I know it's cool to hate on Twilight, but to be honest, I didn't really hate it. Objectively it is a bad book, nobody can deny that. Its riddled with Mary Sues and Gary Stus, the vampiric rules are ridiculous, the plot is fairly non-existent, the characters tend to come off as the opposite of what Meyer intended, and it's riddled with unfortunate implications.
However, Twilight is, admittedly, an entertaining read. (Not so much an entertaining movie.) Somehow, Meyer managed to make it work, and I'll give her that much.
No, whom I really hate is Stephenie Meyer.
It's no secret Bella looks like her. Meyer has stated her opinion that she feels Bella is just like all teenage girls.
Meyer expected to get full control over casting. At least she didn't throw a fit when she didn't get her way. Unlike when her book, Twilight from Edward's view, was leaked part-way through writing. She threw the biggest temper tantrum I've seen, and said she was not going to write the book. I've always suspected she would pick it up again after the movies. Outside of the Midnight Sun fit, Meyer has been quite horrible to her fans.
Finally, when I look at the 'big three' authors out there, Smeyer is the one with the most houses, and the least money donated to charity. This isn't a reason to hate her, but it is something I felt was worth pointing out.
Meyer liked to misuse words to make herself seem smarter, something she has become infamous for. There is something else about Meyer that people rarely talk about: her most interesting characters are the side characters.
Rosalie was raped on her wedding night, and after getting turned into a vampire she went on a roaring rampage of revenge. Alice got stuck in a mental hospital for years. Leah is the only female werewolf. Emily, the pack leader's wife, is implied to have a very conflicted emotional state.
But we're stuck with bland and angst.
Now, I want to discuss unfortunate implications in her work.
Feminism: I don't mind having a character or two be submissive, or feminine. Portraying isn't the same as advocating. However, to see how Meyer feels about women's role in life, look no further than Leah. Leah is the ONLY female werewolf. She is barren, and this is treated as the worst thing possible. She is also treated as a total bitch for being unhappy her ex-boyfriend left her for no reason, and now she's stuck around him.
Relationships:
Oh my God, where to start.
Edward is a stalker. I know this isn't a new argument. Just look at Midnight Sun--Twilight from his point of view--and you'll find out he actually oiled her window to make it not creak when he came in. This was alluded to in Twilight, where she mentions it's odd that sound isn't made anymore, but it is made much more explicit in Midnight Sun. He is also controlling. In Eclipse, he literally takes her engine out of her car so she can't go visit her friends.
Bella is throwing her entire life away for a guy. This is lampshaded frequently, but usually brushed off as: "Whatever. They just DON'T UNDERSTAND US."
When it comes to the other side of the 'love triangle' Jacob was at least willing to accept no. Well, until Eclipse, when he forces himself upon her.
Now that I've talked about Jacob, I have to mention the idea of imprinting. Now, again, I'm not going to talk too much about the pedophilia aspect. Instead, what I want to talk about is the pack leader and his wife. The pack leader imprints on his wife, and leaves Leah. The wife pretty much had no choice in the relationship, which is compounded when she gets horrifically scarred when he transforms in front of her--which, in a more deliberate author's book, could very well have been a metaphor for abuse. It's clear she feels too ugly to leave him, even if she wanted to. She exudes sadness in every scene she's in. But she's quickly brushed aside, and forgotten about.
I don't mind her religious beliefs creeping into her work; it happens to the best of writers, even if the birth scene in Breaking Dawn seems horrifically out-of-place.
Ok, so I've dissected Twilight. I like to think I have actually added something to the conversation. Let me just finish some points, using The Host as reference material.
Meyer creates a rather interesting idea, but refuses to think it through. Two characters in one body, one being an alien, the other struggling not to fade away. The borderline-apocalypse always appeals to me. Meyer tried to market it as: "Science fiction for people who don't like science fiction." Fair enough, when you consider those who like science fiction wouldn't like this book.
The biggest piece of unfortunate implications here adds onto the relationships part of Twilight. Wanda, the alien, was abused by the guy she ends up with by the end of the book. We are expected to brush that off, like most of the unfortunate implications. Why?
TRU WUV
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