The lure of Edward Cullen

Yes, lure. In her YA (young adult) fiction series that began with "Twilight", author Stephenie Meyer weaves a sweet, sad, fast-paced tale of romance, rivalry......and vampires. Of course, the story line is far more complicated than the the three words I used to describe them, but those three themes figure heavily in the story's complicated-but-followable storyline.

For my friends who do not read secular fiction, the story involves an ordinary girl, named Bella. She moves to the cloudiest town in Washington Sate, a sleepy backwater village called Forks. There, she meets the boy who becomes her greatest love, greatest pain, and eventually, her destiny.

It is here that I will stop and write for a moment on vampires. The Bible says nothing about them. I'm positive that they are completely ficitonal, a fact that I have elaborated upon greatly with my children, especially after my 4 1/2 year old decided she was a zombie. (more on that later) The beauty of such a fictional thing is that an author may do whatever he or she pleases with the myth in order to suit a particular storyline. The irresistable draw of the vampire is so fleshly in nature, on the part of the human, and the vampire. The human is drawn by the vampire's appearance, his seemingly inescapable pull upon their senses and darker side. The vampire must lure the human close enough to drink their blood to survive, trading the human pleasure of eating, for the darker, more evil act of murdering merely to survive. With that in mind, it obviously makes for very scintillating reading, especially to young adults.

I had to think about why it appealed to me so much. (for the record, I am Team Edward) I've read pretty much everything Anne Rice has written, fascinated by her portrayal of the vampire Lestat, and his odd, violent family. Much of this reading took place before I began to really walk with the Lord, to include Him in any choices I made in my life. To me, they are all stories. I am left yearning not to become a vampire, but to feel passion and love and joy the way the characters in the novels felt them.

But Edward......what a fascinating character. Changed in 1918, at the very end of the Victorian Era, he was nearly an adult when he became what he is. The values he was raised with are so very different from those we now see in our crumbling society. A true gentleman, polite and somewhat reserved with his feelings, Edward still believes in marriage, and physical purity reserved for the marriage bed. He is socially adept and more mature than any 17-year old I've ever met. His confidence equals that of a grown man. (I assume I'd be pretty confident at 108 years of age, too) In spite of everything he has experienced, he remains insecure to a degree about Bella, because he can't read her mind.

He is a mix of many things, and they all add up to something irresistable to any girl who reads this series. What is it about Edward Cullen that has so many girls swooning? Let's list the physical charatceristics: He's tall, reddish hair, exquisite features, different eyes, that slender, elegant, graceful form that screams vampire, what's not to love? Oh, I forgot: he smells really good, too. Edward is polite, attentive, sensitive, intuitive, and adoring. He carries Bella, he saves and protects Bella, he defends her against hostile vampires who want to kill her. This combination of teenage perfection is deadly, pun intended.

Edward is everything today's teenage boy is not. Bella is not your average empty headed teenage girl. Bella reads and loves the classics: today's teenagers can't speak enough english to understand them any more. Edward listens to Debussy and composes his own piano music: today's teenage boys consider beating "Call of Duty 4" an accomplishment. What girl wouldn't want to be wooed by such a fellow? What teenage girl is mature enough to appreciate what Edward offers, beyond looking good in his designer clothes, and the fact that his family is very wealthy.

Bella is a breath of fresh air in today's teenage world. She doesn't own a cell phone, or a metric ton of clothing, CD's, makeup, or shoes. She prefers reading to TV, hates shopping, and behaves very resposibly.

Neither character has a realistic place in today's society, more's the pity.

Yet so many girls can identify with Bella, can understand her hurt when Edward leaves her "for her own good", and the friendship (for her, anyway) she subsequently develops with Jacob. That's why it makes for such good reading, and why the series has so many devoted (if you don't believe me, check out youtube) fans.

I can even see why adult women like the books. Romance isn't every women's cup of tea, but it sure is mine. And, since this is my blog, I can safely say that most women who might be reading this have some ideas about romance in her mind. We are so self-centered sometimes, that instead of considering what the object of our affection might consider romantic, we give them what we think is romantic. Unfortunately, this isn't always received the way we think it should be. To me, the key to romance, especially the kind we want from our husbands, is recognizing the difference, and acting on it. When my husband kisses my hand, I think "mmmm, nice, maybe he'll kiss my fingers, too, like Edward did when he proposed to Bella." He's probably thinking "Hey, guys in romance movies do this, maybe it will work for me, too." The disparity between thought processes is very clear, right? But how to communicate those unconscious wishes?

I think Stephenie Meyer needs to write a new book: "Edward Cullen's guide for sincere, well- meaning, romantically inept men". Oh, no self-respecting guy would be caught dead in line at Borders with that tome clutched in his beefy hands.......but he may still find himself in possession of a copy. ;)