5 Reasons Why Twilight Isn’t as Bad as You Thought

It’s been 12 years since the publication of Twilight, and this summer we were treated to its latest and probably, the final installment, Midnight Sun.

As the dust settles on the saga, what can we take away from this momentous series?

The first book in the Twilight Saga was published back in 2008, which feels like a lifetime ago. The publication of Midnight Sun, a ‘companion’ novel, tells the first part of the story through Edward Cullen’s perspective.

Reading Midnight Sun as a previously obsessed teenager now in their 20s, unleashed a wave of nostalgia, making me look back on the series and see it through fresh eyes.

Criticisms and nostalgia aside, I have been reflecting on the series, and this is what I have concluded.

Stephanie Meyer is not a bad writer

As a teenager, I didn’t give much thought to Stephanie Meyer’s writing as I was too concerned with the story and sex (or frustratingly, the lack of). However, having just read Midnight Sun, I cannot see why she has gotten such a bad rap.

Edward’s perspective in Midnight Sun allows Meyer’s craft to truly shine. Being over a hundred years old, Edward’s thoughts are laced with a language that is complex and beautifully crafted — unlike the rest of the saga told through Bella’s perspective. I noticed when reading this fifth installment, that I was appreciating the language and her skill as a writer far more. But maybe that has just come with my age?

Critiques aside — I would strongly disagree that the series and this installment, in particular, is ‘trash’ but rather, a well crafted, fantasy world that has so many layers.

The world Meyer has created is complex, and only when reading Midnight Sun, can this truly be appreciated. Edward takes us through the history of the Cullen family in a way we are never exposed to throughout Bella’s narrative.

The romance isn’t toxic — it’s just not human

At first glance, Edward is weird, and a bit manipulative. And this is even more true when his very existence is taken out of context. Yes, he watches her sleep, intrudes on her relationships with others, and is overly possessive at times — but he is a vampire, remember?

Critiques say Meyer has glorified a toxic and controlling relationship to young teens. If this relationship was human, then maybe, but we shouldn’t forget that Edward is a vampire, he doesn’t even belong to our species. Furthermore, it’s a fantasy novel, non-reflective of real-life — so taking the relationship too seriously is always going to end badly.

My advice — don’t view it as a portrayal of an average human to human relationship, because it isn’t.

Furthermore, in Midnight Sun, we see a different side of the relationship. Despite his animalistic tendencies and desires, Edward is always on the side of caution, constantly trying to dissuade Bella from entering into a relationship with him. Edward warns her that, “we shouldn’t be friends” and Bella blindly follows.

The Cullen’s have a deep history

Although touched on throughout the saga, the retelling of the Cullen’s origins through Edward’s perspective really provides the reader with an added depth to their history.

We learn about Carlisle Cullen and his brutal upbringing in the seventeenth century, his passions for saving lives, and how he started the Cullen clan. Remember, this family is unlike normal vampires, as they are “vegetarians,” choosing to only hunt animals instead of humans — their natural prey.

Edward regularly gives us insights into their history, but especially when he tells Bella for the first time — wanting her to understand their unique origins.

In Midnight Sun, we are treated to the historic origins of the family and the justification for their way of life. This adds greater complexity to the Cullen's and arguably, gives us more appreciation for the complex world Meyer has crafted.

Edward is complex and flawed

Midnight Sun gives us an unchallenged insight into Edward, as the reader is stuck inside his head for 700 pages. As I was always Team Edward from the outset, this sounded ideal, but I actually came to appreciate him as a character even more.

Bella as a narrator gives us a perfectionist view of Edward as she falls madly in love with his vampire charm. However, experiencing their relationship from his side is an eye-opener. Edward worries about everything despite his exterior cool, calm, and collected aura.

He worries about what to say to Bella, if he is saying too much and also a lot of normal human things — like meeting Charlie, Bella’s Dad, for the first time.

But he is also plagued by a sense of constant guilt and regret about who he is. He views himself as a monster not worthy of love and is filled with a lot of self-hatred. Of course, throughout the saga, Bella doesn’t see this and therefore, his perspective is infinitely valuable for understanding the crafting of the Cullen family and the art of being a vampire itself.

This series encouraged a generation of young people to read

I may be clutching at straws, but back in the day, it definitely encouraged me to read and gave me a passion for different worlds and the power of fiction.

My circle of friends at the time were also consumed by the series and became avid readers as they grew up. Of course, we cannot accredit Twilight solely for this, but I would like to think it played a part.

Meyer has undoubtedly contributed something huge to the Young Adult fiction genre, with exploring many teenage themes in the series via the perspective of Bella, a seventeen-year-old girl.

Like Harry Potter, it had the abilities to capture the minds and imaginations of young people, and for that alone, it should be praised.

This may seem like a fan-girl defense of a series that reached its expiry date many years ago, but as a young woman in her 20s, I still feel a sense of fascination when I read Twilight. And I will never make any excuses for that.

My full review of Midnight Sun can be found here.

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