Vampires Love Differently to Humans: What does Bella Teach Us about (Un)Orthodox Love in The Twilight Series?

Abstract

The Twilight Series has become an international phenomenon, inspiring a loyal army of predominantly female fans, from tweens to their mothers. However, it remains uncertain how these readers interact with, or absorb, the lessons offered within the story. The narrative of Bella and Edward's love story has been previously dissected within a feminist frame looking at the way in which Bella conforms to a patriarchal feminine role. However, the ways in which varying ideals and purposes of love act to create Bella's character and role have not yet been fully explored. This article explores three broad themes regarding the lessons Bella teaches about love within The Twilight Series. These three themes are: 1) Love is passive; 2) Love is everything; and, 3) Love is enhanced by anger, pain and violence. These lessons are dissected alongside other pop-cultural and literary sources that have inspired the 'Twilight' narrative, including 'Romeo and Juliet' and 'Wuthering Heights'. In this way, Bella's lessons are able to be deconstructed in terms of a reader's absorption or interaction with the text. Are Bella's lessons about love realistic for young women today or do they speak to a different time and place?