Good Villains and Evil Heroes
A Study on Relationship Dynamics in Twilight
This morning when my cat cajoled (annoyed) me out of the bed and into the bathroom for some "Sally gets attention time" (Note for non-cat owners: cats will always follow you into the bathroom. Always.), I was thinking about the role of heroes and antiheroes and villains in (particularly) the story I'm writing for my fiction workshop, and how those lines could be ambiguous in some cases. This, of course, led me to search for examples of cases where the typical hero is actually a sort of villain. And I realized, in between bouts of arguing with my cat about opening the curtains because, no, I am on the toilet next to the window, thank you very much, that while Twilight can hardly be redeemed in any way, Meyer does have an (unintended, probably) interesting twist in the hero vs. villain spectrum.
Edward is obviously the hero of the story. (One could slant Bella as the hero, but as far as I'm concerned she's not a person until she stops being brainwashed by Edward. Which, spoiler alert, is never.) He's the sparkly, brooding hero with a tragic...something; we'll go with complexion. His entire goal in life is to keep Bella happy and safe and to turn her into a wonderful Mary Sue. He is a hero in the main plot, and he is the hero in Bella's ridiculous love triangle; the guy we're supposed to root for. Jacob, in context of Bella and Edward's relationship, is the villain. He's constantly trying to keep them apart, to steal Bella away from Edward--hell, he's even the stereotypical bad guy: tall, dark, angry (in a fashion). And yet, on a closer examination of their roles, Edward can actually be seen as the villain, and Jacob the hero.
For the record, I didn't read the last two books. I have no interest in reading the last two books, especially because the plot line is like something a new, young writer cooked up over on The Pit. I'd rather that Bella ended up with Jacob, but mostly I just wish Bella had come to her senses, realized she was a Mary Sue, and cut romantic ties with both of them to go to college and find herself, and maybe find a healthy relationship with a human. (Although, knowing Bella, she'd probably fall in love with an incubus or some shit like that. Though, considering how sex-crazed she was around Edward, that would be a pretty good match...) My point is, I have biases, as all readers do: about characters and relationships and plot. I think the writing is mediocre, the plot non-existent, and the characters are mishandled. And yet, I still have discussions about the books and how much they suck. I guess this is the power of bad writing, especially published bad writing: one still thinks about the book, even if the thoughts are negative. And even worse, I'm finding techniques that can be useful, if done right.
I am a sucker for heroes that are evil, villains that are good, and antiheroes--man, they are some of my favorite characters around. When I view Edward in the good villain role, I actually like him a lot more because I'm supposed to dislike him--he is the villain, after all. Edward is controlling, emotionally abusive, and treats Bella more as a cherished pet than an actual human being; in no way does Edward treat Bella like an equal. (Yes, I have issues with Edward. But c'mon, he disabled her truck so she couldn't go to La Push.) He wants to goddamn eat Bella like she's the last piece of bacon on the earth. And yet, Edward means the best for Bella. Everything he does, he does to protect Bella--even from himself. He knows that he's bad for her, yet he won't give her up.
(Side-note: The whole, I-want-to-eat-Bella thing? I think Edward is pretty much summed up by the fact that his own personal brand of "heroin" smells like freesia. And wasn't that the flower of choice at Bella's wedding? Because that's a good idea: make the entire fucking area smell like Bella's blood. Maybe Alice did it in case Bella cut herself on the bouquet; that way when Jasper went mad with blood-lust, he'd start chomping on flowers instead of Bella.)
Jacob, on the other hand, is pretty much the opposite of Edward, even in temperature (be more cliche, Meyer). He's happy, well-adjusted, and acts like a real person. Even while he endangers the 'epic' romance of Edward and Bella, he is doing so to ensure that Bella stays human (one could say he's ensuring her soul will stay intact, if one believes Edward when he says vampires loose their souls and are damned). He's like the friend that tries to sit a druggie down and say, "Look, you're a fucking idiot. Why the hell would you do ecstasy? That shit is so 90's." Jacob treats Bella like an equal, he lets her be her own person, and he's not afraid to argue with her like the teenager he (and she) is. If Bella were a real character, and becoming a vampire didn't make her magically awesome at the end of the book, Jacob would have been cast in a better light; yet, despite all of the heroic behavior he displays, Jacob is supposed to be disliked.
Meyer (most certainly) didn't intend for the books to be read this way, and I may be seeing things I want to see, but by viewing Edward as the good villain and Jacob as the evil hero, it adds a complexity and freshness to the love triangle centered around Bella. It gives depth to the characters, it gives depth to their relationship, and it upgrades the book from bad fan-fiction to needs-work fan-fiction.
(Now, back to your regularly scheduled program.)
This morning when my cat cajoled (annoyed) me out of the bed and into the bathroom for some "Sally gets attention time" (Note for non-cat owners: cats will always follow you into the bathroom. Always.), I was thinking about the role of heroes and antiheroes and villains in (particularly) the story I'm writing for my fiction workshop, and how those lines could be ambiguous in some cases. This, of course, led me to search for examples of cases where the typical hero is actually a sort of villain. And I realized, in between bouts of arguing with my cat about opening the curtains because, no, I am on the toilet next to the window, thank you very much, that while Twilight can hardly be redeemed in any way, Meyer does have an (unintended, probably) interesting twist in the hero vs. villain spectrum.
Edward is obviously the hero of the story. (One could slant Bella as the hero, but as far as I'm concerned she's not a person until she stops being brainwashed by Edward. Which, spoiler alert, is never.) He's the sparkly, brooding hero with a tragic...something; we'll go with complexion. His entire goal in life is to keep Bella happy and safe and to turn her into a wonderful Mary Sue. He is a hero in the main plot, and he is the hero in Bella's ridiculous love triangle; the guy we're supposed to root for. Jacob, in context of Bella and Edward's relationship, is the villain. He's constantly trying to keep them apart, to steal Bella away from Edward--hell, he's even the stereotypical bad guy: tall, dark, angry (in a fashion). And yet, on a closer examination of their roles, Edward can actually be seen as the villain, and Jacob the hero.
For the record, I didn't read the last two books. I have no interest in reading the last two books, especially because the plot line is like something a new, young writer cooked up over on The Pit. I'd rather that Bella ended up with Jacob, but mostly I just wish Bella had come to her senses, realized she was a Mary Sue, and cut romantic ties with both of them to go to college and find herself, and maybe find a healthy relationship with a human. (Although, knowing Bella, she'd probably fall in love with an incubus or some shit like that. Though, considering how sex-crazed she was around Edward, that would be a pretty good match...) My point is, I have biases, as all readers do: about characters and relationships and plot. I think the writing is mediocre, the plot non-existent, and the characters are mishandled. And yet, I still have discussions about the books and how much they suck. I guess this is the power of bad writing, especially published bad writing: one still thinks about the book, even if the thoughts are negative. And even worse, I'm finding techniques that can be useful, if done right.
I am a sucker for heroes that are evil, villains that are good, and antiheroes--man, they are some of my favorite characters around. When I view Edward in the good villain role, I actually like him a lot more because I'm supposed to dislike him--he is the villain, after all. Edward is controlling, emotionally abusive, and treats Bella more as a cherished pet than an actual human being; in no way does Edward treat Bella like an equal. (Yes, I have issues with Edward. But c'mon, he disabled her truck so she couldn't go to La Push.) He wants to goddamn eat Bella like she's the last piece of bacon on the earth. And yet, Edward means the best for Bella. Everything he does, he does to protect Bella--even from himself. He knows that he's bad for her, yet he won't give her up.
(Side-note: The whole, I-want-to-eat-Bella thing? I think Edward is pretty much summed up by the fact that his own personal brand of "heroin" smells like freesia. And wasn't that the flower of choice at Bella's wedding? Because that's a good idea: make the entire fucking area smell like Bella's blood. Maybe Alice did it in case Bella cut herself on the bouquet; that way when Jasper went mad with blood-lust, he'd start chomping on flowers instead of Bella.)
Jacob, on the other hand, is pretty much the opposite of Edward, even in temperature (be more cliche, Meyer). He's happy, well-adjusted, and acts like a real person. Even while he endangers the 'epic' romance of Edward and Bella, he is doing so to ensure that Bella stays human (one could say he's ensuring her soul will stay intact, if one believes Edward when he says vampires loose their souls and are damned). He's like the friend that tries to sit a druggie down and say, "Look, you're a fucking idiot. Why the hell would you do ecstasy? That shit is so 90's." Jacob treats Bella like an equal, he lets her be her own person, and he's not afraid to argue with her like the teenager he (and she) is. If Bella were a real character, and becoming a vampire didn't make her magically awesome at the end of the book, Jacob would have been cast in a better light; yet, despite all of the heroic behavior he displays, Jacob is supposed to be disliked.
Meyer (most certainly) didn't intend for the books to be read this way, and I may be seeing things I want to see, but by viewing Edward as the good villain and Jacob as the evil hero, it adds a complexity and freshness to the love triangle centered around Bella. It gives depth to the characters, it gives depth to their relationship, and it upgrades the book from bad fan-fiction to needs-work fan-fiction.
(Now, back to your regularly scheduled program.)