In the Twilight Zone: Everlasting
Romance and the Borderline Personality
Love didn’t work that way, I decided. Once you cared about a
person, it was impossible to be logical about them anymore.
—Bella Swan in New Moon
In Stephanie Meyer’s popular Twilight series, Isabella (Bella) Swan’s and
Edward Cullen’s intense vampire-human romance is one of overwhelming love
and desire that quickly becomes an unhealthy and self-destructive obsession,
particularly for Bella. The Twilight series revolves around the supernatural
world of vampires and werewolves that intermingles, and sometimes, coexists in
nonviolent kinship with humans. The story begins innocently enough: 17 yearold Bella Swan moved from Phoenix, Arizona to rainy Forks, Washington to
live with her divorced father, Charlie. The shy Bella immediately gains much
attention from the other kids at school, and many of the other boys, to her
surprise, are romantically interested in her. The story soon “enters the darkness”
when Bella is required to sit in a class by the handsome and intriguing Edward
Cullen, who, for no apparent reason dislikes her; however, throughout the course
of the first novel, Twilight, the audience learns that Edward is a vampire, who is
extremely attracted to Bella. He is attracted to her scent as well as to her,
physically and emotionally. However, he realizes that in being attracted to Bella,
part of his vampiric nature also includes a desire to kill her, so he initially
attempts to shun her.
Part of what allows Edward and the other Cullens to interact with humans
on any level, is the fact that the Cullens are “animal blood only” vampires; over
the years they have trained themselves not to murder and feed on humans.
Instead the Cullens, led by Carlisle Cullen, (ironically a physician in Forks) feed
off of wild animals. Nonetheless, Edward does not want be put in a position
where his self-control and sexual impulses are at risk as he fears his natural
instincts will take over and he will kill Bella, a human and his natural prey—
much like the traditional Brahm Stoker's Dracula vampire. However,
throughout the course of the series, as the relationship grows, Edward’s selfdiscipline and love for Bella strengthens to the point that the human-vampire
love relationship succeeds, on one level, while on another level, life threatening
predicaments are consistently sprung upon Bella, the only human in the mix, as
a result of her associating with the vampires.
One important question to ask is what would make this, albeit fictional,
human stay in such a life-threatening relationship? Also, in turn, what makes
this dangerous romance so unique, and ultimately, successful, despite the odds?
The most likely possibility for the success of this dangerous affair depends on
both characters’ love obsessions with one another and their addictive