Vampire love raising romantic standards for some "Twilight" fans
From left to right: “New Moon” fans mom Dana Palmer,
daughter Delaney Palmer, 9, friend Sydney Miller, 12,
and daughter Quinn Palmer, 12 of Ham Lake, Minn.
After reading the books 15 times, Quinn Palmer said
there is no guy out there as good as “Twilight” vampire
Edward Cullen. Photo by Samantha Timmerman
Emma Olson, a junior at St. Louis Park Senior High, broke up with her boyfriend after reading the “Twilight” series, a vampire romance that has become one of the most popular young-adult stories of the past few years.
“After reading the book I just felt that I deserved better than what I was getting from my boyfriend. I know what I want in a guy, now I just have to find him,” Olson said.
Fans were thirsting for more “Twilight” vampire love and drama with the highly anticipated November release of its sequel, “New Moon.” But the series also has fans looking for their own real-life Edward, or Jacob – werewolf and other love interest of main character Bella Swan.
All around the Internet in forums like the one at Twifans, fans discuss the possibility of finding a love that will have the same type of connection as Bella and Edward have in the novel.
One Twifans commenter said: “I badly want an Edward Cullen. I’ve had boyfriends, but I end up dumping them. They aren’t the right men for me.”
Following this trend is Quinn Palmer, a 12-year-old girl from Ham Lake, Minn. who said she has read the Twilight books 15 times. Quinn said she believes there is “no guy as good as Edward. He’s so romantic and cute.”
Quinn, her 9-year-old sister, and her mother attended a promotional event for “New Moon” at the Mall of America on Nov. 11.
Fans gather at the Mall of America to see a promotional
appearance by characters of “New Moon.”
Photo by Samantha Timmerman
There are fans who say Edward is a fictional character and real-life guys shouldn’t be expected to live up to his example. When asked why she thought Edward couldn’t be real, 12-year-old Maggie Doyle of Burnsville, Minn. pointed out that Edward just looks like he’s a teenager but actually is more than 100 years old. Doyle said Edward comes from a more gentlemanly era than modern guys.
Many fans at the Mall of America said they like their real-life boyfriends just fine. “(I’ve) never met a man like Edward in real life, though it would be cool to have an indestructible boyfriend,” said Cassie Westgard, 16, of Apple Valley.
Tiffany Kendal, 25, from Stillwater, Minn. said her boyfriend shares Edward’s dedication to his girlfriend. “He’s a lot like Edward in (that) way,” she said.
Fans at the “New Moon” event pointed out some characteristics in Edward Cullen they wouldn’t want in a boyfriend – the fact that he’s cold as stone and wouldn’t be fun to cuddle, watched Bella unknowingly in her sleep, and doesn’t take her wishes into consideration when he makes decisions.
Emma Hornstine of St. Louis Park Senior High is on “Team Jacob,” as fans call it, over “Team Edward.”
“I think Edward’s character is too unrealistic, where as with Jacob, one can actually find a guy like that out there. Humans are warm like werewolves,” Hornstine said.
Parents are also having discussions about the romantic messages these novels pass on to their children. Mother of two girls ages 9 and 12, Dana Palmer said the novels capture the extreme highs and lows of first love and are “a good way for girls to get into romance, they get a taste of it without experiencing it personally.”
Comments
oddly enough, i was just having a conversation with some classmates about unrealistic expectations for girls vs guys. we concluded that girls have higher standards to match because of the glamorous celebrity women, but men have more reasonable standards because it’s now cool to be “an average guy” (ex: seth rogen, john krasinski).
i guess, however, most of us didn’t consider fictional idols.
I like this article, dude. It’s awesome.
:D
I enjoyed the picture
Sorry, Ms. Storm, this may not be the most serious or important subject to write about, but this is one are where i actually have some kind of opinion.
I am a twilight fan. More importantly, I am an Edward fan. What girl wouldn't be? He's incredibly handsome, romantic, devoted, protective, smart, indestructable... but he's not real, and he never will be. Such a specimen of male perfection does not exist, and any girl who dumps her boyfriend in the hopes of finding her Edward is an idiot. And besides, living with such perfection each day would make you feel totally inadequate. There would be no balance in such a relationship, and eventually you would grow to hate this perfect being for magnifying your own faults like a magnifying glass (isn't that the most clever simile you've every seen? I should recieve a literary award).
Besides, cynical as this may seem, I don't think such a deep and all encompassing love exists for mortals, and a girl can't expect her man to run off to the volturi because he thinks she died. Believe me, I would be so happy to know such a love existed. To know that someone was capable of loving me, with all my faults and failures, so completely, and of me being capable of returning such love. But I can't. I believe it is restricted to fantasy novels.
Edward is a terrible standard to judge other men by! He's possessive and controlling and is a stalker (someone who watches you sleep outside your window is NOT COOL, CUTE, OR CHARMING AT ALL!!) He's described as cold to the touch. Who wants to kiss someone that's cold all the time?! Also, the guy is over a 100 years old, but looks like a teenager, yet he continues to go to school. Why on earth would you keep going to school if you're over 100 years old?!?! Get a job!
Bella isn't that smart either. For her to be the so-called 'typical moody teen', she rants about nothing, all the boys fall out over her, and all the girls want to be her friend. Why does Bella call her parents by their name besides mom and dad escapes me (and we're not told why). Her parents treat her well, so I didn't get the angst. I couldn't stand the movie, Stewart mumbles too much and I find her acting horrible (she does better in the Runaways-- she doesn't speak much).
Girls need to be realistic that this type of possessive and controlling behavior is BAD. Real men are warm to the touch (haha), some have good and warm personalities and are considerate and respectable. I love anything vampire, but hated the Twilight book as I found it badly written and very boring. If I ever see such thesaurus abuse again, I'm ripping out pages, that's ridiculous!! I thought purple prose was dead. Apparently not!
As for the movie, they should have combined the books. It would have been a lot more exciting. Or at least two books per movie. But nooooooooooo. They had to drag out this terrible book series. Someone was high that day when they accepted the book and didn't edit this crap at all.
I'm sad at the death of good movies and books.
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