"It's A Super-Duper Complex Mormon Love Story."
I spent a good 30 minutes last night at my catch-up dinner with Frogger and Bail explaining the intricacies of the story of the Twilight series to them.
They have never read the series. And Bail says she has only seen the first movie. They think me (probably) crazy for being into the series. So I felt the need to explain why I find the series fascinating.
And on that note... I should probably explain it to you, lest you think I am crazy too.
See, when I pick up a book to read, the first thing I do is read the synopsis of the story. I immediately read the bio of the author after that. I find the backgrounds of authors to be a HUGE part (obviously) of the stories they write. (This is why I will never read a story written by Lauren Conrad. And she's written plenty of them. But I find her dull and boring. Snooki too.)
When I first heard about the Twilight series three years ago, it was when I hired Adventurous Kate to work for me at a travel search company I was at. She mentioned that she had read the series and was "shocked" by some of the story line. So I researched the author (Stephanie Meyer) and learned that she lived in Arizona (which is where I grew up) and was a devout Mormon.
That last part was what drew me in... "A vampire love story written by a Mormon? I have GOT to read her take on romance!"
A few pages into the first book, I had determined two overall things:
I went on to explain the fourth book in the series, Breaking Dawn. Frogger and Bail's mouths dropped when I told them what happens, how it happens... And how the rules are played in the vampire world of Stephanie Meyer.
Bail came to the conclusion that SOMEONE needs to teach a feminist literature class and make reading the entire Twilight series MANDATORY. There is too much that goes on in the series, from the background of the writer and the characters in the story, that makes it a great topic of discussion.
Truly.
I love this series. But for so much more than the word written on the pages.
They have never read the series. And Bail says she has only seen the first movie. They think me (probably) crazy for being into the series. So I felt the need to explain why I find the series fascinating.
And on that note... I should probably explain it to you, lest you think I am crazy too.
See, when I pick up a book to read, the first thing I do is read the synopsis of the story. I immediately read the bio of the author after that. I find the backgrounds of authors to be a HUGE part (obviously) of the stories they write. (This is why I will never read a story written by Lauren Conrad. And she's written plenty of them. But I find her dull and boring. Snooki too.)
When I first heard about the Twilight series three years ago, it was when I hired Adventurous Kate to work for me at a travel search company I was at. She mentioned that she had read the series and was "shocked" by some of the story line. So I researched the author (Stephanie Meyer) and learned that she lived in Arizona (which is where I grew up) and was a devout Mormon.
That last part was what drew me in... "A vampire love story written by a Mormon? I have GOT to read her take on romance!"
A few pages into the first book, I had determined two overall things:
- The writing itself wasn't the greatest. The lines were a bit cheesy. The characters were a little bit psycho and obsessed (especially when you get into book two and Jacob the werewolf makes a hard play for Bella.) Bella is a weak character but is made interesting because of the other characters. There is no swearing. There is no sex, despite the great passionate love. It's bad. Just bad. But... So good!
- I was hooked and would have to read the entire series. Romance story-telling from a Mormon who probably grew up well-behaved, was heavily involved in her church, is a good mother of boys... I am interested in the psychology of HER and how it comes out in her writing!!!
I went on to explain the fourth book in the series, Breaking Dawn. Frogger and Bail's mouths dropped when I told them what happens, how it happens... And how the rules are played in the vampire world of Stephanie Meyer.
Bail came to the conclusion that SOMEONE needs to teach a feminist literature class and make reading the entire Twilight series MANDATORY. There is too much that goes on in the series, from the background of the writer and the characters in the story, that makes it a great topic of discussion.
Truly.
I love this series. But for so much more than the word written on the pages.
Comments
And yes. The analysis behind Stephanie Meyer would be FASCINATING to learn more about.
I have friends who can't read a book with misplaced modifiers and too many adverbs, so these books aren't for them. But myself, I'm willing to overlook a lot of purple prose if the plot is gripping. Loved the Twilight Books.
My only complaint is that at the end, I don't think the Big Baddies were dealt with in a final enough way. I would've wanted an additional book to have one more big showdown.
So, growing up in Arizona, I was friends with a lot of people who were Mormons.
They were always very devout in their religion... Going to church each week. Participating in youth activities. Never causing problems. FOllowing the rules and being good citizens... Things they - I assume - were encouraged to be and do because the Mormon religion placed importance on them. Part of that, from what I saw, was that the Mormon kids I mostly knew tended to be very well behaved and the least likely to cause problems. (For the most part.) And the regard they held for things like love and romance seemed to be very idealistic... You meet someone. You love them with all your heart. Things work out. You get married.
The kids I grew up with, like myself, who were not Mormon often had a more cynical approach to romance. The type of romance Stephanie Meyer writes about between the two main characters is one that doesn't seem to come from any type of cynicism. It's very idealistic. My take is that she grew up - similar to many Mormon friends I had - with a high respect for love and romance. And surrounded herself with others who held that belief. So the way she writes seems to be from this place.
If I had written the Twilight series, it would also contain a great love story... But be tainted with cynicism. So, for example, instead of the lead character Bella never having had a boyfriend by the time she mets Edward... She would have had at least a few. And at least one of them would have broken her heart in some silly teen-aged way.
With Stephanie Meyer's approach to love, Bella's only experience with heart break comes in the second book of New Moon... When Edward (SPOILER ALERT) breaks up with her to SAVE HER. But Bella doesn't get this, and is crushed by it. Again, if I had written this, he would have left her because he found some other girl he felt he had a stronger connection with and wanted to be with... But would have ended up coming back to her because he knows Bella is awesome and much hotter and smarter than the "blond-chubby idiot" he originally dumped her for. (Am I holding on to things from my teen-aged romances, yes. Clearly.)
Bottom line: Stephanie Meyer's take on romance and love is one that is always in the vain of two people who are purely dedicated to each other. They only disappoint each other in order to save each other. My view is that she gets that from how she was raised in the Mormon religion. She's an idealist.
I applaud you for looking at it from real observations, and not speculations of what you know about the beliefs. For the record, myself included, many Mormons believe the relationships in Twilight are unhealthy. The obsessions with each other go beyond even what Mormons think of as good romance. They are too physical.
An I COMPLETELY agree with you about the unhealthiness of the relationships in the book. They are STALKER-ific as well.