Rubber spine
So I've read six books in the last like, two weeks. Which is a lot for me, since I usually don't have time or energy or even the peace and quiet I need to enjoy a good book. I blame a lot of it on Jim Butcher, since three of those were books from the Dresden Files and the Codex Alera.
But so far I've disdained to read Breaking Dawn. I'll probably borrow it from a friend or something when I get the chance, but I'm not going to drop $23 for it. Especially since, the more I think about the Twilight series, the more it pisses me off. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed reading the first three, in a self-loathing sort of way. Stephanie Meyer has this tricky talent that pulls you into the book, even as you're scoffing at her ridiculous plot lines and her absurdly cheesy dialogue. What has really been pissing me off though, is her treatment of women, vis a vis Bella.
Bella is everything that I hope I never am. She's helpless, she's whiny, she's unrealistic and she has no spine. Never once (in my memory, at least) does she have anything negative to say about Edward. Never once does she really display a will of her own, except in relation to wanting to be closer to Edward. It's not so bad when taken in the book's context, because as far as we know, Edward is a gentlemen, but all over the country, teenage girls are using her as a model.
I know this, because I have a friend who has been acting in a very similar manner. The only problem is that her boyfriend is a complete douche bag, and will continue to be one, no matter how convinced she is that she has 'true love'. There is only so many times I can listen to someone defend a guy who cheated on them, was only 'kinda' sorry, and has consistently treated them as a second-string fuck, before I just throw up my hands and don't care anymore. I can seriously picture her staying in an abusive relationship, and if I can't do anything, I don't know if I can just hang around and watch. If that makes any sense.
I blame Bella.
But so far I've disdained to read Breaking Dawn. I'll probably borrow it from a friend or something when I get the chance, but I'm not going to drop $23 for it. Especially since, the more I think about the Twilight series, the more it pisses me off. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed reading the first three, in a self-loathing sort of way. Stephanie Meyer has this tricky talent that pulls you into the book, even as you're scoffing at her ridiculous plot lines and her absurdly cheesy dialogue. What has really been pissing me off though, is her treatment of women, vis a vis Bella.
Bella is everything that I hope I never am. She's helpless, she's whiny, she's unrealistic and she has no spine. Never once (in my memory, at least) does she have anything negative to say about Edward. Never once does she really display a will of her own, except in relation to wanting to be closer to Edward. It's not so bad when taken in the book's context, because as far as we know, Edward is a gentlemen, but all over the country, teenage girls are using her as a model.
I know this, because I have a friend who has been acting in a very similar manner. The only problem is that her boyfriend is a complete douche bag, and will continue to be one, no matter how convinced she is that she has 'true love'. There is only so many times I can listen to someone defend a guy who cheated on them, was only 'kinda' sorry, and has consistently treated them as a second-string fuck, before I just throw up my hands and don't care anymore. I can seriously picture her staying in an abusive relationship, and if I can't do anything, I don't know if I can just hang around and watch. If that makes any sense.
I blame Bella.