Genre, Reception, and Adaptation in the 'Twilight' Series

Because of the current fantasy trend to represent lycanthropy as a genetically inherited or inborn feature, with werewolves frequently belonging to werewolf families and/or packs, many contemporary narratives for children and young adults encourage readings of lycanthropy as a metaphor for racial or ethnic difference. Diverse representations of lycanthropy, from monstrous and sympathetic werewolves to benevolent and idealised werewolves, non-essentialist werewolves, and incommensurable werewolves thus suggest shifting conceptions of race and ethnicity. The divergent ideological implications of these distinctive werewolf schemata are analysed in a variety of contemporary children's and young adult fantasy texts, including Maggie Pearson's Owl Light ( 1996 ), Annette Curtis Klause's Blood and Chocolate ( 1997 ), Patrick Jennings's The Wolving Time ( 2003 ), J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series (1997–2007), and Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series (2005–8).

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Virtue as Adventure and Excess: Intertextuality, Masculinity, and Desire in the Twilight Series

Culture Unbound Journal of Current Cultural Research ◽

10.3384/cu.2000.1525.135213 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 5 (2) ◽

pp. 213-237

Author(s):

Claudia Lindén

Keyword(s):

Women Writers ◽

19Th Century ◽

Gender Norms ◽

Literary Tradition ◽

Gothic Fiction ◽

Sexuality And Gender ◽

Literary Figure ◽

And Gender ◽

The 19Th Century ◽

Twilight Series

The vampire is still primarily a literary figure. The vampires we have seen on TV and cinema in recent years are all based on literary models. The vampire is at the same time a popular cultural icon and a figure that, especially women writers, use to problematize gender, sexuality and power. As a vampire story the Twilight series both produces and problematizes norms in regard to gender, class and ethnici-ty. As the main romantic character in Twilight, Edward Cullen becomes interesting both as a vampire of our time and as a man. In a similar way as in the 19th century novel the terms of relationship are negotiated and like his namesake Edward Rochester, Edward Cullen has to change in important ways for the “happy end-ing” to take place. In spite of a strong interest in sexuality and gender norms in relation to vampires very few studies have focused exclusively on masculinity. This article examines the construction of masculinity in relation to vampirism in the Twilight series. It offers an interpretation of Stephenie Meyer’s novels and the character of Edward as part of a broader field of feminist (re-)uses of the vampire in modern literature with its roots in the literary tradition from Austen and the Brontë-sisters as well as from classic Gothic fiction.

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