While admissions made in this entry may seemingly strip away my masculinity, I will none-the-less attempt to give explanation as to why the Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight Series is so appealing to teenage girls and young women of today.  USAToday recently reported that in March of 2009 the first three books of the four-part saga (Twilight, New Moon & Eclipse) were the top three books sold in local bookstores.  So why such a broad sweeping craze? 

Every year, I try to read a few books that, I believe, are shaping popular culture.  As a person who is expected to explain truth weekly, I believe this time of researching culture is time well spent.  If I do not understand the bridges and barriers to the people’s epistemology, I will struggle to compel them towards eternal truths.  So why is this story resonating so abundantly to particularly young women in America?  Or to put it in Twilight terms: Why is Edward Cullen like a personal heroin to so many young ladies?
Six Reasons for Appeal:

#1 – The Main Character is a Normal Girl – Bella Swan is described as average in appearance, skills and intelligence.  This is appealing to young women who are constantly prodded to fit the Hollywood scale of beauty and talent in order to receive any notice by the other gender.  The story involves an obsessive love from a beautiful boy, who is the object of every women’s attention yet his only desires are for an average clumsy girl.

#2 – The Attractiveness of the Bad Boy – Edward Cullen, the mysterious love interest, is more than just the prototypical bad boy found all throughout American Romance.  Edward is not just depicted as attractive and mysterious, but he is also dangerous.  While this prose is familiar to the contemporary reader, the danger that follows this debonair hero is extra-ordinary but the story is built on this crucible: while Edward is dangerous, he is also driven by good will for Bella.

#3 – Desire of Women to be Pursued – Every woman’s fantasy is to be the sole pursuit of a virtuous man, to be the object of that man’s affection, and the desire of his heart.  In this series, Edward finds it excruciating to even be away from Bella.  His intrigue is heightened towards his damsel because, unlike everyone else, he cannot read her thoughts. This, and her smell, drives Edward’s pursuit for Bella; even bringing personal pain to his very being, yet his pursuit is unhindered.

#4 – Identifying with the Breakdown of the Family – Bella’s family, like many American families, has been altered by divorce forcing the protagonist to make difficult choices to appease the desperate decision her parents have made.  Her parents seem unaware of the trials they have put Bella through and her cavalier approach to compensation for these decisions shows her unprecedented fortitude.  One of the great contrasts is the solidity of the Cullen family who never abandons each other, shares the same values, and is uniquely bonded.  This is in stark contrast to Swan family.

#5 – A Man who Protects – At the core of every woman is a desire to be protected.  Edward fights the battle of being a monster that was made to destroy, yet leashes his inhuman power to protect Bella from both outward and inward harm.  The outward beast wants to “bite” her and bring her harm, but the inward love and desire to protect overpowers the outward monster that is Edward Cullen.

#6 – Romance that it not Sexual – In a sexual charged generation, the motive for love in this novel series is not sexual.  This is a refreshing bend from reality, particularly for ladies, who are constantly prodded by their opposing gender for sexual favors.  The male love interest draws honorable lines of sexual purity that are fully upheld leaving this story of passion about a greater mission, the mission of love without self-gain.  Their love is not bonded by sexual desire but by an ageless, timeless, fantasy from long ago.

Stephanie Meyers has captured the attention of American culture with her Twilight Series by carefully observing the systemic problems in our society.  Namely the breakdown of the family and the obsessive 'sexualization' of our culture. She also identifies the fallout of the God-given masculine imperative to protect, cherish and admonish our created partners: our women, sisters and daughters.

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