Last Saturday (Oct. 27, 2007), I gave a talk called "Romancing the Vampire" on Stephenie Meyer's
Twilight series. I repeat it here for those of you who weren't able to attend.
WHAT MAKES TWILIGHT DIFFERENT?Twilight is the story of Bella Swan—self-proclaimed “plain Jane,” klutz, and danger magnet—and Edward Cullen, a breathtakingly beautiful teenage vampire. The series, begun in 2005, has received numerous awards and popular acclaim. The third book, Eclipse (released August 2007), was highlighted on Barnes & Noble’s e-newsletter to members and featured on the power aisle at the front of the store. The only other YA fantasy series that has received that kind of promotion is Harry Potter.
What has made this series such a phenomenon, crossing the boundary between YA and adult romance with ease? Meyer’s imaginative reworking of the vampire legend, the breathless emotion of first love, and grounding in some of the most popular love stories in literature:
- Romeo and Juliet (Shakespeare’s star-crossed lovers)
- Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy in Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice (their initial dislike masks a powerful attraction)
- Jane Eyre and Mr. Rochester in Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre
- Heathcliff and Cathy in Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights
TEMPTATIONMeyer’s website reveals that she’s never been comfortable with the title of the first book, Twilight, because she’s not sure it fits her message, but the image on the cover was inspired. The red apple, with its connotation of the story of Adam and Eve, conjures up important themes for the book: temptation, secrets, guilt, dangerous knowledge of good and evil.
The vampire combines all of these elements. By his very nature, the vampire is guilty and his existence must be kept a secret. All vampire stories include a confrontation between good and evil, and the vampire always seems to represent a romantic or seductive temptation:
- The three female vampires who encounter Jonathan Harker in Dracula.
- Also in Dracula: Jonathan’s frustrated desire for his wife, Mina, who has been “infected” with the vampire’s bite.
- The impossible love between Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, the vampire with a soul
- The seemingly impossible love between Bella and Edward—both battling their desire for other
- Bella wants to become vampire, but Edward’s afraid she might sacrifice her soul, which becomes another source of guilt
THE BYRONIC HERO
The image of the vampire is strongly associated with Romantic poet George Gordon, Lord Byron, who was as notorious for his many love affairs as for his poetry. One of his conquests, Lady Caroline Lamb, famously said that Byron was “mad, bad, and dangerous to know.” In the same ghost-writing contest that produced Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Byron came up with an idea that his friend and physician, John Polidori, wrote and published as The Vampyre. The story was popularly attributed to Byron, and the vampire connection was established.
However, Byron’s most important contribution to the vampire legend is the Byronic hero, a particular kind of hero based not only on Byron’s works (Childe Harold, Don Juan, and Manfred), but also on the legends of the poet’s own life. The Byronic hero has the following characteristics:
- Handsome and/or irresistible to women
- Impressive to other men
- Well-traveled and knowledgeable about the world
- Mysterious
- Isolated from society by some secret in his past that’s never revealed
- Tortured by a guilty conscience
Edward Cullen is clearly modeled on two Byronic heroes of literature: Mr. Rochester and Heathcliff.
Mr. Rochester from Jane Eyre (one of Meyer’s favorite books of all time, according to her website) is more mature than heroine in both age and experience; he is intellectual, charismatic, well-traveled, and cultured. However, he is also strange, moody, and isolated. Only the heroine, his soul mate, can truly understand or please him, but he has a terrible secret that will keep them apart. (Sound familiar?)
Wuthering Heights is clearly another important source for Meyers: Bella reads the book in Twilight and argues with Edward about its meaning in Eclipse. Heathcliff, the tortured hero, is predictably dark, ruggedly handsome, and mysterious (his sudden adoption by Cathy’s family masks his secret origin; he disappears for a time and returns enormously wealthy, but he never reveals the source of his fortune). However, Heathcliff has many villainous qualities as well: he is violent, vengeful, frequently cruel, and possibly insane.
Edward Cullen declares that he might be more sympathetic to Heathcliff and Cathy if either of them had any redeeming qualities, but Bella contends that their all-consuming love, which extends beyond the grave, IS the redeeming quality. The comparison to Wuthering Heights emphasizes Bella and Edward’s undying commitment to one another, but it also raises some red flags: Is Edward as dangerous as Heathcliff, despite his best intentions? If Bella and Edward cannot be together after all, will their love prove as destructive as Heathcliff and Cathy’s romance?
SECRETS
In Dracula, Jane Eyre, and Wuthering Heights, secrets are dangerous and sinful, threatening not only the heroine but the entire society. The fact that Dracula, Mr. Rochester, and Heathcliff are able to hide their secrets so well actually compounds their guilt. However, Meyer redeems her secretive hero by alluding to a different trope – the superhero with a secret identity.
The first time Edward saves her life but refuses to explain how he did it, Bella starts thinking about Bruce Wayne and Peter Parker, who never lay claim to the heroic deeds they perform while masked as Batman and Spiderman. It’s notable that she doesn’t include Clark Kent, the Man of Steel’s mild-mannered alter ego. After all, Superman is not a tortured hero: he has no reason to feel guilty about his secret (he’s not from this planet), and his conflicts are almost entirely external. Bella shows great insight in associating Edward with characters who turn superhero to compensate for past guilt, such as a failure to protect or avenge loved ones.
The Vampire as Superhero
We now recognized tortured characters with guilty consciences and secret identities not as villains but as heroes: Bruce Banner (aka The Incredible Hulk), Buffy Somers, Angel, Sydney Bristow (Alias), Batman, Spiderman. We accept heroes who are at war with internal demons rather than external enemies; thus, the vampire is not automatically evil. He has a choice to resist his own evil impulses, and his secret struggle to defeat them makes him a hero we can admire . . . and love.
