Lately, I've been thinking a lot about Twilight canon (strange, no?) and something's been bothering me - Stephenie Meyer's treatment of her secondary female characters. We've all debated Bella's behavior (Is she too traditional? Is she too passive? etc. etc.), but I'd like to talk about some of Twilight's other lovely ladies.
There's SO much to discuss here, but I'd like to point out Meyer's obsession with fertility. In canon, so much of a woman's happiness is wrapped up in reproduction. Now, I'm not saying this isn't true for many real women, but it's such a pervasive theme in these books, that it does make one wonder.
Take, for example, Rosalie. She was gang raped, left for dead, made immortal against her will, offered up to Edward as a mate, and then rejected by him. This is an incredible amount of trauma for anyone to endure... and yet Rosalie's biggest source of angst is her inability to have babies.
To me, Rosalie's past should make her sympathetic, even with her cold behavior. Why does Meyer write her as a "shallow pool"? Why can't we celebrate her beauty, rather than use it as a foil for Bella's 'better', subtle attractiveness? Why does Meyer reward Bella with childbirth, while she laces her other women with varying degrees of infertile misery?
Esme attempted suicide because her baby died, and now her primary source of happiness is acting the part of a mother.
Leah, one of the only women who departs the saga without a love interest, bemoans the loss of her own fertility.
And fertility is certainly not the only thing to discuss here. I want to know why Alice's personality is so void-like (and at times even caricatured). Let's talk about Meyer's women - everyone from nasty Lauren to flighty Renee.
Personally, I love Rosalie, and I wish she could've had a happier story.
