I recently watched both the Twilight and New Moon movies and, although they were able to reel me in, I was astounded at how overtly they projected patriarchal and “true”-love narratives. Not only does protagonist Bella’s lack of independence as an autonomous individual reveal the still very patriarchal Western society we live in, but so do her relationships with vampire Edward and werewolf Jacob.
In this article, I am going to assume, due to the popularity of these movies among millions of young women across North America, that most people who are exposed to the media are familiar with them. Furthermore, I also want to say that I have not read the books myself. For those of you who are avid fans, yes, I may miss some things.
From blogs that I’ve read and discussions that I’ve had, it seems as though many people believe that these movies are merely stories and “nothing more or less,” as even Stephanie Meyer, the author of the books, has noted. If this is true, then they’re just, as Meyer also points out, “fantas[ies] with vampires and werewolves,” right? Wrong. These vampire fantasies can all be understood as a metaphor for patriarchal Western society. This is because, perhaps without meaning to, they reflect the patriarchal narratives that Western society upholds and condones.
In The Second Sex, Simone de Beauvoir notes that woman is, in Western society, considered Other to man, who is the “Subject,” the “Absolute,” the “One,” and who has, for centuries, represented human beings in general. She also claims that men and women engage in a dichotomous master/slave relationship, where women are dependent on their “masters”—their male sovereigns. Although this argument was made in 1949, it remains true today.
And it is precisely this master/slave relationship that is at the heart of Twilight and New Moon. From the beginning of New Moon, Edward leers in the background, watching Bella. “It’s my job to protect you,” he says. But Bella complies, too. She says: “if this is about my soul—take it, I don’t want it without you.” Even after Edward breaks up with Bella, she relies heavily on Edward’s guidance via his ghost (or whatever it is). And, when Edward is not around, Jacob is right there to “save” her from her humanity. The traumatic state that her break-up leaves her in—one where she lies crumpled on the forest floor and staring out her bedroom window as the months go by—also reveals her inability to function without Edward—a man. Bella will so willingly give up her life, or her “soul,” to be with him—for what is a woman without a man? Furthermore, she is unable to deal with change: she yearns to be promised by the men in her life that she will never be abandoned and always be protected. Although this kind of change is difficult for all of us, what kind of man, in any world, vampire or real, can promise such a thing?
How truly unfortunate is it that Bella’s identity, like many other identities I’m sure, even at times my own, is dependent on a man’s? When Edward and Jacob are no where in sight, her low self-esteem takes centre stage in the movie, revealing that, without a man, women lack individuality and identity. Even minor parts of the movie have patriarchal undertones: it is the men who drive Bella’s truck while Bella sits obediently beside them, and it is Jacob, claiming that he has more “know-how,” who fixes motorcycles while Bella watches.
These movies teach teenage girls that in order to find true love, to feel happy, to be anything at all, they must be protected and “saved” by men. With this in mind, I can certainly understand why indulging in the Twilight saga is so satisfying. It allows women to temporarily feel how Bella feels: saved by men who “love” her. But is what Bella experiences really love? It seems to me that an unrealistic model of “true”-love is being projected here, and it is one that positions a lack of self-differentiation at its core.
Although women have achieved more equality, in, for example, the workplace, today there are other complex issues that reveal just how unequal our society continues to be. Beauvoir upholds that in order for women to be truly considered equal to the “Subject,” they need to actively change their status as “slaves.” “If woman,” she states, “seems to be the inessential which never becomes the essential, it is because she herself fails to bring about this change.” Being the autonomous individuals that women are, I know that breaking this master/slave or essential/inessential pattern is possible. But, in the mean time, I am going to side, as many of these autonomous women probably do, with team Bella.
