imminent physical harm. The following examples satisfy physical harm, bodily
injury, or assault,
236
within the meaning of the statute.
The acts of physical harm or fear of such harm range from Edward’s direct
physical constraint of Bella, to Edward’s acts of violence during sex, to further acts
of violence during childbirth to make Bella a vampire and “save” Bella, all because
he loves her. The most disturbing act of violence that causes Bella physical harm
and bodily injury is when Bella and Edward first have sex. Here is the description
of the aftermath:
Large purplish bruises were beginning to blossom across the pale skin of
my arm. My eyes followed the trail they made up to my shoulder, and then
down across my ribs. I pulled my hand free to poke at a discoloration on
my left forearm, watching it fade where I touched and then reappear. It
throbbed a little . . . .
I tried to remember this—to remember pain—but I couldn’t. I couldn’t
recall a moment when his hold had been too tight, his hands too hard
against me. I only remembered wanting him to hold me tighter, and being
pleased when he did.
237
. . . .
“And this is really nothing.” I brushed my fingers along my arm.
238
. . . .
I stared at my naked body in the full-length mirror behind the door. I’d
definitely had worse. There was a faint shadow across one of my
cheekbones, and my lips were a little swollen, but other than that, my face
was fine. The rest of me was decorated with patches of blue and purple. I
concentrated on the bruises that would be the hardest to hide – my arms
and my shoulders. They weren’t so bad. My skin marked up easily. By
235
WASH.REV.CODE ANN.§ 26.50.010(2) (West 2008).
236
See supra note 226 and accompanying text.
237
BREAKING DAWN, supra note 1, at 89.
238
Id. at 91.
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the time a bruise showed I’d usually forgotten how I’d come by it. Of
course, these were just developing. I’d look even worse tomorrow.
239
There is no question that Bella suffered physical harm and bodily injury, and
Edward had inflicted these injuries upon her during sex, indeed, the first time Bella
has sex. This incident in itself is an act of domestic violence. The most troubling
aspect of this scene is that Bella deemphasizes her injuries. Moreover, she claims
only to remember pleasure, not pain, from Edward’s force. In fact, she wanted him
to hold her tighter. Bella, a mere teen herself and a heroine to many young teen
readers, not only excuses violence because she loves Edward but indeed finds the
violence romantic. It is inexplicable why the author decided to include violence,
physical harm, and bodily injury to be an integral part of Bella’s first loving sexual
experience. Nothing could possibly be gained for a young reader to see an easily
relatable heroine in love find bliss in her swollen lips and large bruises all over her
body—injuries that will look worse in the next several days—but who remembers
only pleasure in receiving them. This kind of violence against a young woman is
completely unwarranted in any love story.
When Edward injects Bella with venom to make her a vampire, Bella thinks:
I could remember why I shouldn’t scream. I could remember the reason
why I’d committed to enduring this unendurable agony. I could remember
that, though it felt impossible now, there was something that might be
worth the torture . . . To anyone watching me, there would be no change.
But for me, as I struggled to keep the screams and thrashing locked up
inside my body, where they couldn’t hurt anyone else . . . I had just enough
strength to lie there unmoving while I was charred alive.
240
Edward’s violence conveys dangerous messages to teenage girls, and it is
hard to imagine anything, even love or becoming a vampire in the name of love,
that would justify “charring a woman alive.” The physical harm and agony Bella
experiences simply have no place in a fairytale love story.
Even if the “fantasy fan” laughs at or dismisses the idea that there is domestic
violence in Twilight, it is indisputable that the story intimates, even if
subconsciously, that physical harm is acceptable in a loving relationship,
particularly if your lover is a strong, powerful protector. It is difficult for a young,
inexperienced teen to separate the harm from the fantasy and excitement when the
harm is presented as integral to the excitement and love itself. In contrast, an
experienced adult may find it natural to separate the acceptable fantasy from the
unacceptable violence—again, even laughing at the thought of any conceivable
legal actions being embedded among the “fun”—while a young, impressible teen—
indeed Bella herself—often lacks capability to do so. She may even be unaware
that messages about accepting violence are lurking underneath the excitement.
239
Id.at 95-96.
240
Id.at 378-79.
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The “fantasy” aspects of vampire teeth, venom, and violence are not the only
physical harm, assault, or fear Bella experiences. Throughout the saga, in her
everyday non-fantasy existence, Bella accepts as perfectly appropriate, if not
normal, numerous instances of fear, physical harm, and constraint, all inflicted by
Edward. In Bella’s own words throughout the series, she describes some of them:
“His arm created an inescapable snare around my waist.”
241
“[M]y arms, pinned
beneath Edward’s . . . had become restraints,
242
and “Edward pulled me back
again, his arms restraining instead of defending.”
243
Some of the examples that
have already been explored in the context of stalking,
244
also illustrate physical
harm and assault
245
as well:
He was grabbing a fistful of my jacket in one hand . . . . He was towing me
toward his car now, pulling me by my jacket. It was all I could do to keep
from falling backward. He’d probably just drag me along if I did
246
. . . . I
staggered along sideways across the wet sidewalk until we reached . . .
[his] Volvo. Then he finally freed me – I stumbled against the passenger
door. “You are so pushy!” I grumbled . . . “I am perfectly capable of
driving myself home!” “Get in, Bella.” I didn’t answer. I was mentally
calculating my chances of reaching the truck before he could catch me. I
had to admit, they weren’t good. “I’ll just drag you back,” he
threatened.
247
Edward causes Bella physical harm when he grabs her jacket, pulls her,
causes her to stagger sideways across a wet sidewalk, and releases her with enough
force to thrust her against the car door. Edward was assaulting Bella within the
meaning of the domestic violence statute because he threatened to drag her back to
his car, if she tried to leave and get to her own vehicle. This certainly put Bella in
apprehension of harm, as she realized that if she tried to reach her truck Edward
would only drag her back again. Here, Bella is expressing her apprehension of
harm in being dragged around.
In another familiar incident:
‘As if you could fight me off,’ he said gently. I sat without moving, more
frightened of him than I had ever been. I’d never seen him so completely
freed of that carefully cultivated façade. He’d never been less human . . .
or more beautiful. Face ashen, eyes wide, I sat like a bird locked in the
eyes of a snake. . . . “Don’t be afraid,” he murmured, his velvet voice
241
TWILIGHT, supra note 2, at 284.
242
ECPLISE, supra note 2, at 83-84.
243
NEW MOON, supra note 2, at 561.
244
See supra text accompanying notes 218-21.
245
Using the definition of assault that provides putting another in apprehension of harm, whether or
not the actor actually intends to inflict or is incapable of inflicting harm. 11
Wash. Prac., Pattern Jury
Instr. Crim.
WPIC 35.50 (3d Ed). See also supra note 226 and accompanying text.
246
TWILIGHT, supra note 2, at 103.
247
Id. at 104.
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unintentionally seductive. “I promise . . .” He hesitated. “I swear not to
hurt you.” He seemed more concerned with convincing himself than me.
“Don’t be afraid,” he whispered . . . “Please forgive me,” he said formally.
“I can control myself. You caught me off guard. But I’m on my best
behavior now.” He waited, but I still couldn’t speak. “I’m not thirsty
today, honestly.” He winked.
248
Bella is frightened and apprehensive of harm, in fact, appearing more
frightened of Edward than she had ever been. In addition to the assault itself, there
is another disturbing element in this scene: Edward’s apology. “‘Please forgive
me,’ he said formally. ‘I can control myself. You caught me off guard. But I’m on
my best behavior now.’”
249
This is reminiscent of the cycle of violence that
typifies situations where the actor who has engaged in the violence apologizes, the
victim is convinced that the perpetrator will behave, and it starts all over again.
250
While there is nothing to suggest a cycle of domestic violence in Twilight series,
one element of such a cycle is present: the message to the young teen reader that it
is acceptable for a romantic partner to harm you or instill the fear of harm, if you
love him and if he apologizes.
The role of joking and flirting also sends disconcerting messages. Edward’s
playfulness: “As if you could fight me off,”
251
and his “wink”
252
certainly cannot
mean that Edward’s desire and ability to kill Bella are some kind of joke. Rather,
the joking and flirting are themselves almost acts of aggression, and it is much
more likely such light-heartedness is to soften the fear he knows he instilled in
Bella and show his power over her. That Bella should see this as playful augments
the dangerous message that it is fine to ignore fear, no matter how real, if the one
inflicting the fear loves you, jokes with you, and you love him.
In fact, it is even justifiable to let the one who loves you kill you, if it is in the
name of love. According to Bella: “When you loved the one who was killing you,
it left you no options. How could you run, how could you fight, when doing so
would hurt that beloved one? If your life was all you had to give your beloved,
how could you not give it? If it was someone you truly loved?”
253
Giving one’s
life for a loved one may be valiant under some circumstances, but willingly giving
your love the power to “kill you,” for no other reason is not heroic. Bella’s
thinking makes it clear that she here is conflating love and violence. Throughout
248
Id. at 264-65.
249
Id.
250
See generally ELIN STEBBINS WALDAL,TORNADO WARNING:AMEMOIR OF TEEN DATING
VIOLENCE AND ITS EFFECT ON A WOMAN’S LIFE (2011). In Twilight there is no indication that there is
the kind of cycle of violence that occurs in many domestic situations, but what does exist here is the
apology for harmful behavior and a promise to behave, and the victim thereby believing that it’s okay
repeatedly to take the physical harm if there is love an apology thereafter. See also Jacob confronting
Bella about teen dating and violence, infra text and accompanying notes 260-62.
251
TWILIGHT, supra note 2, at 264.
252
Id. at 265.
253
BREAKING DAWN, supra note 1, at 1-2.
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the novels, she experiences casual acts of physical harm and assault, and she seems
unaware this conduct is not “normal,” in a loving relationship. The culmination of
these violent acts and her casual acceptance of them are evidenced by her belief
that she has “no [other] options” but to let her beloved kill her to show her love.
Young readers, enamored with Twilight, soak up all this justifiable violence.
In addition to meeting the statutory requirements of acts of physical harm,
bodily injury, or assault, Edward also inflicts fear of imminent physical harm
254
upon Bella, another act, when between household members, will qualify as an act
of domestic violence.
255
Edward acknowledges: “I’m the world’s best predator,
aren’t I?”
256
Again, Edward reminds Bella, “The very worst was feeling . . .
knowing that I couldn’t stop. Believing that I was going to kill you myself.”
257
Bella fears Edward: “If I ever feared death before in his presence, it was nothing
compared to how I felt now.”
258
Again, Bella is afraid of Edward, “When I could
no longer bear the violent energy radiating out of him, I quietly left the room . . . I
couldn’t talk to this icy, focused Edward, who honestly frightened me a little.”
259
These are all instances in which Bella feels fear of imminent harm.
Other characters in the series corroborate the fear that Edward instills. Even
the housekeeper at the Cullens’ island house knows Bella should be afraid. She
believes Edward will kill Bella. Edward translates for Bella: “She’s [the
housekeeper] insisting on leaving the food she brought . . . It’s an excuse—she
wants to make sure I haven’t killed you yet.”
260
Likewise, Jacob outwardly
expresses concern to Bella how controlling Edward is. Specifically, Jacob raises
the issue of teen dating violence and control, after he asked Bella to a bonfire party,
and Bella tells him she must first ask Edward’s permission: “‘I’ll ask,’ “ I said
doubtfully . . . ‘Is he your warden now, too? You know, I saw this story on the
news last week about controlling, abusive teenage relationships and–’ ‘Okay!’ I
cut him off . . . He grinned. ‘Bye, Bells. Be sure you ask permission.’”
261
Bella
does not want to hear Jacob’s concerns, and she cuts him off. Perhaps there is a
part of Bella that knows or should know that Edward is cutting her off from
relationships with others, but she may fear imminent physical harm if she did not
submit to his control.
262
254
WASH.REV.CODE § 26.50.010(1) (2008).
255
Id. at § 26.50.010(2).
256
TWILIGHT, supra note 2, at 263.
257
Id. at 472.
258
Id. at 280.
259
BREAKING DAWN, supra note 1, at 130-31. As with the fear Bella felt with respect to stalking,
here too, sometimes Bella knows she should be afraid but she’s not because she loves Edward; see supra
note 210.
260
BREAKING DAWN, supra note 1, at 134.
261
ECPLISE, supra note 2, at 224.
262
The fact that Meyer included this particular scene with Jacob confronting Bella about teen
violence is intriguing. Meyer certainly seemed to be recognizing that there may be too much violence
and abusiveness in teen relationships generally; but, is she also recognizing that there is too much
violence in her own story? Or at least that commentators might criticize Twilight as going too far in this
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C. Bella Is Surrounded by Other Acts of Domestic Violence
Besides Edward and Bella, another relationship in the Twilight series
highlights physical violence between mates, resulting in severe bodily injury. The
relationship between the werewolf Sam
263
and his human fiancée Emily
264
also
includes physical harm and is presented in a way that makes it justifiable because it
is overlain with love. Sam is a part of Jacob’s pack
265
and lives with Emily.
266
They started dating after he turned into a werewolf because he imprinted on her.
Imprinting is the process whereby werewolves choose their soul mate—a decision
over which the soul mate has no choice.
267
Sam and Emily’s home is described as
a very cheerful: bright kitchen, overflowing wild flowers in a blue and white china
pitcher on the table, and Sam full of affection for Emily when he arrives home.
268
Moreover, Emily takes care of and cooks for Sam and sometimes the other wolves
in the pack.
269
She believes they are her family.
270
However, there is a dark side:
the entire side of Emily’s face is permanently scarred.
271
Jacob tells Bella that although it was reported that Emily was mauled by a
bear, the truth is that Sam caused her injuries.
272
Jacob explains, “Sam lost control
of his temper for just one second . . . and she was standing too close. And now
there’s nothing he can ever do to put it right again. I hear his thoughts—I know
what it feels like.”
273
Edward warns Bella. “Werewolves are unstable.
Sometimes, the people near them get hurt. Sometimes they get killed.’ I wanted to
deny it, but another image slowed my rebuttal. I saw in my head the once beautiful
face of Emily Young, now marred by a trio of dark scars that dragged down the
corner of her right eye and left her mouth warped forever into a lopsided scowl.”
274
Jacob tells Bella: “‘You know how she got hurt?’ ‘Yeah.’ The story in Forks was
that she was mauled by a bear, but I was in on the secret . . . . ‘Well, weirdly
enough, that was sort of how they resolved things. Sam was so horrified, so
way? Or does Meyer fail to see the undue violence in her own story and this exchange represents an
attempt to make a significant social commentary? From the perspective of telling the Twilight “story”
itself, this exchange appears to be inessential. One likely purpose in including this particular exchange
is that Meyer may indeed have been anticipating criticism about the violence in Twilight and is seeking
to detract from it in some way.
263
SeeNEW MOON, supra note 2, at 324.
264
See id. at 329.
265
Seeid. at 324.
266
Seeid.at 329-30.
267
See ECPLISE, supra note 2, at 122-23.
268
NEW MOON, supra note 2, at 333.
269
Id. at 328. (Embry says, “Let’s go see Emily. You know she’ll have food waiting.”); Id. at
331.(Emily does have food waiting).
270
Id. at 338. (“Her expression clearly stated that this was her family.”); see also id.at 332 (Embry
takes more food; Emily tells him, “Save some for your brothers”).
271
Id. at 331, 333 (scars down arm and hand, too).
272
Id. at 340 (Charlie tells Bella Emily was mauled by a bear); Id at 345 (Jacob implies Sam
snapped on Emily, causing her scars).
273
Id. at 345.
274
ECPLISE, supra note 2, at 30.
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sickened by himself, so full of hate for what he’d done . . . He was shattered . . .
Then, somehow, she was the one comforting him, and after that.’”
275
Sam’s mauling Emily is certainly domestic violence. The legal elements are
satisfied: there is a household relationship, and there has clearly been bodily injury.
But even more disturbing than the existence of a legal cause of action is the
repeated message that love and apologies mitigate physical violence. Upon
arriving home, Sam kisses Emily, taking her face in his hands; he kisses the dark
scars on the right side of her face before her lips;
276
he appears to dote on her;
277
ostensibly apologizing and seeking forgiveness. Emily feels like she belongs to the
wolves; they are her family;
278
she takes care of them.
279
The reader is told that
Sam’s life-shattering overwhelming remorse and love somehow justify Emily’s
injuries. Indeed, in a paradoxical reversal, Emily comforts Sam. Worse yet, it
seems that Jacob feels sorry for Sam. Shockingly, Jacob intimates that Emily was
in part at fault because she was too close.
280
Of course, Jacob is the one to explain
all this to Bella, presenting the same message.
Irrespective of the “fantasy” of werewolves, a young reader might receive
disconcerting messages about power, control, and violence in relationships, and
some of these young readers alas, maybe exploring romantic relationships for the
first time. “Imprinting” is a one-sided “love at first sight” concept, which
unquestionably conflates love with complete control and ownership of the other
person. The “imprinting” occurrences within Twilight are always by a man upon a
woman, and it is the woman who is overpowered and has no choice. Moreover, in
Twilight, the role of imprinting generally, and its role in Sam and Emily’s sad
history more specifically, have no relevance whatsoever in telling Edward and
Bella’s love story. Perhaps Emily reminds young readers that physical appearance
should not be important. But there was no reason to teach this valuable lesson
through acts of violence and control. Indeed this suggested theme is muted when
considered in conjunction with Bella’s choice of Edward over Jacob,
281
Edward
being the better looking and more glittering selection. The more notable feature of
Emily and Sam’s relationship is the act of violence against a woman who is scarred
at the hands of the boyfriend she loves. Emily’s tragic story confirms the
message—already loud and clear from Bella and Edward’s relationship—that
physical violence and injury are acceptable and completely justified if the one
inflicting harm “loves” you. Imprinting, as well as Sam and Emily’s tale, serves no
possible purpose in the Twilight saga but to set a terrible example for young,
275
Id. at 123-24.
276
NEW MOON, supra note 2, at 333.
277
Id. at 335.
278
See supra text accompanying notes 269-70.
279
NEW MOON, supra note 2, at 350.
280
See NEW MOON, supra note 2, at 345 (“You’ve seen Emily. Sam lost control of his temper for
just one second . . . and she was standing too close.”).
281
Seeinfra Part V.B.1.
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inexperienced women readers embarking on their own journeys of self-discovery as
to what is acceptable when it comes to love.
Thus, damaging examples of and messages about domestic violence fill
Twilight. Young fans are smart enough to recognize Twilight is a fantasy, and no
vampires will sweep them off their feet, marry them, transform them, and take
them into a world of secrecy, glamour, and excitement. But again Bella and
Edward’s relationship develops in a very real, typical small town high school, with
typical high school students, facing typical teenage problems, including all the
social and dating issues that teens typically face. It is in that context that Bella
makes her decisions about giving up her humanity, being with Edward, and most
importantly permitting him to control and isolate, scare her, and even physically
harm her, in the name of love. Certainly readers can separate the story’s fantasy
from life’s reality; but it is less likely that young readers who see themselves in
Bella or in Edward, at a place in their lives very much like Bella and Edward’s, will
be able to recognize the danger posed by accepting physical violence and injury as
part of a relationship. Intended or not, the attitudes presented about isolation,
control, physical violence and bodily injury are ones which may subliminally veer
young readers into abusive or physically violent relationships. By conflating love
and sex with pain, injury and violence, the reader comes to believe that these are all
tolerable, when in the name of love.
V.
C
ONSEQUENCES OF TWILIGHT AND THE REMAKING OF BELLA
A. Consequences for the Reader
Bella may have been more victim than heroine. By falling prey to Edward’s
beauty, smell, voice, and charm, Bella is manipulated and allured into an
irresistible world that magically makes her perfect and gives her purpose and
identity. Bella believed her journey to Edward’s world was driven by only true
love. This Article has shown, however, it is likely a great deal more than “love”
operating upon her, including Bella’s life circumstances as the only child of
divorced parents bereft of abilities to take care of her. Edward provided the care
and attention she never had, but it was inextricable from his control. From Bella’s
perspective she had found fairytale “love” with Edward, but it was conflated with
control, violence, and illegal acts too, all of which she could not discern.
Like Bella, the reader is manipulated by this “love story.” By hearing the
story in Bella’s own words, the reader is placed in Bella’s own shoes, seeing only
what she sees, hearing only what she hears, feeling only what she feels. And what
Bella sees, hears, and feels is relatable because it is all human. Indeed Bella is
human from the start of the story and remains so for most of Twilight. Thus,
Bella’s humanity and vulnerability become imbedded in the reader. Bella’s human
vulnerabilities resonate particularly with young girls and teen readers, when they
see themselves in Bella. When Bella faces extraordinary situations and makes
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ostensibly strong decisions, women readers believe they too can be strong. Hence,
Twilight appears to support young readers’ development.
Because the reader relates to Bella and “feels” what Bella feels throughout
the story, the reader too falls in love with the vampire world and like Bella, is
unaware of the influences working on Bella. The reader is pushed to romanticize
control and violence without recognizing the danger. Relishing the love story, the
reader believes Bella’s voice is confident and strong. But Bella has little, if any,
confidence or self-esteem during most of the story. As a result, Bella’s decisions
are not made from a position of sound, independent judgment. Instead, Bella
weaknesses are subsumed by the “love” she believes will eliminate her problems
and vulnerabilities. In actuality, Bella abandons herself for her man and his world.
She has not resolved anything on her own, discovered her own identity, or become
any more self-reliant than she was before. Like Bella, the reader is equally
overcome by “love” as seen through Bella’s eyes, and like Bella, the reader
entangles such “ love” with sex, control, and violence, believing that her own
vulnerabilities can similarly be eradicated, her problems solved, and her life
perfect, if only she can find a man like Edward to rescue her and love her eternally.
Bella’s weaknesses are subsumed not only by “love” as she sees it, but by
becoming more like her man. Her extraordinary powers come “from” him, and she
even becomes violent herself, as he has shown her. She derives her strength from
succumbing to her man and his entire world, its rules, and for the most part its
values. Only then does she become a “heroine” and, in fact, the most powerful
among them. While such ultimate woman power appears at first blush to be the
best feminist outcome, it is not as meaningful as it seems for Bella because her
power results from entangling love, sex, and violence when rescued by her man.
Under these circumstances, it can hardly be said that Bella’s strength and
power are really her own, and it is debatable at best whether Bella has realized her
own true identity, rather than merely fulfilling what Edward and his world have
molded her to be. Likewise it is uncertain whether Bella’s life decisions reflect
independence, or whether she has been completely dependent and reliant upon, as
well as controlled by, Edward in making critical life choices. Bella is problematic
as a role model, and her relationship with Edward sets a poor example for young
adults.
The Twilight series poses more danger than direction for young, naïve,
impressible readers. Lured into believing Bella is someone with whom to identify
and to emulate because she is strong and independent, the reader may – just like
Bella – conflate “love” with sex and violence, not merely as a reader but perhaps in
her own life too. Perhaps the reader will be completely unable to distinguish
control and violence from love. Perhaps the reader too will seek protection and
rescue, ultimately being defined by a man, rather than truly learning who she
herself is or can be. Perhaps the reader, too, will be unable to recognize when she
is failing to make independent, strong decisions and to realize that true love can co-
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exist with both self-reliance and independence. Perhaps the reader, too, will be a
victim.
B. Alternatives to Make Bella a More Deserving Heroine and Role Model
Without sacrificing the fun, fantasy, or love story, there are at least four
possible alternative ways—or any combination of them—that Twilight could have
been told. Each of these alternatives would give readers, especially young women,
stronger messages about independence, meaningful choices, and healthy
relationships. First, Bella could have chosen Jacob, instead of Edward. Second,
Edward could have been lured back into the human world by his love for Bella,
who is so strong and independent that he wants to give up the vampire world for
her and her world. Third, after Bella’s transformation is complete and she lives for
a while as a vampire, she could realize it was the wrong decision for her, and she
seeks to transform back. Fourth, keep Bella’s decision to become a vampire, but
with completely different circumstances that would reflect Bella’s development as
an independent woman, without control, violence or injury inflicted on her by a
man. With each of these alternatives, Bella could take a more deserving place as a
role model and perhaps even a heroine.
1. Bella Chooses Jacob
A decision to choose Jacob over Edward presents a healthier alternative for
Bella. This decision also sends healthier messages to the reader, including ones
that are far more appropriate in a 21
st
century world.
Jacob is first and foremost Bella’s best friend. He understands Bella and
gives her more space to be herself than Edward does.
282
As her friend, Jacob is
understanding and respectful of Bella, and he encourages her to decide who wants
to be.
283
Edward, contrarily, wants to keep her close, control her, lure her, and
ultimately define her by his world values. Indeed, it is Jacob who approaches Bella
about teen dating control and violence, when he is concerned that Bella needs to
ask “permission” from Edward to be with friends.
284
Perhaps this contrast is why
Bella simply cannot let go of her relationship with Jacob. She is drawn to him, his
true understanding of her, and she recognizes that she does love him. She is
blinded, however, by Edward’s magical world and cannot recognize Jacob gives
her greater freedom and respect.
282
Unlike Edward, Jacob does not try to control Bella. He does not even try to influence whom she
should be with on a daily basis, where she should go, what she should do, what she should wear, when
she can see her friends and family, or what she is allowed to tell them. Jacob does not even push Bella
to come around to see him on the reservation. In stark contrast to Edward, Jacob allows Bella the space
she needs to be her own person and make her own decisions.
283
Jacob even helps her pursue learning about motorcycles and ride them, even though,
unbeknownst to him, she is doing so to put herself in danger. See N
EW MOON,supranote 2 at 181-88.
284
See supra text accompanying notes 260-62.
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Unfortunately, by refusing to choose Jacob, Bella perpetuates the falsehood
that a friend, even a best friend, is not a “sexy” choice for a life partner because
friendship, to Bella, is neither romantic nor a priority in choosing a mate. Rather,
lust and romantic love exist separately from friendship. However, Bella’s
relationship with Jacob could have been romantic. A teen version of a “When
Harry Met Sally”
285
relationship could have been very romantic, and portray
friendship as an important value in a mate.
Further, Jacob and Bella’s relationship is more genuine than Bella’s
relationship with Edward. Jacob and Bella’s friendship lacks the veil of glamour,
money, luxury, and material possessions. An added benefit of choosing Jacob
would give a message to the reader about priorities in life. Sadly, in choosing
Edward, Bella chooses a life of luxury with a wealthy prince-of-sorts who, with the
snap-of-the-finger, provides expensive cars, mansions, designer clothes and more,
rather than a middle-class Native American, who lives on a reservation and is adept
at fixing vehicles. Jacob is simply without the material means that sweeps Bella off
her feet.
Edward and Jacob also have very different appearances. The author
describes Edward’s looks in great detail: Edward is handsome—sparkly, glittering,
and white, and he frequently takes Bella’s breath away. Jacob is dark-skinned, and
though Bella sees him as sort of beautiful, the focus on his looks is more on how
quickly he grows from a lanky teen into a muscular, strong young man. The
predominant description of his appearance is when he morphs into a werewolf, and
as such, Jacob’s supernatural appearance is not an attractive one. Rather, the
wolves are hairy and scary-looking, threatening creatures, from whom most people
would flee immediately. In addition, after Jacob morphs into a werewolf, his
clothes are left in a mess—visibly tattered and ruined. In contrast, other than the
unusual color of his eyes, Edward remains consistently gorgeous throughout,
whether he is revealing his vampire powers or merely a teenager in biology class.
His looks and magnetism simply do not change. Edward-the-vampire and Edward-
the-teenager are blurred, whereas Jacob the Native American friend and Jacob the
werewolf are separated, neither of which is irresistible, as is Edward.
Further, Jacob is not created as a viable lover for Bella because his world and
activities are outside of Bella’s life. Edward is fully integrated into Bella’s day-to-
day teenage life, but Jacob’s world is separate from Bella’s. He lives on a
reservation outside of Bella’s town, he goes to a different school, and he does not
participate in any of her daily life activities. She must seek him out and often travel
to see him. While Edward’s home in the forest is also not nearby, he nevertheless
is with her on a daily basis. All this makes it quite easy to manipulate both Bella
and the reader because with Edward, Bella cannot distinguish the beautiful boy
from the beautiful creature who can provide her everything and who has a
285
WHEN HARRY MET SALLY (MGM 1989).
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continuous role in her life. By muddling gorgeous Edward-the-vampire with
gorgeous Edward-the-teenager in her high school every day, the reader is lulled
into thinking Edward is the right decision.
Thus, Meyer emphasizes and glamorizes things that should be given less
priority. Even more poignantly, by crafting Edward and Jacob so differently in
their looks, their family backgrounds, and their socioeconomic positions, Meyer
has—even if inadvertently—engaged in both stereotyping and a hint of
discrimination as well: Edward the attractive, white, privileged male; Jacob a dark-
skinned, Native American with far less wealth and privilege and with less emphasis
by the author as to his looks and attractiveness to Bella. To the objective reader,
these distinctions are indeed noticeable; to “Twihards”, they are likely unnoticed.
Choosing Jacob would allow Bella more freedom, not just in her romantic
relationship, but generally. She would be able to stay in her own community, near
her family and friends, and attend college if she wanted, or otherwise discover and
establish her own interests and identity. She could still enjoy the excitement of the
supernatural through the werewolves—minus any control and imprinting, of
course—and their quest to protect the people in the community. Perhaps she might
even somehow discover that she has ancestral roots in their Native American
community and that she too possesses power to morph or has some other
supernatural powers. She might even have such great powers that she becomes the
leader of the pack and the first woman ever to do so. The possibilities are endless,
and by choosing Jacob, Bella would be with someone who understands her and
whose love would give her the freedom to discover herself, rather than define her.
2. Edward Is Lured Into Bella’s Human World.
Edward simply cannot fight the attraction he has to Bella. Though he has
committed himself to a life without human blood, the reader knows that his
attraction to Bella tests this commitment. To fight his urges, he flees Forks, but
returns; he cannot help himself or be without her. Bella is likewise overpoweringly
attracted to Edward and wants as well to be with him at any cost.
So why does it have to be Bella, the woman, who relinquishes life as she
knows it and risks being charred alive to live eternally in Edward’s world? Why
not find a way for Edward to give up his life, become human again and live in her
world? They would not live eternally but their belief in an afterlife would certainly
mean they would be together forever.
Here’s how it would look. Instead of making Bella weak with no interests,
purpose, or passion, other than for Edward, Bella could be a woman who is very
strong and independent and who possesses great interest and skill in something to
which she wants to devote her human life. Perhaps it would be as a writer—she
loves the classics—or perhaps as some kind of scientist or doctor. She would no
longer squeal and squirm from the sight of blood but rather possess a life-long
passion to science and for helping others. In fact, her passion could be so strong
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that she refuses to give it up; she wants to go to college, to medical school and save
lives, completely as a human. She does not want to be like Carlisle, a skilled
doctor who has to constantly fight his urge to kill his patients.
But because Carlisle is a brilliant doctor, together with Bella and the world of
fiction, they just might combine to find a way to make Edward human again and
have him re-enter the human world. The process of looking for such a solution and
the resulting fight with the Volturi would maintain the fantasy and climactic battle
in Breaking Dawn. Moreover, besides the process of finding a way to make
Edward human, the journey Edward would undertake to make this decision
certainly would be very personal and indeed could be a romantic part of the story.
With such a plot, Bella does not have to be a child who lacks direction from
her parents; she does not have to be isolated on the fringes of the human world with
no friends or desire to socialize as normal teens do. She does not have to be
awkward, clumsy, or accident-prone. She would not be a character in need of
protection or rescue. Nevertheless, like many other humans, she would be seeking
true love, a life-partner and, at the same time, fulfilling her own goals. With this
plot, both Bella and Edward would be equally strong characters. The “love story”
or fantasy would not have to suffer, but Bella would be a more deserving role
model without the foibles that make her a perfect victim for control and violence.
3. Bella Has Become A Vampire But Realizes The Decision To Do So Was Not
Her Own And Wants To Become Human Again.
In this alternative, Bella, instead of Edward, seeks to transform back into a
human. After living for a while as a vampire, Bella could realize who she has
become was completely defined by Edward, the vampire society, and the power
they exercised over her. She may feel isolated and alone, and she yearns for her
human world, her human family, her human relationships, and her human foibles,
too. She longs for a second chance in the human world to find who she is or could
have been.
This alternative would bring its own difficulty. At home, Bella’s longing
would likely cause problems in her relationship with Edward and the other Cullens.
Though she may love Edward, she needs to return to her prior life and find out who
she is or could have been as a human, without Edward’s influence. The Cullens’
love for Bella bring them ultimately to understand Bella’s need to discover herself,
and Carlisle could help Bella find a way to transform back. Though it may be
difficult for Bella and Edward to raise their child when Bella returns to being
human, Bella could insist on defining herself. Fortunately, because Renesmee is
half-human, she can exist in both worlds, and Bella and Edward could arrange for
her to be with each of them.
This alternative could be complicated further if the Volturi find out that Bella
will be raising the half–vampire child in the “human world, “ even if only part–
time. This revelation could nevertheless cause a war among the vampires. Hence,
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this alternative can be told with just as much fantasy, fun, drama, and supernatural
powers as the original story, but without exerting control or violence over Bella and
allowing her to make decisions from a position of strength and with self-esteem of
her own.
4. Bella Chooses Edward, Becomes A Vampire, And Lives Happily Ever After But
She Has Different Life Circumstances, And There Is No Control Or Violence.
The same story can be told without making Bella a damsel-in-distress in
desperate need of protection and rescue. The following elements of the story could
be eliminated or tempered: Bella does not have to come from parents who cannot
care for her. Bella does not have to be isolated, awkward, clumsy, lack friends, and
social skills. Bella does not have to be frequently injured. Bella does not have to
be unable to dance or play sports. She does not have to be physically plain until
transformed by magic. She does not have to be consumed constantly with guilt and
self-deprecation. She does not have to be devoid of all interests in life except being
with Edward. Jacob does not have to be so remote and inaccessible. A relationship
with Jacob should be explored more and not necessarily dismissed. Edward does
not have to be so physically threatening and harmful to Bella. Edward does not
have to be so violent during sex so that Bella is bruised, battered, swollen, and
certainly Bella does not have to take pleasure in the pain or relish in the violence.
None of these pieces were critical to the story, but all were critical to silent,
harmful messages sent to young women readers who, like Bella, are seeking to
discover their own confidence, self-worth, identity, and voice.
VI.
C
ONCLUSION
Economic reality has shown us that when it comes to love, tradition sells. An
old-fashioned love story such as Twilight, in which women have no more power to
determine their identity than they did two centuries ago, has been proven to bring
millions of dollars to the booksellers, to the box office, and to the author.
However, if written by an inspired and passionate author such as Stephenie Meyer,
certainly a romantic and enticing love story fantasy could sell, even if devoid of the
elements of control, violence, illegal acts, and stereotyping that pervade Twilight;
certainly a romantic and enticing love story can be written to include healthy
messages for young women about self-discovery, independence, self-reliance, and
the shaping of their own lives, without encouraging them to define themselves by
the men who “love” them; and certainly a romantic and enticing love story could
include friendship between mates and allow the co-existence of true love with
female independence.
Stephenie Meyer indeed believes that Twilight and Bella Swan provide
young readers with guidance and healthy role modeling about finding themselves
and relationships. This Article seriously questions whether she has actually
achieved those goals and suggests that albeit inadvertently, Bella Swan’s character
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and decisions pose more disadvantage than benefit to the millions of teen readers
who unfortunately mistake Bella as a heroine.
