A slight deviation from current politics…
So, my dissertation paper has been accepted to an academic conference at the University of London’s Institute of Germanic and Romance studies. If you’re interested in literary analysis, vampires, Twilight or feminism, you should try and come! Abstract is as follows:
‘Love to her becomes a religion’: The Twilight saga, feminism and regression
Traditionally, vampiric stories challenge patriarchal proscription. This paper explores Stephanie Meyer’s deft use of patriarchal gender roles to buck vampiric philosophy’s tendency to challenge the status quo, resulting in putting the modern women firmly back in her subordinate place. Vampires are equipped with the power of penetration, and the dissertation explores this notion to female vampires in the series, and the significant factor of Bella Swan’s eventual vampiric superpower being self- restraint.
As vampire philosophy often renders human beings weak and female, whilst vampires are strong and male, the paper will also be examining power and control between humans and vampirism in particular, Meyer’s fetishation of female victimhood, and romantic notions of female self-sacrifice using Simone de Beauvoir’s 1949 feminist theory The Second Sex to analyse Meyer’s regressive writings.
Edward Cullen is presented as the monster with a heart, and the epitome of perfection. Working with the theory of a vampire bite as a metaphor for the loss of female virginity, this paper applies Carol J. Adams’ feminist vegan critical theory The Sexual Politics of Meat directly to the texts in order to expose the close and dangerous relationship between the notions of love, lust, bloodlust, abuse, control, sex and violence- all used repeatedly in the Twilight saga to promote a false idea of romantic love.
The conference is on the 2nd to the 4th November 2011. Provisional information can be found here- I’ll post up more details (prices, programme ) as and when I get it.
I am in agreement with you on everything but this: Working with the theory of a vampire bite as a metaphor for the loss of female virginity, There is no distinction by gender on how a vampire is created and therefore I fail to see how it is representative of female virginity.
I’m using it as a metaphor because when vampires are seen as male ad humans female, the vampire tooth is a phallic symbol. It’s used to penetrate pure/untouched (read = white) skin, and there’s the exchanging of bodily fluids- the human bleeds, the vampire releases venom (graphic I know) and it essentially colonises/contaminates the human. There’s many metaphorical similarities between semen and venom in this context
I think it works quite well as in many vampire stories/myths, female vampires are seen as lusty and uncontrollable (Dracula for example) when equipped with the power of penetration. That’s why I think it’s no coincidence that Bella Swan’s vampiric super power is self restraint- it’s the classic virgin/whore dichotomy. I’m working with archaic notions of female sexuality and virginity here, but these are the structures that Stephanie Meter works within!
Well how do answer the fact that Bella’s power is constructed as the most powerful of them all? I don;t know that I would refer to Bella’s power as self restraint because what it actually is, is a shield. She has the power to shield people and this you can see typical construction of motherhood. The idea that the mother must not only nurture but defend her young under all circumstances.
I am absolutely fascinated by what you are doing btw. I am currently writing a book about the manner in which specific isms are repeated throughout the genre. For instance the idea that female protagonists are necessarily feminist because there is a constant assertion of agency without any recognition that this supposed agency also means that the decisions that they make places them in peril, thus forcing others to save them.