Twilight Saga Leads to Relationship Breakdowns

How the Edward Cullen Syndrome Is Killing the Real Boyfriend

Oct 28, 2009

Dumped because of Twilight? You are not alone. "Why can't he be more like Edward?" is becoming a common cry among female internet users.

"Today, my girlfriend dumped me proclaiming she wanted someone more like her "Edward". I asked her who Edward was. She held up a copy of her "Twilight" book. She was talking about a fictional vampire".

This account, posted on the popular online venting site Fmylife.com, should be dismissed as a one-off lapse of girlfriend-ly judgment. But it is not.

Before the 'comment' function on the entry was deactivated, more than 400 people were able to air their thoughts on the dumping; unsurprisingly, the offending girlfriend didn't fare well among readers of the site, often meriting language unfit for reprint. And judging by the feedback given by outraged readers ("same here", "I am on the same boat" and "it also happened to me"), this Twilight victim is far from alone.

"Looking for My Edward"

The self-proclaimed “Twenty-Something Twilight Lovers Section” in the book series' official website, is teeming with stories of adult women entering a profound period of relationship self-reflection upon reading the novels.

One user opened the floodgates in February, posting: “Is it just me or did anyone else feel the need to leave their boyfriend/husband after reading these books? […] I guess it's just that after reading about Edward your boyfriend never seems to be up to par on being a good bf!”.

“I already had problems before Twilight, and after I read the books it only went downhill”, states a contributor. “Before Twilight I thought my husband was doing a pretty good job... Now he has impossible shoes to fill”, adds another. “I told him that I needed time for me; I figured it would all go back to normal after I was done with the books. But I was wrong; something happened after I was done with the books, I told him that I just need time away from him”, offers a third one.

Pushed into real-life silence by the fear of ridicule and social ostracism, these women are finding refuge online and comfort in the fact that they are not alone -as evidenced by the pervasiveness of the comment “Thank God, I thought I was the only one!”

An Unlikely Romance Hero

Stephenie Meyer's creation is the latest in a long list of fictional characters to capture the female imagination. From Gone With the Wind'sRhett Butler to Heathcliff from Wuthering Heights, people have traditionally taken at least some cues from literature in order to construct a gender ideal-type. In the current case, however, the choice of character is proving to be both puzzling and controversial for men and women alike.

The Twilight series has come under heavy scrutiny for alleged anti-feminist stances in its character development. In a much cited article for Blast magazine, Kellen Rice denounces the “female heroine who can hardly take a step without needing some boy to rescue her” and the books' “sexist views in almost every way”, according to which “nearly every single female character in the book is a hopelessly negative caricature.”

The copyright of the article Twilight Saga Leads to Relationship Breakdowns in Teen Fiction Series is owned by Gonzalo Torres. Permission to republish Twilight Saga Leads to Relationship Breakdowns in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.