Twilight – Themes


Personal choice pops up as a huge component of all the action in Twilight. The defining aspect of the Cullens – the “good” vampires – is that they’ve chosen to suppress their natural desires.

Twilight is a story of forbidden love. Because Edward is a vampire and Bella a human, Edward technically should consider Bella his prey.

Good vs. Evil

Generally, vampires are seen as evil. They’re considered “monsters” in cultural lore. Most vampires give in to their desire for human blood, but the Cullens don’t.

Fear is an instinctive reaction for all the characters in Twilight, and all are faced with choosing to embrace or disregard the fears that grip them. For instance,

Isolation appears in two forms in Twilight. There’s physical isolation – Forks is a small, secluded, rain-soaked town – and emotional isolation.

Communication is a big deal in Twilight. Edward is accustomed to reading minds, but when he’s unable to do this with Bella, he doesn’t know quite how to communicate with her.

At least initially, Bella and Edward seem to be attracted to one another because of their looks (and smell, too, especially in Edward’s case).

From the Preface we knew that there was going to be some life-and-death business going down in Twilight, but little did we know how often Bella’s life would be in danger.

Vampires are not real. Or, shall we say, we don’t think they’re real. That makes them supernatural.

Bella and Edward’s relationship is ironic when it comes to strength and skill – she’s a klutz with zero muscle power, and he’s a smooth-stepping superhero (well, “bad guy” from his perspective.

Family is central to both Edward and Bella’s lives. While Bella has grown up close to her mother, she has an understandably awkward relationship with her father Charlie.

The most common form of hate we see in Twilight is actually self-hate. Edward hates himself for the danger he brings into Bella’s life, and he frequently expresses horror at his bloodlust.

Stephenie Meyer presents Twilight’s star, Bella, as a selfless character.

In Twilight, many characters fight their natural instincts. It’s natural for vampires to drink human blood, but the Cullens work hard to resist this urge.

Memory in the vampire world works much like it does for humans, it just extends a bit further back in time.

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