Due to my complete inability to register numbers, which is a common trait among us English majors, I've failed to realize that Chapter 24 is the final OFFICIAL chapter in Twilight. And I was all like
But then I figured out that following Chapter 24 is a 19 page "epilogue," which Meyer has decided to sadistically spring on me. And I was like
Naw, I'm just kiddin ya'll. I love rolling around in garbage as much as anybody.
There will be two more entries to follow this one: the Epilogue, and my Overall Conclusion. Also, my more sophisticated friend and fellow MFA graduate over at Zac Rates the Universe has invited me to write a guest review of Twilight, which I would be honored to do, if he will still have me. So, catch an even more condensed version of my opinions if you are not completely worn out by them.
Moving on...
In this chapter, Bella wakes up in the hospital. Meyer's voyeurism is still there, most clearly evident on pg 460, when Edward mechanically rattles off ANOTHER recap of the injuries Bella sustained. and...I must say...the story that Edward & Co. come up with to explain how she got hurt is ludicrous, even by Twilight standards.
"'You fell down two flights of stairs and through a window.' [Edward] paused. 'You have to admit, it could happen.'" (459)
Oh, sure. She fell down one flight of stairs, got up from the landing, moved her broken body over to a second flight of stairs, and fell again. And this certainly accounts for the DISTINCT BITE MARK on her arm. Meyer must think medical people are completely retarded.
But Jesus. Who am I to question the logic of this novel this far into the game? Suck it up, girl. Just suck it up and plow through it.
"'How bad am I?'
"'You have a broken leg, four broken ribs, some cracks in your skull, bruises covering every inch of your skin, and you've lost a lot of blood. They gave you a few transfusions. I didn't like it -- it made you smell all wrong for a while.'" (460)
Okay, first...creeptastic. Secondly, nobody would SAY this to a person who'd just been seriously mangled, not in this way at least. This is totally Stephenie Meyer wallowing some more in Bella's martyrdom. It gets super played up as the chapter goes on, with Edward mentioning once again how Bella is LOVED by everyone (461), and that she is "[brave] to the point where it becomes insanity" (475). Bella consistently denies further pain medication ("See!" Meyer screams at us. "See how brave she is! She is brave because she doesn't want more pain medication!"), yet Bella herself MAKES SURE THAT WE KNOW how much pain she is in; every time she smiles or laughs or sighs, she mentions that her whole body aches. SHE IS A DARLING, SELFLESS LAMB AND ALL YA'LL ARE JEALOUS WHOREZZZ!
I know that some might find my issue with the descriptions of Bella's injuries unfounded -- "Well, OF COURSE Bella's in pain. She just withstood a vampire attack!" But please understand, it's not just the injuries themselves that make it voyeurism. Characters in stories may very well become badly injured as the result of horrific experiences; in fact, it starts to get problematic when characters are consistently in the midst of violence and come out with some cute little nick on their face (most spy movies exhibit this; see the most recent example: Salt). But the issue here is the way these injuries are described, the way that other characters obsess over them, and the way that Meyer herself obsesses over getting Bella into situations where she can bleed or break something. Mind, I wouldn't be pointing this out if there wasn't a pattern throughout the series. I haven't read all the books, but from summaries, it seems as though Meyer has brainstormed all the various situations in which Bella can spill her blood: Bella attempts life-endangering activities in New Moon, breaks her hand punching another character in Eclipse, and...I'm far more acquainted than I want to be with the horrific birthing scene in Breaking Dawn, when Meyer switches to Jacob's POV, so we get the full panoramic view. Here's a taste:
"Bella's body, streaming with red, started to twitch, jerking around in Rosalie's arms like she was being electrocuted. All the while, her face was blank--unconscious. It was the wild thrashing from inside the center of her body that moved her. As she convulsed, sharp snaps and cracks kept time with the spasms."
"[Rosalie's] hand [with a scalpel] came down on Bella's stomach, and vivid red spouted out from where she pierced the skin. It was like a bucket being turned over, a faucet twisted to full. Bella jerked, but didn't scream. She was still choking."
"Another shattering crack inside her body, the loudest yet, so loud that we both froze in shock waiting for her answering shriek. Nothing. Her legs, which had been curled up in agony, now went limp, sprawling out in an unnatural way.
'Her spine,' [Edward] choked in horror."
What is read cannot be unread. You're welcome.
Setting aside the fact that I even spared you THE PART WHERE SOMEBODY CHEWS THROUGH A BABY'S AMNIOTIC SAC WITH HIS TEETH as well as THE BIT WITH THE PEDOPHILIA (see the wiki entry for "child grooming"), Meyer has admitted in public that this is her favorite scene in Breaking Dawn. Yeah. Stick that in your pipe and smoke it.
See, when a writer is filling her stories with this much tasteless violence toward one particular character, it makes me think she is getting something out of it. I mean, for like TEN PAGES she INDULGES EXPLICITLY in ripping Bella's body to shreds. I don't even...I mean...this is a published work of fiction. Why is this self-gratifying torture porn not rotting away in Meyer's sock drawer as it should be?
Anyway...sorry. I'm tirading. Also in this chapter:
- The first scene in which Bella's mother is present; the two characters share some tenderness before Renee breezes out of the room again and Bella forgets that she exists. ("You're the only thing it would hurt me to lose," Bella tells Edward on 474; see how thoughtful and selfless she is, considering everybody in her life above herself?)
- Edward makes Bella's heart monitor stop beeping by kissing her (retch)
- Bella literally hyperventilates when Edward merely suggests that they should part ways for her safety; she begs him to promise that he will never leave her
- Bella and Edward argue about Bella becoming a vampire (he puts his foot down about it)
- Some information about Alice that Meyer had to cram in at the last minute which is of little consequence to the rest of the plot (though I must admit, it was pleasurable to picture Alice having fun recreating the scene of Bella's "accident")
WHAT'S WORKING:The voyeurism stands out in my mind and really bothers me, if nobody else has noticed. I'm aware that many fans were turned off by the birthing scene in Breaking Dawn, but still many others ate it up. "Oh, the things that Bella has to go through...!" What, because Meyer constantly inflicts pain on her, I'm supposed to like her more? Psha. If anything, that just makes her more annoying.
Bella's freak-out when Edward threatens to leave is unsettling to me also. Twilight fans may see Bella's desperation as unwavering, romantic devotion, but to most intelligent people who haven't been sucked into the novel's indulgent bunghole, Bella's begging and crying reads as needy, selfish, and really just pathetic. Whenever Edward says, "I may leave you," Bella immediately becomes a helpless child, as though she is completely at his mercy, and him leaving her would rip her spine right out of her body (buckle your seatbelts, kids--this actually happens in New Moon). As often as she presents it, Meyer WANTS us to see Bella as helpless, and there are countless readers who see their helpless selves within this girl.
The shrinks call this a Cinderella complex, which stems from an innate fear of becoming independent. In dudes, it's called a Peter Pan complex. I mean, who wants to actually be an adult? Not Bella Swan, that's who.
I don't think it's an accident either that Edward is frozen as a seventeen-year-old boy, and Bella wants to be frozen at that age with him. Edward may talk all proper, but he is unburdened by the responsibilities of typical adults. He offers NOTHING for his community. He has no job to worry about. His fam is totes rich, so he doesn't worry about money. He has super strength, can read minds, and yet in this wealth of ability, his mindset is still that of an immature, angst-ridden teenager. In the Twilight world there is really nothing BAD about being a vampire, and I don't think Meyer would have it any other way. It would seem that her precious Bella, and Twilight's devoted readers, don't just fear a world without Edward; they fear a world in which they are responsible for themselves.
Is that too much? Am I going to far to make the assumption? I would like to dig a little deeper into this, but I'm really kind of tired, so I may have to save it for either the next entry or my final wrap-up. And I DID look up some fan responses to Bella's behavior, and whether or not they see her as a good role model. Some interesting findings, but they will wait until next week also.
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Epilogue in the works. I can feel myself finally sailing into the Grey Havens.
Wish me luck,
Jenchilla
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