Edward Cullen is a Creep

I must tell you, I have had numerous people tell me about Twilight. Some good, some bad. And from what I had heard, I was not impressed. But, because I feel that you shouldn't spout off about something you know nothing about- I decided to read it. I will tell you now, before you invest too much time, that I hated it. If that turns you off, click away now. I will also tell you that the fact that grown ass women find Edward Cullen to be an amazing man disgusts me. If that turns you off, click away now. It also is incredibly disturbing to me that young girls find Edward to be an ideal mate. If you don't want to hear about how he is an emotionally abusive asshole, then click away now.

So- for those 5 people that are still here with me, thanks. You may not agree with me, but I thank you for taking the time to hear me out. First, let me say that it has taken me a month to read this book. Granted, I was a little busy- but- unlike so many who have told me it was amazing, I fell asleep 9 times reading it. No exaggeration. Last night, I decided to focus and get this book out of my life.

I think part of my problem in reading the book, is that I had the actors in my head as the characters the whole time. And I am not entirely fond of them. In fact, thinking of RPats just creeps me out in general. I tried to get past it...but by no means is Stephanie Meyer a literary genius. She writes fiction for teenagers. Can't fault her for that, as I single handedly supported R.L. Stine and Ann M. Martin's career's during my teens. But- to say that she is a great author of our time, c'mon. Great authors of our time use a thesaurus. How many times can you say "dazzling" "sparkling" and "chagrin." I credit the dear friend who let me borrow her book for that knowledge, as she highlighted every occurrence in the 490 pages. Let me just tell you, it's a lot. I didn't REALLY get into the book until about page 345, when Bella is being hunted. That is when I started to turn the pages at rapid speed. The rest of the book was just too much set up, and the twist of the hunter being the one that created Alice was so juvenile. Because it is a book for teenagers.

You hear that, grown ass women who think Edward Cullen is a God? This book was written for teenagers. I have no problem if you want a light read. I really don't. Sometimes you just want something light hearted and entertaining. But when you cross over to this stage, you need to get a life. Yeah, I said it. Here is an excerpt from crazy town:

"In a way, Meyer has created the boyfriend we’d wish for our daughters and the cautious, responsible, gentlemanly son we’d be proud to call our own. Or, forgetting our age, she's created a character we wish could be our own love interest!"

Okay- Here is where I get to the serious stuff. Edward is not an amazing boyfriend. He is an abuser. Granted, we don't get to serious stuff until the last book (yes, I have heard about the sex scene), but there are so many red flags that it frighten me that girls think this is an ok relationship. Before you say I am overreacting, I would like you to take a look at something I became very familiar with in a college course that I not only took, but assisted in teaching for two semesters after. This is the wheel of violence.

Now, please allow me to show you the read flags that I found simply in the first book of the twilight series:
-playing mind games
-controlling what she does, who she sees, who she talks to (and follows up by eavesdropping!!)
-using jealousy to justify actions
-using male privilege (making all the big decisions, acting like the "master of the castle")
-threatening to commit suicide
-making her do illegal things (or just lie to her dad and run away from home)
-blaming her (because she just can't seem to keep her little lamb ass out of danger)

Here is a pretty interesting article that I found that lines up personality traits of abusers with actions of Edward throughout the entire series. Since I haven't read the whole series, I will let you click through if you want some more back up. She even sites page numbers.

I don't even think I need to get into the other creepy things he does, like watching her sleep, smelling her, telling her he wants to eat her, allowing her to think for the first month that she was worthless and that he hated her.... that is all minor when you look at the big picture.

If you think I am being over dramatic, so be it. I just think that people should take a little more care in what their children are reading. After all, as a parent, it is up to you to teach your children love, respect and what constitutes a proper relationship.

And if you are just reading it for fun- by all means go ahead. I watch trashy reality shows, I can't judge you. I just hope you just take a moment to think about it from a different angle. That's all I ask.

Alright Twihards- let me have it!!!