The Twilight Books, or why are so many teenage girls ‘Robsessed’?

07Jan10

After recently finishing the Harry Potter series of books a friend of mine suggested that I read the Twilight books next.  At first I didn’t want to, but then thought I’d give it a go.  First, it was on my list and second I thought it might help me as all the kids in my youth group are really into the books.  I would be ‘down with the kids’.   So far I have read both Twilight and New Moon and fully intend to read Eclipse and Breaking Dawn.  I found the books very readable and thought the story was really engaging, but was put off with the romantic sections.  However I now have a theory on why so many girls are obsessed with the main male character: the vampire Edward, and why so many are consequently obsessed with Robert Pattison, the actor who plays him.

My theory is:  The character of Edward has such mass appeal to teenage girls because he is the personification of the ideal man as subconsciously envisioned by most young women.

Let me expand a little:

Edward is: 

Incredibly handsome yet modest about it

Mysterious and intriguing yet not aloof

Gentlemanly and respectful but not rigid and out dated

Intelligent and funny yet not arrogant about it

Is really good at everything he does, yet doesn’t make a big deal out of it

Has a really interesting and rich family including a sister who is Bella’s best friend

Is massively obsessed with Bella (but not apparently in a creepy way, although I do find the bit where he watches her sleep before they go out weird)

Keeps reiterating how beautiful he thinks Bella is, particularly compared to all other women, despite the fact that she feels plain and average

Is a good listener and always wants to know more about Bella and what she’s thinking

Wants to commit to Bella forever

Always wants to protect Bella and keep her safe and would ultimately die for her and his family

Is immortal so will stay this way forever

So there we go.  Its ridiculous.  Its literally the literary example of a teenage girls ideal man.  What teenage girl doesn’t think she’s just average or plain and yet longs for a guy to tell her she’s amazing and the most beautiful person ever?  And thats the thing, I reckon loads of girls reading it thinking ” I could be Bella” and imagine themselves in her situation.

To further illustrate my point, it would be like a man writing a book where the main female character is:

Incredibly good looking with large breasts

From a really rich family

Never complains, moans or gets irritable

Always finds the male characters jokes hysterically funny, causing her to urgently want to have sex with him

Reasonably clever, but not as clever as the man, and ditzy

Dependant on the man in a way that makes him feel important but that isn’t needy or clingy

Loves to watch sports and drink beer, but not in a butch way

Finds everything the guy does is amazing and always tells other people about that etc etc

My list could go on, but I think I displayed my point.  Which leads us to the question as to why are so many teenage girls obsessed or ‘robsessed’ with Robert Pattison?  Well simply because a) he’s good looking b) he plays Edward which means all these girls somehow believe in real life his is exactly the same as his character.

So without trying to sound like an idiot or incur the wraith of countless feminists, I believe that a big part of the success of the Twilight books, particularly amongst teenage girls, is that the character of Edward embodies many of the characteristics of the ideal man and that the female character represents the fears and anxieties of many of these young women and is easily to identify with.

Filed under: Literature   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: Bella, Edward Cullen, New Moon, Robert Pattisson, Twilight, Vampire