This week the sequel to Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight arrives in the movie theaters to great fanfare. Next week the publicity blitz will continue. So maybe this is a good time to ask: what is the secret of her tremendous success?
Those who detest the series and Meyer often claim she is a bad, even terrible writer. An examination of her writing shows this is untrue. Here is a link to chapter One of Twilight.
Chapter One – Bella meets Edward
The writing style to my literary “ears” is serviceable but unspectacular. This is a plus in that there is nothing to draw attention to the text and away from the story. But tens of thousands of other books on and no longer on the market are equally adept at doing this.
There is another characteristic of this chapter worth noting. In it Meyer introduces heroine Bella, the home and high school and locale to which she has recently moved, and the vampire family who become so important to her. There is no hurried feeling to this, but neither does Meyer take a long time getting us into the story and acquainted with some of its important elements.
Still nothing extraordinary. Just ordinary competence such as most writers master.
We do learn something in the first few paragraphs that is a step toward understanding the appeal of Twilight. Bella is neither ugly nor beautiful. She is merely pretty. Many teen girls feel the same way. Even if they ARE beautiful, girls constantly see Photoshopped images of popular movie stars in dozens of magazines and TV shows every day. This makes them very aware that despite their beauty they fall short of perfection. So it is easy for most teen girls to empathize with Bella.
More importantly, she feels she does not and will not be able to fit in, for reasons which have nothing to do with her looks. This makes it even easier for readers to put themselves in Bella’s place. The need to be accepted is a powerful motivator for teens. In harsher times, and for many millennia, those who didn’t fit in might well die once they ventured from under the protective umbrella of their parents. The need to be liked or at least accepted into the teen herd is not some contemptible group-think but sometimes awful necessity.
Vampires are one aspect of Twilight and its sequels that many accept as the reason for its success. It is certainly part of the books’ appeal, but much less than simplists believe. In bookstores you will see on F&SF and YA bookshelves many stories with vampires in them, and none of them have been the breakout blockbuster success of the Twilight books.
Still, vampires are a key to Twilight’s appeal. But what about them engages the hearts of young women and of women in general, including Lesbians and female feminists? We must look below the surface, at the deepest and most primal female needs.
First, vampires are powerful. No matter how modern and independent a woman is, this is appealing. Women, especially when pregnant, are vulnerable and yearn for protection. Just as important they want their children protected. Vampires are not only physically powerful, but also financially.
Second, they are often old. This is appealing because older men tend to have more wealth and status, two forms of power. And an older sophisticated lover is also sexy, but vampires lack the infirmities and ick factor of age.
Third, vampires are vulnerable, thus engaging women’s need to nurture. They are helpless when sleeping. They suckle on other’s blood, which makes them not only victimizers but also victims, needy. They can’t enjoy ordinary food or the vistas of wide-open day. They often have tragic pasts, the perennial appeal of stereotypical Byrons.
Lastly, vampires can be inspired to frenzied passion – which is also the appeal of werewolves. Passion is dangerous when uncontrolled, but very pleasurable in a lover when he has the discipline and caring to keep his passion within safe bounds. This is a big turn-on for women, who must constantly balance men’s sexiness with a fear of men’s ability to batter and murder them.
And here we’ve reached the root of Twilight’s appeal. Bella’s vampire crush Edward cares for her so much that he will protect Bella from himself and from her desire for him. He is even willing to abandon his home and leave the area to keep her safe from him. Then gets so depressed that he courts death as an escape from his need and pain. What could more excite a young girl than that? And not just young girls. Many of Twilight’s fans are their mothers and grandmothers.
But, wait. There’s more. Plain misfit Bella captures the heart (and other useful parts) not only of a vampire but also a werewolf. Another powerful but scary guy. Who wants her so much that he is pushed to the brink of rape and madness. TWO men desperate for little old me? (Muffled shriek. Followed by BFF hugging and jumping up and down.)
But, wait. There’s STILL more. Later in the series we find that Bella is supernaturally powerful in her own right. Quelle shrieks.
What is the significance of this for writers, agents, and publishers? And movie makers? More later.
Laer Carroll
