Yes, yes, yes! I must say that I agree with just about everything Keser had to say. Then again, I am pretty sure that I am the girl with matching opinions that she was alluding to!
As for the Angel comparison, I think having watched seven seasons of Buffy was a strong factor in my distaste for Bella. The romance between Buffy and Angel works as a tragic story in a large part because Buffy is already set up to die. Slayers don't retire; they die in battle. She is an extraordinary girl dealing with immense challenges. Angel's love for her is not just because she smells good or is a klutz. On that note, klutziness is one of the traits of Bella's that should have been endearing for me. I am utterly uncoordinated; especially in stressful situations. Or in my living room, where I have broken my pinkie toe four times. (No, that is not hyperbole). Even Bella's klutziness didn't work for me and that is mainly Edward's fault. He spent way too much of the book smirking at Bella indulgently or stifling his laughter at her behavior. That is not sexy. That is annoying. It is already kind of icky that this crusty old vamp is lusting after a sixteen year old, to have him act like she is a little girl rather than a grown woman is just disgusting. That brings up the main difference with the Angel and Buffy pairing. Angel respects her. He even admires her. She may not be his age or have the wide range of experiences that he has, but he never acts like her father. He wants to fight with her side by side.
Another human-vamp love that works in fiction is Sookie and Bill. In that case, Sookie's gift (and the danger surrounding her in her small town) pulls her toward Bill. Plus, Sookie is a grown up. I think the things about Bella that drive me insane are in some respects, the exact same things that annoy me about teens. She is self-centered and myopic. She focuses her life around some guy, who for the first hundred or so pages treats her like shit. She mopes around and usees the sweet little werewolf who just wants to be around her. I knew too many Bellas in middle school.
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I can't respond much to the Buffy-Angel scenario, because I'm not knowledgeable enough...yet. Although I think you're right as to why it seems okay for this older guy (both in vampire years and in real people years, because he seems to be older than Buffy's 16 years) to be interested in a kid. It has to do with the fact that Buffy isn't a kid. She's seen things...gross, horrible things (preying mantis episode?) and while her language is more juvenile she's much wiser beyond her years. 16 year olds across the world should want to shove Bella away from stereotyping their age group with her kind of behavior.
ReplyDeleteAs for Sookie and Bill, I think I was waiting for Bella's special gift, similar to Sookie's, for the entire 500 pages. Meyer never delivers on this tease that she's different though. Sure, Edward can't read her thoughts, but we wish that we didn't have to read her thoughts, so is that what he REALLY wants anyways?
Apparently in a later book, the third or fourth I believe, there is a reveal about what is so different about Bella. However, if you want me to care about your protagonist for several 500 page books with such poor writing, you're going to have to tell me on page one of the first book so that I have reason to turn the page and then go out and borrow, check out, or god forbid buy the novels that follow.