Table of ContentsDefining FeminismConformity to Traditional Female Roles and LabelsEdward's Dominance in RelationshipsReferencesWhen Twilight was originally published in 2005, it attracted the attention of young adult readers female predominance due to the plot of the novel. ; chronicling the life of Isabella "Bella" Swan, a teenager who moved to Forks, Washington to live with her police chief father, Charlie Swan. The story gradually develops when Bella meets a vampire named Edward Cullen and falls in love with him, often jeopardizing her human side throughout the journey of their complicated love story. With the success of the first volume, this fantasy novel written by Stephenie Meyer becomes a series of tetralogies in which its readers can indulge. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Definition of Feminism When it comes to the popularity of the novels, several debates and criticisms are raised upon their release. One issue that will be addressed in this essay is feminism. According to Bryson (2017), Meyer's definition of feminism is: "it is all about a woman being allowed to make her own choices, whatever they may be." With this definition in Meyer's mind, she is then visualized in the form of Bella, a female protagonist who sees herself as a representative of feminism. However, I have argued that the portrayal of Bella Swan does not fit this definition of feminism; advocacy for women's rights on the basis of gender equality. In other words, feminism means that women have the same rights or opportunities as their male counterparts in all aspects of society, including challenging the “societal label” they wear. Despite this, Bella Swan is considered regressive in relation to this feminist idea. Renfro (2017) also notes the controversial portrayal of women in literature and media, according to which Meyer's Twilight is "no exception." Lovely (2015) also states that Twilight writes about the stereotype of women and how patriarchy controls society, which supports the anti-feminist definition. Antifeminists advocate traditional gender roles, in which men always exercise authority over women. Petersen (2011) also asserts that while she acknowledged the many feminist oppositions to Twilight, she attempts to explain crucial tensions within feminism today by highlighting the difficulties in determining what it means to be a feminist. Although Twilight can be presented as a feminist text correlating to the author's belief, I have argued that Twilight is an anti-feminist text in several aspects which are Bella's decisions, her conformity to traditional female roles and the Edward's dominance in their relationship. does not have the ability to choose or decide for herself due to the existence of Edward Cullen, her supernatural partner. Regarding antifeminism, Wilson (2014) stated that the core of antifeminism is counterfeitness, which is simply dismissing a woman's actions on the grounds that she is a woman. This is what Bella struggles with throughout the book series and that her decisions always revolve around Edward's well-being, in order to please him. This also implies the view of superiority that Edward has over Bella, preventing her from deciding for herself because she is constantly being asked to do something. For example, when Bella admits to Edward that she hopes he will change his mind about turning her into a vampire; “A dozen emotions were reflected on his face. I recognized itsome: anger... and pain...". Perhaps this shows that Edward has yet to accept the idea of ​​Bella becoming more powerful than him despite her willingness to sacrifice her human life just to be with him. Additionally, it seems he doesn't believe in the ideology that men and women should have equal power. If Bella is more powerful than him, it emasculates him and he tries to prevent this by not allowing Bella to turn into a vampire. Conformity to traditional female roles and labels The other anti-feminist aspect of Twilight is Bella's conformity to traditional, stereotypical female roles, such as cooking. In the scene where Bella discovers that Charlie couldn't cook much besides fried eggs and bacon and that there wasn't enough food in the house, Bella said, "So I asked that I be entrusted with the kitchen for the duration of my stay. » This demonstrates that she lives in a patriarchal environment that normalizes respective gender roles, where household chores are considered feminine and women should always be responsible for them. She is considered anti-feminist because she submits to ideal female behavior and is one of her most proactive decisions. As Eddo-Lodge (2013) says, Bella is not a liberal character due to her lack of distrust of regressive gender roles and instead conforms to them. Additionally, the point of view of the book is gynocentric. While the book focuses on Bella's point of view, her thought processes are scrutinized, showing the vulnerable side of the woman's mind. This somehow leads to the oppression of Bella's behavior which is portrayed as insecure and helpless, which fits the common stereotypical view of women. Additionally, having a female antagonist and a female writer as well as providing a "happily ever after" or "happily ever after" ending that some feminists were looking for is still not enough to justify it as a feminist text. , Edward's dominance towards Bella has an influence on how their relationship develops when Edward finally succumbs to the temptation to interact with Bella despite his countless encounters. The pair finally communicate in Mr. Banner's biology class, where Edward introduces himself despite sitting far from Bella and says, "I didn't get a chance to introduce myself last week." You must be Bella Swan. This scene corresponds to the conventional act where it is always the male who initiates a conversation with a female. Even after not speaking for half a dozen weeks, Edward explains to Bella that it's better for them not to be friends and to trust her on this matter. Ironically, later in the story, Edward admits that he is following Bella to Port Angeles and that this is not the first time he has done so; showing her lack of self-confidence. These specific scenes further support the anti-feminist argument, as Edward attempts to control Bella, which inevitably makes their relationship one-sided. Although Bella has the right to express herself verbally, Edward often neglects her. This is evident in several scenes in Twilight, particularly where Bella says she is happy that Edward has an excessive need for her company, and he harshly rejects this idea. His "freedom of speech" is somewhat limited and it is often Edward himself who has the last word. Bella is depicted as a "damsel in distress" while Edward is a "knight in shining armor" who must save her due to his enhanced psychic abilities as a vampire. Bella is seen as helpless, always needing reassurance or protection from another male figure like her father and Jacob, another man interested in the book..