In Defense of Stephanie Meyer
Okay I'll admit it. I too am addicted to the Twilight books.
I'm not saying they are the most profound things ever written. But they are certainly very entertaining. As an aspiring novelist myself, I can't help but be excited by the level of success a simple Mormon mother has obtained.
And let's face it, Stephanie Meyer's writing reminds all of us girls what it's like to be 18 and passionately in love.
But Stephanie Meyer catches an awful lot of flack and criticism and I'd like to confront a few of the critiques I've heard-
1) Stephanie Meyer uses too many adjectives to make up for weak dialogue.
This seems a stretch to me. It's like they can't find a real solid reason to object to her story, so they threw this one out there. And my response is so what? While it's true that there is real value in writers who can tell a story using their verbs to describe more than adjectives, does it then follow that there is NO value in doing the opposite? Where has this prejudice against the noble adjective come from?
Okay I'm biased. I LOVE adjectives. I think they are fantastic wonderful lovely ways to describe the picture you're trying to paint. I am an adjective abuser in my own writing, so I am definitely biased the other way on this issue. But that's the joy of having a thesaurus-getting to use all those different words to say the same thing! I love it! I say bring on the adjectives! The more splendid descriptors a devoted author can provide, the more enchantingly I am entertained =)
As to her dialogue being weak, holy crap what are your standards? She's writing conversations mostly had by teenagers! It's not supposed to be the stuff of legend.
2) Stephanie Meyer writes her main character, Bella, as a weak woman who can't survive without a man
WARNING, SPOILERS AHEAD.
This just makes me laugh. I can only assume they are drawing this conclusion from Book 2 where Bella falls apart at Edward's departure and only is able to pull herself back together with the love and devotion of Jacob Black. I don't think Stephanie Meyer is trying to say Bella can't survive without a man. I think a deeper message is being put across. In describing Bella's complete and total breakdown once Edward leaves, she is showing how Bella cannot survive without love.
Can any of us?
I assure you once you know a love like Bella and Edward's in your life, living without even a poor substitute for it is nearly impossible.
3) Bella is not very well developed as a woman/doesn't have a strong enough sense of herself/etc.
The hard core feminists are really over analyzing here. But they seem to have forgotten one thing-
Bella is a teenager!
How much are we supposed to expect out of a 17-18 year old girl? She's somehow already supposed to have a completely clear vision of herself and be fully developed in self confidence and self sufficiency?
I am 25 years old and I sure as heck haven't arrived at that point yet.
In fact, judged from the lens of a teenager, Bella is pretty daggone mature for her age in a lot of ways. Even when she is ripped up inside, she is always thinking about others and how her actions will affect them. She moves to Forks in the first place so her mother can have more freedom to enjoy her own life. Having barely survived a vicious attack from a vampire, her last conscious thought before she blacks out from the pain is for Alice, Edward's sister, to know the truth about where she came from. When her world falls apart and Edward leaves her, she still puts up an elaborate charade so her father will not have to share in her grief.
Pretty impressive for a teenage girl if you ask me. But don't expect the world from a girl who hasn't even had a chance to fully mature yet. She can only do so much.
Look the point is I like the Twilight books. They're fun, they're entertaining, and I can't put them down whenever I get to the end of each one.
If you're looking for more than that from a book, why are you wasting your time on a teenage romance novel?
Go read Catcher in the Rye and leave Bella and Stephanie Meyer the hell alone.
posted by Jess @ 6:52 PM
4 Comments
4 Comments:
I'm a twilight saga fanatic as well. I agree with your comments regarding the critiques.
I think, the approach Stephanie Meyer had for this series suits just fine considering that most parts of the whole series was written in Bella Swan's perspective. I think the critiques failed to consider this. 17/18 year-olds these days are just like that.
As for the comment that Bella Swan's character was weakly developed, perhaps they should read the whole series first.
I don't think her character is not even weak at all. Considering all the sacrifices she has done all through out the story and ending up the main savior in Breaking Dawn, the critiques must be very mistaken.
In all of the books, Stephanie Meyer effectively presented how love, family ties and sacrifice can make a very big difference in creating our happiness. Makes us think what really matters and what things are worth dying for.
Nice post, by the way.
Thank you! These are things I see as well. I prize these books mostly for the fantastic way in which Meyer illustrates the emotional ties between her characters, and just the love she has for all the relationships she describes. I love a good feeling narrative =)
Thanks for sharing, I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who feels this way!
Sincerely,
Jess
I agree with you on some parts, yet disagree on others. Stephenie is a terrible writer, but i like her ideas. The books are entertaining but i still say her writing style is crap. Also, I think that Bella IS weak. In New Moon, I'm sorry, but there's a difference between heart-broken and down-right overdramatic. Being depressed and wanting to be left alone, that is heart-broken. Wanting to kill yourself over and over again so you can hear your love's voice, that is crazy. Also, Bella is too weak to say good-bye to Jacob. Even though she knows in the future she'll have to, she still chooses to want him around. That is just plain weak, if you cared about your friend, you'd want what's best for them. Honestly, the only reason i like the stories is because of the addictive plot, and Edward. No, not because he's some sparkly, hot guy. He's an interesting character, and i think the fact he is criticized is extremely biased of people.
I think you should give some consideration to the comment before yours posted by Kutitap. Your post here is full of contradictions. You read all four books but think her writing style is crap and Bella is weak? But then you say that anyone who criticizes Edward is biased? How is it not biased to criticize Stephanie and Bella?
I personally find Bella Swan both very real, and extraordinary in that even though she is a teenage girl, she cares so much about how her actions affect her family and friends. Is she perfect, no! She's a teenager, she's going to get on your nerves sometimes with her reactions! But the depth of her love for those she cares about (even a non-traditional vampire family) is a true strength.
I love Stephanie Meyer's writing because it is deeply relational and shows real ties, the like of which I have witnessed myself, between people who care about each other. The dynamics of daughter, lover, friend, sister, etc. are all fully played out and examined and she has a brilliant way for showing emotion and relationships. I believe the Twilight Books to be one of the best sets of feeling narratives I've read in a long time.
As for Jacob, I resent that no one seems to hold HIMSELF accountable for his actions and that everything is blamed on Bella. Jacob is a fully functioning person last I checked, capable of making his own decisions. Bella may have trouble letting him go, but she is completely honest about how she feels about him and what she is able to give him. Knowing all this HE still refuses to walk away, so the blame is as much his. What Stephanie is doing here is describing a true relationship to us that often plays out. Things are not always black and white, and Bella and Jacob's relationship is one that goes deeper than friendship but cannot mutually proceed to romantic love. That is one of the most complicated, intricate, and beautiful relationships to explore. And I can't help but love how the 4th book resolves their entangled friendship into something that turns out beautiful for Bella's daughter.
That is not the result of a "crap" writer if you ask me. Perhaps you need to reconsider. If you've read through all 4 books, they must not just be "crap". You could have chose, just like Jacob, to put them down and walk away at any time. But you didn't, so there is something worthwhile that captivated you. If you don't like most elements but you like Edward, then that means some of the writing is redeemable in your eyes.
Something to think on.
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