“Like Romeo and Juliet, Bella and Edward aren’t in love. At best it’s a combination of lust and infatuation, and at worst it’s an unhealthy and abusive relationship.
Consider this. You have a friend who has a new boyfriend. She tells you that she fell for him after one glance across a carpark. He didn’t seem to like her at first but in no time at all he was all over her. He sneaks into her bedroom without her knowledge when she’s asleep and watches her, and listens to her dream. He took the engine out of her car to stop her visiting another friend whom he dislikes and mistrusts. She has to phone that same friend in secret because he looks angry when he catches her talking to him. They don’t really know each other well. They don’t talk about much except how into each other they are. He often looks furious when she disagrees with him. They have both attempted suicide when forced apart. He had to go away for a few days so he had his sister kidnap her and hold her hostage while he was gone. He also bullied and manipulated her into agreeing to marry him, before she could get what she wanted out of the relationship. He withholds affection if she won’t do what he wants. But he does all this because he really, truly loves her so it’s ok. You’re reaching for the Yellow Pages to find the domestic violence hotline just reading that, right? So why is it OK to put these ideas in fiction aimed at teens and young adults, to glamorise suicide and to perpetuate the notion that no girl is complete until the cutest boy in school smiles at her? Is it alright because he’s a vampire? That being treated like a possession and losing all free will is just dandy, as long as your suitor does it because he loves you?
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