Twilight Saga’s “Midnight Sun” met with controversy
Wikipedia Commons
“Midnight Sun” by Stephanie Meyers takes the reader through the Twilight Saga from the perspective of the vampire character Edward Cullen instead of his beloved Bella Swan.
The Cullen family is trapped repeating their lives over and over again in different places as they are vampires who move periodically to keep their secret under wraps. Many young people spent their younger years falling for these characters of Stephenie Meyer’s.
After the manuscript was leaked in 2008, many fans believed they would never see the rest of Edward’s story. Now that “Midnight Sun” is out, it has fans and skeptics alike wondering, “Is this really a good message to send?”
In the original novels and in the Twilight Saga films, we experienced scenes from Bella’s perspective as Edward watched over her and did his best to keep her safe. It was weird that he would follow her without her knowing, but he had good intentions, right?
With the official release of “Midnight Sun” back in Aug. 2020, things no longer seem entirely innocent. Edward is constantly battling with the desire to kill Bella. Although fans know this from what he had told Bella in the previous books, it is still far beyond reasonable (even for a vampire.)
When he sees her in their school cafeteria, it is more or less just curiosity about not being able to read her mind that initially gets his attention. However, in the biology classroom–their first up-close encounter–Edward shows readers just what he is.
“I knew what had to happen now,” said Edward in the novel. “The girl would have to come sit beside me, and I would have to kill her. The innocent bystanders in this classroom, eighteen other children and one man, could not be allowed to leave, having seen what they would soon see.”
The scene is no longer just him looking angry like in the first book. It is a terrifying moment.
Looking at all the things that happen in both the original book and this one, the situation would be a significant issue if it were not in the fantasy world of Bella and the Cullens.
He follows her around without her knowledge, he is controlling, and he even uses the famous line, “Nobody will believe that, you know.” It is easy to see why some people are worried about young girls trying to use this as a guide for a relationship.
Fans have always been all for Bella being with Edward or Jacob. But neither one is an example of a healthy relationship. Edward is controlling and fights a constant battle with his inner desire to kill her. Both Edward and Jacob lose their cool and become violent because of their terrible tempers.
As a fan, it can be hard to acknowledge these truths, but they do not mean you have to stop loving the books. Just be aware that it is not a healthy thing to base real-life relationship expectations on.
My name is Juliann Reaper but most people call me Juli....
