Monday, 14 June 2010
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Ciao, Bella: You Need to Be Replaced
This will not be another post ripping apart Twilight...well, not entirely.
Of all the young female leads in popular books today, why is it that Bella Swan has become the girl that our younger counterparts are admiring? We have all heard the popular complaints about why she is not a good role model, but I wonder if there is something about her that causes girls to relate to who she is.
When I think of what I was like at that age, I don't see any part of her in me or the girls that I knew. We were bursting with energy and being young and girls and discovering our sensuality (not in any kind of creepy pedophile way, but more in trading stories and realizing that the boys we grew up with weren't little kids anymore).
We were a little zany and a little strange, but we all watched out for each other and everyone knew that you couldn't make your whole life about a guy. A number of us made a lot of our lives about a guy, but if a girl went off the deep end over a male, we tried to save her.
Bella seems so morose throughout the entire series, regardless of who is surrounding her. And she makes it very clear, several times, that graduating high school isn't her priority - Edward is.
I just think that perhaps there are female characters out there that are more realistic AND better role models.
Hermoine Granger, for example. Either of the girls from the Narnia series. Nancy Drew. And what about the oldies but goodies? Elizabeth Bennet and Jane Eyre? Both are terribly romantic, and have a lead male character that isn't conventional; they end up happy but keep the general female dignity intact.
Is there anything in particular about Bella Swan that seems to connect to young girls, or is it just the romantic story that draws them in? Do you find her to be a good role model or do you think there are better choices?
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About the Author
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- From: Comrade_Snarky@xanga
- About Me: I'm a writer, a Navy wife and a cat owner. My days are spent writing, cooking, cleaning and gaming.
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Comments (34)
I think Bella was constructed to be boring on purpose. So that when reading, it's easy to put yourself in her shoes, pretend your in the story. It's easy to add yourself into it as if you were her. Like those Goosebumps Make your own Adventure books. The main character never had much personality.
i don't think she is a good role model at all. but i also think girls shouldn't look for role models in twilight when there are plenty of inspirational women in real life.
@RaquelHiggins005@xanga - This. Bella Swan is supposed to be a placeholder in the story that you just step into.
I totally agree about Nancy Drew- I grew up with Nancy. :)
I have no comment, only that she actually doesn't look that "pathetic" in this pic....
I don't think it's accurate to act like all 17 year olds "admire her." It just depends on the girl. I don't admire her, and I was 17 when I read the first book, and Bella's attitude never appealed to me.
Bella is head over heels in love with Edward - most girls can relate to that. She idolizes Edward, like Romeo idolized Juliet. I don't like Twilight, but even I can relate to that. If you've ever been in love and compared him to a Greek god, while putting yourself down, then you can relate to Twilight. It's not about what Bella does or what Edward does, it's about the fact that she's madly in love with Edward. It's a love story - people analyze it too much.
lol, you're gonna get alot of hate mails from 13 year old girls
who cares?
I think it's just the romantic story and EDWARD that draws them in.. not Bella.
Bella is great once she gets turned... she finds her element in being a vampire and is stronger than Edward and keeps secrets from him *gasp* and comes into her own. So she isn't so bad. Kristen Stewart on the other hand, sucks.
I was exactly like Bella at her age.
i really hate bella. i hope girls dont start to think guys flock to the mentally unstable girls.
@Brittany - Some of us do. Don't hate
@RaquelHiggins005@xanga - That's exactly what it is actually. Bella is more or less just a blank slate that wome... I mean girls, can superimpose themselves upon.
If you look at how much detail goes into describing the other characters, especially the men of interest, you'll see a stark contrast to Bella.
Brilliantly said! :)
Bella is supposed to be the average woman. Like a soccer mom or the average teenager who can't get a man. and whose looks are average and nothing special. She doesn't explain Bella in detail for like 100 pages. But she puts every single word in for Edward's description. Even his cold breath, his cold touch, his eyes, his hair, his muscles, his lips, etc. Edward is every woman's dream, he doesn't care about anything but her. And Bella is a cookie cut of any woman's faults. Some women are clumsy, most women are insecure. The fact that an average woman could get a guy like Edward, the superhuman, is every woman's fantasy. We only have ourselves and society to blame.
I thought the book was good once I got past the first 100 pages that were boring as hell. and eclipse is my favorite. But I thought Kristen and Robert needed to be replaced from day one. They're not that good. They don't really look that good considering the book either.
well i have a bella in my story and she's an italian vampire, but she is no way near boring.
it's not her personality or her characteristics or anything. it's not exactly HER. it's who she has, the driving force behind twilight, edward. girls want to be like her to get a guy like edward. it's that simple. people want to be her because they hope if they do the things she does, or think
I connect to her personality wise, but I do not like the twilight series. I finished the first book thinking that it was pretty bad and never picked up another book or saw the movies.
But yeah you wouldn't understand girls like us unless you are a girl like us.
America puts such a heavy emphasis on extroverted, happy, social butterflies. If your not perky, beautiful, and the life of the party then you are not seen as anyone significant in our country that values the extroverts. I am introverted, thoughtful, moody, and smart. I get better grades than my party girl collegues, and will probably make more money than them in the long run. Introverts have their place in the world and there is nothing wrong with them.
I would not have her as a role model. Especially because when I was younger I was like her. I was insecure and boring and in love and that was my number one priority and when he left me I basically lost the will to live for a while. Luckily I had friends who pulled me back from the deep end, and I figured out there is a LOT more to life than a guy. There are plenty of other role models out there. Also, like a lot of people said, it's more people want Edward than Bella. But that is just an unhealthy relationship there. People are better off reading other books, like you suggested.
I don't think anyone really even idolizes Bella. And not everyone who has read the books is inlove with Edward.
I personally have all four books, no, they aren't my life, and no, I'm not obsessed. Have I gone to the movies and watched Twiligh and New Moon, yes. Am I going to see Eclipse? Yes, as well as Breaking Dawn. I have, indeed, read other books.
In my opinion, Stephenie Meyer isn't the greatest writer, and I've read soo much better. But what can I say, I'm a sucker for romance.
Who would look for role models in a fictional book about vampires and werewolves? If someone looks to the flat character that is Bella Swan as a role model, then they obviously need more help than even Hermione Granger or Nancy Drew can give.
Im actually more worried about role models like lindsay lohan or paris hilton :S Bella is fictional, those are real girls that have way more publicity than Twilight.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOFBkR9s_gU
Watch this. The Twilight girls seem to think she's very relatable.
I don't understand why everyone hates on Bella and says she's such a horrible role model. No of course she's not a great role model or anything, but honestly most MOVIE characters aren't good role models... It's entertainment people.
I think the reason she's so relatable is because of the passion and how head over heals in love she is. I think every teenager has felt like that. They might not give up their entire life for the guy or go into a deep manic depression when they break up, but yes when teenagers are in love they usually do feel like their life is somewhat consumed with the guy and they are heartbroken when he leaves. And again.. Edward's a vampire, soooo it's fiction. Everyone needs to stop worrying about it.
I've noticed a pattern. Every person who likes Twilight always concedes a fault or two that the series has before defending it in some fashion. Well, at least they can admit that what they're reading isn't perfect. I'm shocked.
While I think Bella would be a terrible role model for girls to be following, I don't really believe that anyone actually follows her. As others have said, she's a placeholder for a role play of sorts that the reader engages in, and this is how girls connect with the story. I don't read the series and honestly find its influence very annoying, but I have to give the author credit in creating what is apparently a very appealing approach to its target audience.
However, speaking for myself, I can honestly say I've never felt what Bella supposedly feels toward Edward. I've always been inept in the emotional department, though, so I wouldn't use myself as a prime counterexample.
Since my friends are all rabid Twilight fanatics, I admit that I probably hate the series much more than I usually would due to its cult-like following.