Saturday 30 April 2011

CinderBella - Twilight and Fairytales (not Will and Kate! Well, they do get a mention...)

Before we get started, the A - Z Challenge finishes today (and very thankful I am!) If you'd like to catch my last couple of posts, go here.

One of my awesome commenters for my Byronic Hero series slung one at me - now go and compare zombies with Shakespeare. Well, before I begin research on THAT daunting task, I'd like to quickly share some similarities with fairytales in the Twilight series. Now you Twilight haters, don't get me wrong, I'm not rabidly into Twilight, but this author deserves her due, even though I shamelessly used her to write about my favourite heroes, Darcy and Heathcliff with a dash of Rochester thrown in. Meyer's done her research - she's thought about links and she's written books that have sold millions. I never bedgrudge anyone their success.


Now just for fun, and because I spent yesterday watching Kate (or should I say Catherine?) Middleton's fairytale come true, I give you CinderBella:

"Once upon a time there was a dark forest of deep green where magical creatures simultaneously offered succour and peril, sanctuary and slaughter. At the edge of this forest lived a girl with skin as white as snow, a luscious blush to her cheeks, dark hair that rippled down her back, and a smell more tempting than ripe apples. The girl, whose name meant 'beauty', lived in exile with her father, for whom she kept house, cleaning and cooking with good will. She liked to read and had feet that would not dance and a mind that was silent to the probing of others.


Bella and her father were not poor exactly, but they had little to spare. Peerless as she was, she had no real friends among her own kind. Instead, she fell in love with an outsider-a prince who had the face of an angel, beastly appetites, and skin that reflected sunlight better than any glass slipper. Bella did not always heed warnings never to stray from paths in the forest and was therefore lucky to be befriended by the wolves living there-guardians of the forest and the 'provincial town' of Forks. The wolves cared not that Bella wore no hood of red, only that her blood continued to pump through her veins, lending its colour to her pale cheeks-and that she did not become the handsome prince's next meal."

Twilight and History, Nancy Regin, pp. 47-48.


I ask you, did Stephenie Meyer write the Twilight Saga in the dreamlike realm of the fairytale? Remember, in this genre, horror and romance co-exist.

Which fairytale does Twilight resemble most? If you look closely (and I did) there are bits and pieces of Snow White, Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast and Little Red Riding Hood. The fairytale most apparent, however, is the American Dream - an aspiration of 'survival with hope' that has been handed down through the generations. Think about it...


Hey Bells, I know it ain't much, but I got you this book called Twilight. The lady at the book store said all the kids are talking about it, so I thought you might like it.

With thanks to the Where is Edward Cullen? website.

Bella comes from a lower middle-class family. Her father Charlie is a small-town chief of police, and her mother Renee has a nondescript occupation and education. Rags to riches? Certainly. Maybe Bella wasn't in rags at the beginning of the story, but by the end she had access to unimaginable riches. The American Dream tradition is alive and well in Twilight, where a young woman is a variant of Cinderella, without the glass slippers. The right marriage elevates one out of the dark cabin in the woods to the sunlit castle on the hill. End of story?
 
Do you agree or disagree? Do you recognise a fairytale in Twilight?
 

28 comments:

Author Joshua Hoyt said...

I love your comparison between the stories. It is interesting how close they are. But I wonder if we couldn't do that with all stories:)

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Brian Miller said...

thanks for popping in today. i do see the correlations...and i may be speaking blasphemy but i really did not feel like the twilight books were that well written...but here is the genius...she hit the right thing at the right time...at least that is the way i call it...

mshatch said...

wow. I never saw it before but now that you meantion it...there are definite similarities. Interesting observation. I enjoyed twilight, for the record, ripped through them as fast as I could get them.

Denise Covey said...

Josh: Thanks for coming by. Yes, I'm sure we do the same but obviously not as well.

Brian: I think Meyer was definitely a genius.

mshatch: Once I started them, I, too read them quickly.

John Teal said...

I can see your point but I think perhaps a deeper look at her religious beliefs might add further insight. Good versus evil. Teens battle with the world. Edwards "traditional" values wanting to wait til after marriage and his concern for her mortal soul. ??

RJRdaydreamer

MorningAJ said...

Nice take on the story. I like the idea of the wolves saving her from the prince. I did a new take on Cinderella a few weeks ago.

Castles Crowns and Cottages said...

Good morning! Well, at least from my end of the globe! I want to thank you for coming to visit me and yes, what a lovely wedding that was yesterday; faery tales are around us...you have found yours....read on and live on and make one of your own.....Anita

Zan Marie said...

Denise,
I haven't read the Twilight series, but the ideas of fairytales and archetypes always fascinate me. I just might have to read them now. ; )

BTW, I'm only 3 followers from 200 and the launch of my first blogfest.

Zan Marie said...

Denise,
Make that 200.
My Celebration Blogfest is off and rolling. Come by and check it out.

www.intheshadeofthecherrytree.blogspot.com

Denise Covey said...

RJR: I'm sure you're right. That played a huge part, but fairytales are morality tales.

MorningAJ: Amazing how we can redo Cinderella all the time. I did a vampire Cinderella a few months ago, hoot hoot.

Zan: Have entered your contest! Thanks!

The Book Nut said...

I have not watched Twilight at all but I have been told the books are great. I am planning to get one to give it a try.

Thanks for stopping by my blog and commenting and following! It is so much fun to hear from new people! :)

dolorah said...

I'm not a Twilight fan - only watched the one movie - but I love your analogy. And the fairy tale was great.

.......dhole

Denise Covey said...

The Book Nut: Thanks for coming by and following.

Donna: Thanks for that.

Anonymous said...

wow! that was an amazing post! i loved it! i have to say i do like the twilight books- not love, but def like. I do see the similarities between twilight and fairytale, when you look at it the way you have written it, it seems so obvious!

just stopped by to let you know you won the 2nd prize on my one year giveaway! i just need to confirm your email address, and then i can send the gift card via email. alemac dot 2707 at gmail dot com
xx

Francine Howarth said...

Hi,

I'm going to be bitingly honest and say I hated the Twilight book series, none of which turned me into fan of SM (pardon pun of initials).

I guess the reason being I read a lot of Anne Rice vamp novels: ARs writing far superior to SMs, and SM just didn't match up to the Queen of Vampire novels.

BTW: the blogfest blog site is gone! It was a quick-response test site and no response declared it a no go. People will find out by trial and error when freebie tests run out at Linky: as they do.

best
F

Anonymous said...

Twilight is very much a fairytale, and I admit to being caught up in the story. BTW, I also got caught up in the Wills & Kate Royal Wedding extravaganza. Fun to watch, especially the hats. :-)

notesfromnadir said...

How did Kate go to Catherine & not Katherine?

Sure, watched the Royal Wedding & as Liz mentioned, it was an extravaganza. Also, I loved all the horses! :)

Twilight is a fairytale & it is also 1 for the author who's doing pretty well financially! :)

Kittie Howard said...

Your correlations with the fairy tales were spot on. I think, for the American Dream, the movie, "An Officer and a Gentleman," also works.

M Pax said...

I can see fairytale in her story. I liked how you compared Edward to the shiny glass slipper. lol

Nas said...

I liked your camparison. I think everyone tries to add a little bit of fairy tales which we grew up with to what we write.

Francine Howarth said...

Hi again,

There's an award for you at my blog. ;)

best
F

Denise Covey said...

Alison: Thanks for coming by and woo hoo announcing I've won something! Always a nice way to start my day.

Francine: Yeah, I know. But they were clever books ATS.

Liz: I adored the real-life fairytale too and wish them every good wish.

Lisa: Well, we still called Diana Di even with a royal decree. Must be Catherine is her real name.

Kittie: Agree with you on both counts. I'd not thought of Officer and Gent.

MPax: Glass slipper, yeah, hoot hoot.

Nas: They're certainly timeless.

Denise<3

Michael Di Gesu said...

I sort of see your point, but I really think of twilight more as a good vs evil thing. I never saw Bella as a princess, just a winey, horny teenage girl lusting after the perfect male specimen.

The over all story is descent, but like Francine I don't think she is a very good writer. She just happen to be in the right place at the right time.

I believe you and many bloggers who I adore have MUCH more talent than Meyers.... AND THAT'S THE TRUTH!

Denise Covey said...

Michael: Haaa, nice one. I still hold that Meyers wrote a good story and it is a fairytale.

walk2write said...

Well, I hope the fairytale wedding we all witnessed on TV the other day will lead to a real-life successful marriage. Most people seemed to realize from the start that Charles and Diana's marriage was a sham. This love story seems genuine.

Thanks for stopping by, commenting, and following. I feel so free now that the challenge is over! Overall, it was most enjoyable, and I've made some new friends.

Julie Hedlund said...

Twilight is most definitely a fairy tale, albeit one for older girls.

Denise Covey said...

walk2write: Thanks for returning the visit. Me too. Be nice to get back to things. Yes, I think this couple is a different kettle of fish to Charles and Diana.

Griya: Thank you for stopping by.

Julie: Rather.