THE BELLA QUESTION

[Maureen Johnson]

One of the crazy things about the Twilight phenom is that if anyone criticizes the book, they run the risk of getting slammed six ways til Sunday. (Believe me. This is true. And viciously. With incredibly filthy language and occasionally threats! NO I AM NOT JOKING. I have seen it happen!)

I'm not saying everyone does that. Nerdfighters probably wouldn't. I am just kind of dying to know where that kind of strength of emotion comes from. Twilight produces an extremely strong reaction in a lot of people. Even hardcore Harry Potter fans are unlikely to smack you down for not liking Ron or something. (Even though not liking Ron is BONKERS.)

What is it about Twilight and/or Bella that people like so much? Specifically. I mean, as specific as you can possibly get. Tedious detail is fine. I'm particularly curious about Bella as a character. How does she work for you? Does she? Can you be a Twilight fan and not like Bella?

(Please note that I am not actually saying anything about the book. This is purely a discussion question.)

[Amos]

I would like to mention here that technically there are many books written that take place in the Buffy world so TECHNICALLY although they are charactors which originated in a tv series they are also book charactors. *Is a old school Buffy fan in hiding*

[HarleyQuinn]

I don't suppose, after such a statement, you can really say you're in hiding anymore.

[Jenni]

I was rereading my L. J. Smith Nightworld books the other day...and was surprised to read that her vampires were not only falling in love with humans...but she also raised the idea of feeding off of animals instead of humans (as well as willing donors)...telepathic links between the vampire and human when feeding...and much more.
Thankfully her stories are being re released.
So yeah...there are A LOT of books out there similar to Twilight.

[HarleyQuinn]

See, and that's fine so long as they're well-written. I don't even mind the vegetarian vampire idea all that much...though, if I were to write a vampire book, I would make it impossible for them to feed off of animals instead of humans...but that's because, the way I see it, a human body (or previously human) would require fresh human blood. Like, they could drink the blood of an animal, but all it would do is make them feel a little unfocused and kinda sick and wouldn't help them regain any energy. And they could even take blood from blood banks, but that wouldn't do nearly as much as fresh blood might.

I've had a vampire story in my mind for quite some time now, but I don't want to try and write it for fear that it'll not be as good as I imagine it...

[Chamoky]

I advise the Darren Shan to people who what the vampire story with out much of a love line. I found them interesting.

[Shannon]

I guess what gets me about Twilight is the sense that two people are "meant to be." I love the thought that someone could live for hundreds of years and then suddenly meet the one person that's their soul mate. (It's the Jerry Maguire syndrome- y'know, "you complete me"). That's the "hopeless romantic" in me too.

I also find Edward fascinating. I know a lot of people see him as controlling, but I don't see the character that way. To me, he is deep and definitely flawed. He has a tendency to overreact and be overprotective and to baby Bella. If you think about things from his point of view, he is many many years older than her and he sees her as much more naive than she actually is. He makes mistakes, but they always make sense from his point of view.

As for Bella, I think she's a lot like I was as a teenage girl (and I'm around Stephenie's age). I wonder if that's the reason that a lot of today's teenagers tend to be so critical of her. From my experience as a teacher today's kids are much more confident and self-aware than I was as a teenager. I was completely unable to see myself in a realistic way which is how I see Bella. She is unable to see herself realistically. Sometimes I get annoyed with her prejudices (like about marriage. C'mon, you'll die for this boy, but you won't marry him??), but I can understand how they were created. Stephenie built her background very carefully to explain a lot of her idiosyncrasies.

Another thing that draws me to the series is the world that Stephenie creates. That's the reason that people compare it to HP, I guess. I love reading books that pull me into another dimension that is built off our own world (Twilight, HP, pretties).

[Chip, A Former Ningmaster]

The weird thing is that I really don't like most of the characters, but I still enjoyed reading Twilight. It's like crack. It's bad, but it feels good.

I think the reason the fans slam so hard is because of the type of people attracted to Twilight. The majority of the Uber Fans has got to be teenage girls going "Le sigh, romance, so good." They're probably over emotional, and when bashing Bella, specifically, it's like you're bashing them (she really is just a stand in for the readers. You can easily replace the name 'Bella' with 'Mary' or 'Sarah' and a lot of the teenage girls will feel likes it's them.) and when you bash Eddie you're bashing their dream guy. I don't know. That's my take on it.

[Cat]

Twilight=crack.

I like it.

haha. Eddie.

[Webster]

I think, at least for me, it is the fact that Twilight is a complete fantasy. It would be my perfect dream come true to find out that that amazingly talented, gorgeous, and elegant boy that sits next to me is in love with me. Throw in the action and complexity of his vampire life (wanting to kill you) and life will never be boring or lonely again. Of course, Edward is a perfect catch, but his family is awesome, too! Everyone wants a second family that will eternally love and protect them. Then there is all the adventure that Bella gets to experience and a secret society that has always been around. But even with all the fantasy, I still find it just believable enough. Twilight is the perfect escape, at least, it has everything I'd want, including eternal youth.

It's isn't so much the character of Bella (I personally find her annoying sometimes) but the way that readers can relate to her and long to have just a day in her shoes.

[Gwin]

I'm not a fan of the series... I mean, it's alright, I suppose. I'll deffinately read Breaking Dawn when it comes out. I hate all the characters, which certainly makes it harder to enjoy! And then there's the fact that I'm simply not a romance fan. The vampire/werewolf part of it is very good, though, and aside from character development it's fairly well written.
...*waits to be killed*

[SaraShana]

LOL you're very brave.
I promise no harm. Haha.

[Chip, A Former Ningmaster]

I agree. Yup.