Exploring Feminism in Stephenie Meyer's Twilight because of the novel's plot; which traces the life of Isabella "Bella" Swan, a teenager who moves to Forks, Washington, to live with her police chief father, Charlie Swan. The plot gradually develops as Bella meets a vampire named Edward Cullen and falls in love with him, often risking her human side along the journey of their complicated love story. With the success of the first book, this fantasy novel written by Stephenie Meyer becomes a tetralogy series that its readers can indulge in. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Definition of Feminism Regarding the popularity of novels, numerous debates and criticisms are raised about their release. One issue we will focus on in this essay is feminism. According to Bryson (2017), Meyer's definition of feminism is that “it is simply about a woman being able to make her own choices, regardless of what they are.” With this definition in Meyer's mind, she is then visualized in the form of Bella, a female protagonist who she believes to be a representative of feminism. However, I have argued that Bella Swan's portrayal does not fit this definition of feminism; defense of women's rights on the basis of gender equality. In other words, feminism means that women have the same rights and opportunities as their male colleagues in every aspect of society, including challenging the “social label” they have. Even so, Bella Swan is seen as regressive towards this feminist idea. Renfro (2017) also notes the controversial portrayal of women in literature and media, stating that Meyer's Twilight is "no exception". Lovely (2015) also states that Twilight writes about the female stereotype and how patriarchy has control over society, which supports the anti-feminist definition. Antifeminism supports traditional gender roles, in which men still have authority over women. Petersen (2011) further states that, while she acknowledges the many feminist oppositions to Twilight, she attempts to explain crucial tensions within feminism today by highlighting the difficulties in determining what it means to be a feminist. Although Twilight can be described as a feminist text in correlation with the author's beliefs, I have argued that Twilight is an anti-feminist text in several aspects involving Bella's decisions, her conformity to traditional female roles, and Edward's dominance in them. relation. she lacks the ability to choose or decide for herself due to the existence of Edward Cullen, her supernatural partner. Regarding antifeminism, Wilson (2014) stated that the core of antifeminism is the opposite, which is simply rejecting the acts of a woman for the reason that she is a woman. This is what Bella struggles with throughout the book series and that her decisions still revolve around Edward's well-being, to please him. This also implies the superior view that Edward has over Bella, preventing her from deciding for herself as she is constantly asked to do something. For example, when Bella confesses to Edward that she hopes he will change his mind and turn her into a vampire; “a dozen emotions crossed his face. I recognized some of them: anger… and pain…”. Perhaps, it shows that Edward has yet to accept the idea thatBella becomes more powerful than him despite being willing to sacrifice her human life just to be with him. Furthermore, he appears to not believe in the ideology that men and women should have equal power. If Bella is more powerful than him, this emasculates him and he is trying to prevent this by allowing Bella to turn into a vampire. Conformity to Traditional Female Roles and Labels The other anti-feminist aspect of Twilight is Bella's conformity to traditional, stereotypical female roles, such as cooking. In the scene where Bella discovers that Charlie didn't know how to cook much beyond fried eggs and bacon, as well as having an insufficient supply of food in the house, Bella said, "So I asked to be given responsibility for the kitchen for the whole family." duration of my stay. " This shows that she lives in a patriarchal environment that normalizes respective gender roles, where domestic tasks are considered feminine and women should always be responsible for them. She is considered anti-feminist because she submits to the ideal conduct of women and is part of her most decisions proactive. As Eddo-Lodge (2013) states, Bella is not a liberal character due to her lack of defiance towards regressive gender roles and instead conforms to them. Furthermore, the point of view of the book is gynocentric. While the book focuses on Bella's perspective, her thought processes are examined carefully, which shows the more vulnerable side of the female mind This somehow leads to the oppression of Bella's behavior which is depicted as insecure and helpless, the which fits the common stereotypical view of women. Furthermore, having a female antagonist and writer, as well as providing a "happily ever after" or "happily for now" ending sought by some feminists, is still not enough to justify it. as a feminist text. Edward's Domination in Relationship In addition to this, Edward's dominance of Bella has an influence on how their relationship develops when Edward finally gives in to the temptation to interact with Bella despite having met countless times. The couple eventually communicates in Mr. Banner's biology class, where Edward shows up despite sitting far away from Bella and says “I didn't get a chance to introduce myself last week. You must be Bella Swan." This scene fits the conventional act of always the male initiating a conversation with a female. Even after they haven't spoken for half a dozen weeks, Edward explains to Bella that it's best if they are not friends and to trust him on this matter. Ironically, later in the story, Edward admits to following Bella to Port Angeles and it is not the first time he has done so; showing his lack of trust in her further the anti-feminist argument, as Edward seeks to have the control over Bella, which inevitably strains their one-sided relationship. Although Bella has the right to express herself verbally, Edward often ignores her. This is evident in several scenes in Twilight, particularly where Bella says she is happy that Edward excessively craves his company, and he harshly rejects that idea. His "freedom of speech" is somewhat limited and Edward himself often has the final say. Bella is depicted as a "damsel in distress" while Edward is a "knight in shining armor" who must save her due to his improved psychic abilities as a vampire. Bella is considered helpless and always requires reassurance or protection from another male figure such as her father and Jacob, another male interest in the book. She is clearly not allowed to develop, thus making her character stagnant and questionable to be considered.

Topic > Exploring Feminism in Stephenie Meyer's Twilight because of the novel's plot; which traces the life of Isabella "Bella" Swan, a teenager who moves to Forks, Washington, to live with her police chief father, Charlie Swan. The plot gradually develops as Bella meets a vampire named Edward Cullen and falls in love with him, often risking her human side along the journey of their complicated love story. With the success of the first book, this fantasy novel written by Stephenie Meyer becomes a tetralogy series that its readers can indulge in. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Definition of Feminism Regarding the popularity of novels, numerous debates and criticisms are raised about their release. One issue we will focus on in this essay is feminism. According to Bryson (2017), Meyer's definition of feminism is that “it is simply about a woman being able to make her own choices, regardless of what they are.” With this definition in Meyer's mind, she is then visualized in the form of Bella, a female protagonist who she believes to be a representative of feminism. However, I have argued that Bella Swan's portrayal does not fit this definition of feminism; defense of women's rights on the basis of gender equality. In other words, feminism means that women have the same rights and opportunities as their male colleagues in every aspect of society, including challenging the “social label” they have. Even so, Bella Swan is seen as regressive towards this feminist idea. Renfro (2017) also notes the controversial portrayal of women in literature and media, stating that Meyer's Twilight is "no exception". Lovely (2015) also states that Twilight writes about the female stereotype and how patriarchy has control over society, which supports the anti-feminist definition. Antifeminism supports traditional gender roles, in which men still have authority over women. Petersen (2011) further states that, while she acknowledges the many feminist oppositions to Twilight, she attempts to explain crucial tensions within feminism today by highlighting the difficulties in determining what it means to be a feminist. Although Twilight can be described as a feminist text in correlation with the author's beliefs, I have argued that Twilight is an anti-feminist text in several aspects involving Bella's decisions, her conformity to traditional female roles, and Edward's dominance in them. relation. she lacks the ability to choose or decide for herself due to the existence of Edward Cullen, her supernatural partner. Regarding antifeminism, Wilson (2014) stated that the core of antifeminism is the opposite, which is simply rejecting the acts of a woman for the reason that she is a woman. This is what Bella struggles with throughout the book series and that her decisions still revolve around Edward's well-being, to please him. This also implies the superior view that Edward has over Bella, preventing her from deciding for herself as she is constantly asked to do something. For example, when Bella confesses to Edward that she hopes he will change his mind and turn her into a vampire; “a dozen emotions crossed his face. I recognized some of them: anger… and pain…”. Perhaps, it shows that Edward has yet to accept the idea thatBella becomes more powerful than him despite being willing to sacrifice her human life just to be with him. Furthermore, he appears to not believe in the ideology that men and women should have equal power. If Bella is more powerful than him, this emasculates him and he is trying to prevent this by allowing Bella to turn into a vampire. Conformity to Traditional Female Roles and Labels The other anti-feminist aspect of Twilight is Bella's conformity to traditional, stereotypical female roles, such as cooking. In the scene where Bella discovers that Charlie didn't know how to cook much beyond fried eggs and bacon, as well as having an insufficient supply of food in the house, Bella said, "So I asked to be given responsibility for the kitchen for the whole family." duration of my stay. " This shows that she lives in a patriarchal environment that normalizes respective gender roles, where domestic tasks are considered feminine and women should always be responsible for them. She is considered anti-feminist because she submits to the ideal conduct of women and is part of her most decisions proactive. As Eddo-Lodge (2013) states, Bella is not a liberal character due to her lack of defiance towards regressive gender roles and instead conforms to them. Furthermore, the point of view of the book is gynocentric. While the book focuses on Bella's perspective, her thought processes are examined carefully, which shows the more vulnerable side of the female mind This somehow leads to the oppression of Bella's behavior which is depicted as insecure and helpless, the which fits the common stereotypical view of women. Furthermore, having a female antagonist and writer, as well as providing a "happily ever after" or "happily for now" ending sought by some feminists, is still not enough to justify it. as a feminist text. Edward's Domination in Relationship In addition to this, Edward's dominance of Bella has an influence on how their relationship develops when Edward finally gives in to the temptation to interact with Bella despite having met countless times. The couple eventually communicates in Mr. Banner's biology class, where Edward shows up despite sitting far away from Bella and says “I didn't get a chance to introduce myself last week. You must be Bella Swan." This scene fits the conventional act of always the male initiating a conversation with a female. Even after they haven't spoken for half a dozen weeks, Edward explains to Bella that it's best if they are not friends and to trust him on this matter. Ironically, later in the story, Edward admits to following Bella to Port Angeles and it is not the first time he has done so; showing his lack of trust in her further the anti-feminist argument, as Edward seeks to have the control over Bella, which inevitably strains their one-sided relationship. Although Bella has the right to express herself verbally, Edward often ignores her. This is evident in several scenes in Twilight, particularly where Bella says she is happy that Edward excessively craves his company, and he harshly rejects that idea. His "freedom of speech" is somewhat limited and Edward himself often has the final say. Bella is depicted as a "damsel in distress" while Edward is a "knight in shining armor" who must save her due to his improved psychic abilities as a vampire. Bella is considered helpless and always requires reassurance or protection from another male figure such as her father and Jacob, another male interest in the book. She is clearly not allowed to develop, thus making her character stagnant and questionable to be considered.