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pinkacadessays · 1 year ago

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Twilight as a Spiritual Successor to Dracula

She's a problematic queen, but she didn't deserve the flack, and neither did the teenage girls having fun...

In the year 2005, Stephanie Meyer published what would become a teenage girl’s favourite fantasy novel, and a teenage boy’s favourite punching bag: Twilight, the first book in what would become a four-book, five-film saga, and then go on to add two more books to the series. Twilight, though much beloved by its target audience was criticised for many reasons, but the most pertinent being that it was a far-cry from the expectations held by fans of vampire fiction… but is it? Although certainly it has its differences to the vampiric standards set about in nineteenth century gothic horror, there are many aspects of it that can be seen as twenty-first century mirrors to the ancestral tradition epitomised by Polidori, Le Fanu, and, as discussed in greatest detail here, Stoker.

In analysing the first novel of the Twilight Saga, simply Twilight, there are a great deal of similarities to be seen in how the character Bella Swan interacts with the world of the supernatural, as well as the mutable parallels that can be drawn between Edward Cullen and various aspects of Dracula. The connections range from the oft-mocked as lacking vampiric qualities in Twilight, to the oft-overlooked romantic qualities of Dracula as percieved by the very audiences who suddenly became experts on the genre in order to antagonise Meyer and her work.

Now, though, it has become even more apt and timely to discuss the nature of both Dracula and Twilight and how they compare. Twilight had a resurgence in the last few years in the form of Twilightcore aesthetics on TikTok and Tumblr, and with Dracula Daily being two months into its second year, it is more than fitting to reexamine the connection between what is considered the quintessential vampire media and the mid-noughties laughing stock as herein lies the attempt to prove that maybe they’re not so diffrent after all.

Isabella Marie Swan Cullen

Let us begin with our gothic heroine Bella Swan, and her position as Twilight’s answer to Jonathan Harker.

Bella’s connection to Jonathan starts from the very opening of the book as she relays her personal thoughts in first person. Her narration reflects the epistolery style of Dracula, mimicking Jonathan’s personal journal as the internal and emotional conveyance of both characters’ experiences comes immediately to the forefront.

Even the way Bella and Jonathan narrate bare similarities in their styles.

Taking as an example one of the most iconic lines from Twilight, the lines that even made it to the blurb, Bella relays: “about three things I was absolutely positive. First, Edward was a vampire. Second, there was a part of him- and I didn’t know how dominant that part might be- that thirsted for my blood. And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him.”

The above mirrors the following passage from Jonathan’s journal from th 16th May:

“Of one thing I am glad: (…)As I look round this room, although it has been to me so full of fear, it is now a sort of sanctuary, for nothing can be more dreadful than those awful women, who were—who are—waiting to suck my blood.”

Firstly, as Bella begins with “about three things I was certain” in her analysis of Edward, Jonathan, in his analysis of his encounter with Dracula’s brides begins with “of one thing I am glad” as the first similarity in their narative patterns. Next comes their assesment of fear, as Jonathan describes his room as a “sanctuary” from the vampiric, and Bella’s second thing of which she is certain is that Edward thirsts for her blood; that phrasing also mimics how Jonathan thinks of the brides as “dreadfcul” and “awful,” and as “waiting to suck [his] blood.” The verbs “thirst” and “suck” both conjure an animalistic and dangerous image that relays the power of the vampires over their victims, but also has a sensual implication- more on that later.

Similarly, the first chapter brings both characters to the start of the metaphorical journeys, of course, but also the literal journeys into the unknown, leading to the danger of the vampiric. Jonathan’s is across Europe to Romania, with his description of his journey further and further East featuring the descent into the chaos of the trainlines, beginning his journal entry for 3rd May with “Left Munich at 8:35 P. M., on 1st May, arriving at Vienna early next morning; should have arrived at 6:46, but train was an hour late.”

Jonathan’s necessity to comment relays how affected he is by his new environment, even already a few days into his trip, emphasizing how different his life gets before he has even encountered the Count. Conversely, Bella is leaving the chaos of her scatterbrained mother Renee and travelling with the semi-professional baseball player Phill, for the stability of her dad Charlie, the Chief of Police in the small town of Forks, Washington. Bella muses on the drizzle, stating that when she’d arrived in Washington, it had been raining, and noting that “[she] didn't see it as an omen — just unavoidable.” She also mentiones comedically that “she'd already said [her] goodbyes to the sun.”

Saying her goodbyes to the sun show the stark contrast of her home in Arizona to the drizzly small town for which she is bound.

Ultimately, both characters are approaching the new and diverse from their comfort zones, with Jonathan studying the cultures, albeit somewhat disparagingly, of Eastern Europe with fascination at their differences to England, and Bella’s incomprehension at the constant rain away from sunny Arizona.

Both Bella and Jonathan are alone in the world of the other, isolated from the world they know, and completely unaware of the darknss their respective new frontiers are hiding. This puts them in the perfect position to be victims of their respective vampires.

But they are not entirely alone.

On his journey to the castle, Jonathan is approached by many locals during his stay in Romania most notably including the old woman who ran the hotel in which he stayed the night of 3rd May, who knowing what could await Jonathan at Dracula’s Castle, wept for his safety and “taking a crucifix from her neck offered it to [him].” Although Jonathan would still face all the horrors at Castle Dracula’s disposal, the crucifix- and the kind act of bestowing it upon him by the old woman- kept him safe.

In much the same pattern, while Bella’s human friends in Forks never learn the truth of what lies just under all their noses, members of the Quilleute tribe are a great aid to Bella’s discovery that something is afoot with the warning that “The Cullens don’t come [to La Push beach].” It is from members of the tribe that she learns of the legend of “the Cold Ones,” and begins the research into what Edward is, leading to her uncovering the truth.

Finally, it is their positions in their respective stories that marks them as parallels, and shows that Bella is Jonathan’s spiritual succesor. Jonathan Harker and Bella Swan are both the gothic heroine of their stories, taken in the night by monsters into the world of the supernatural, and helpless to its allure, as well as caught up in the inescapable romance of the mysterious.

The blog halfmystic.com in positing what a gothic heroine was gave the following line: ”she will have simultaneously multiplied and withdrawn, a hundred women into one, a single woman fragmented in the shards of the memory and tragedy to come.”

Neither Jonathan nor Bella are the same after their adventures in the world of the vampires, with both of them having rushes with death before the last pages of their books are turned.

Jonathan starts his journey as a non-believer in the supernatural, a good, sensible, upstanding member of the Church of England, and of society. He states in the very first entry “I read that every known superstition in the world is gathered into the horseshoe of the Carpathians, as if it were the centre of some sort of imaginative whirlpool.” “Imaginitive” diminishes the notions that any of these “superstitions”are anything more than old wives’ tales, and though he seems to find them interesting, as noted by his memo to “ask the Count,” which is of course also a foreshadowing to his own fate, he does not initially believe in any of what he may have heard before the 3rd May. But by the 29th June, he is a quivvering mess, crying out onto the pages of his journal: “I came back to my room and threw myself on my knees.”

He has truly “fragmented,” his former self shattered, and he has become a manifestation of the “tragedy to come” in his dramatic linguistic tendencies.

Bella also can’t comprehend the mysteries of Edward Cullen, baffled that one being could be as fast and strong, comparing him to superheroes as she cannot fathom him. However, at the beach, when a member of the Quilleute tribe says “The Cullens don't come here,” Bella’s mind starts turning, and while she’s already found Edward to be beyond her comprehension, that line triggers her imagination truly, as Jacob Black tells her the stories of "the cold ones,” which pricks Bella’s ears. halfmystic.com also describes that “a gothic heroine moves slowly, then faster, lured away from any semblance of safety by that quiet promise of something new.”

Bella’s journey from intrigue to a full-blown deep-dive into the supernatural starts slow, but soon after her encounter with Jacob and his friends from his tribe, Bella ends up committing a great deal of time and energy into researching online, “lured way from any semblance of safety by that quiet promise of” knowledge, no matter how dangerous.

All in all, Bella is not only Jonathan’s spiritual successor as a gothic heroine, but as a character, a reimagined Jonathan Harker who explores a new world of mystery, with Bella walking in his footsteps, only to step even further by entering fully into the romance of vampirism… though that is not to say that Jonathan’s tale is not one of romantic daliances with the undead.

More on that later, as first, we must explore how Bella’s paramour Edward fits into the Draculaic parrallel.

Edward Anthony Masen Cullen

Edward Cullen is more mutable than his love interest. Where I immediately saw parallels between Bella and Jonathan, Edward’s position changes in relation to the characters of Dracula. He is the gothic hero to Bella’s heroine, but is also the most direct source of Bella’s danger. Therefore the key comparisons for Edward are of course his fellow vampire Count Dracula, and equally Mina Murray, who acts as Jonathan’s hero.

Beginning with the obvious, Dracula is a parallel for Edward, not merely as a member of the same species, but in their role in their respective stories in many aspects. To get the mentioned obvious out of the way first, the nature of their species as marked out by both Stoker and Meyer bare similarities to one another.

Firstly, key characteristics of Edward’s vampirism, and vampirism in general in Twilight, are laid out by Bella as she researches various myths from around the world, including the Romanian Varacolaci , a powerful undead being who could appear as a beautiful, pale-skinned human,” and “the Slovak Nelapsi , a creature so strong and fast it could massacre an entire village in the single hour after midnight,” all of which are traits that Edward has exhibited, though he may not be as inclined as Bella is to call himself “beautiful.”

Now how does this compare to the vampirism of Dracula?

Firstly, while, unless one has an interest in “long white moustache[s],” it is unlikely that Dracula himself is invisionable as “beautiful,” his oft-called brides, however, most certainly are. Two are described as having “piercing” eyes, and the third “as fair as fair can be,” much like Edward, and then Stoker’s language becomes so very romanticised as Jonathan describes her has having “great wavy masses of golden hair and eyes like pale sapphires.” Most beautiful indeed.

As a brief note, they are often described in terms relating to precious stones: “sapphire eyes,” “teeth that shone like pearls,” and “ruby lips.” Edward is often also associated with precious stones as, among the many shades of yellow used to describe his colour-changing eyes, “topaz” shows up with great frequency.

Next, Dracula’s strength is commented upon in the very scene in which the brides are also introduced, as Jonathan describes his “strong hand” with “giant’s power,” and the “fierce sweep of his arm.” Moreover, it is noted that Dracula carried Jonathan back to his room, just as Edward carries Bella to the nurse’s office, with Bella noting that it was “as easily as if [she] weighed ten pounds instead of a hundred and ten.”

And what of speed? Edward’s penchant for speed even translates to his desire to drive fast, stating “I hate driving slow,” even though Bella points out that they’re still going 80 miles per hour. Dracula similarly must travel at high speed to disguise that there are no servants in his castle, and even the other passengers on the 5th May entry reference Burger’s Lenore, “’Denn die Todten reiten schnell’— ("For the dead travel fast.")”

Edward is not exactly the same breed of vampire as plagues the Carpathians, and also makes a point of debunking certain myths that reference Dracula. Bella asks about “sleeping in coffins,” and why she’s seen him in the day, and he simply responds with a monosylabic “myth,” though eventually expands after some probing. Nonetheless, there aren’t as many differences as naysayers would believe.

Moving onto Dracula as a guide into the world of the supernatural, and Edward as his successor in this role. Dracula picked the wrong victim, as it is Jonathan who eventually becomes Dracula’s demise, and had he not exposed Jonathan to the world of the supernatural, he may have succeeded in his evil schemes. Jonathan knows truly what Dracula is, and knows that he is a being of destruction that he wants to stop. In his 30th June entry, Jonathan refers to Dracula as a “being,” implying his monstruousness, and has inferred that Dracula’s plan is to “for centuries to come […] satiate his lust for blood, and create a new and ever-widening circle of semi-demons to batten on the helpless.”

Jonathan states that “[t]he very thought drove [him] mad,” and that desperate insanity in Jonathan’s tone expresses truly the determination he has to move against the “vile” Dracula.

Meanwhile, Edward is equally catalystic, inviting Bella to meet his coven, which gives her powerful friends and enemies alike, but does not cause the demise of either party, instead leading to both parties gaining greater allyship beyond the story of the first book. Her interactions with the Cullens are friendly, with Alice “kiss[ing] [her] cheek” as an introductory greeting, and Jasper’s gift for empathetic manipulation rendering Bella with a “feeling of ease.” It is clear that these two especially will be friends of Bella’s as time passes,a contrast to Jonathan’s interactions with the vampiric, and yet a comparison to how he engages with the rest of what Tumblr affectionately calls “the Drac Pack.” Jonathan interacts with Dracula with rightful loathing one might have for a captor, but with Mina and everyone else as friend.

Moreover, both Dracula and Edward represent another realm to which Jonathan and Bella have little connection: Aristocracy.

Jonathan seems not to be poor by any means, and as a newly-qualified solicitor, he is likely in a reasonably secure financial position, but he is not an aristocrat. And it is Dracula’s introducing Jonathan to the world of aristocracy that emphasises the imbalance of power between Jonathan and his host, aiding his fall to victimhood. Actually, in one of the earliest interactions that Jonathan has with the count on the 7th May, Dracula speaks of how is status will not be percieved in London as it is in Transylvania, but he emphasises that “[he is] boyar; the common people know [him], and [he is] master.” He then almost immediately asks Jonathan about the house he shall be moving into in London, pulling Jonathan into the role of servant, as a reminder that, at least while they are here, the Count is Jonathan’s superior. The Count is in control.

Bella also is not particularly liable to have had financial struggles in her seventeen years of life, but she too is contrasted to Edward and the Cullens and their flash cars, the least flash of which is Edward’s own Volvo. But Carlisle Cullen spent some time among the vampires known as the Volturi, as described to Bella by Edward in Chapter Sixteen. While little is detailed about them in the first book, Edward notes that Carlisle“greatly admired their civility, their refinement,” giving a ghosting of an implication of the Volturi’s status that becomes imposing and dangerous as the Twilight Saga continues. While Bella is not the victim of the Cullens, or, indeed, the Voluturi, by this point in her journey into the supernaturl, she is in the position of an outsider in another way, which puts Edward in such a powerful position by contrast to her, and comparison to the Count.

It goes without saying that the Volturi read as a direct nod to the regal Dracula in his mysterious European castle. Of the three leaders, Bella’s narration describes them as “two black-haired, one snowy-white.” The dynamic of their coloration is a parallel to the brides also, as well as alluding to Dracula himself with their having the title of "Nighttime patrons of the arts.” Dracula’s love of the “sweet music” of nocturnal creatures is similar in tone.

It is through this wealth and power that the idea of Jonathan and Bella as victims of the vampiric, as it is with this wealth and power that Dracula and Edward can exert a control over their respective victims. The powerful and dangerous Dracula in his isolated castle where anyone else would fear to tread but the unknowing Jonathan, alone in the country in which he is a stranger; the rich and aristocratically-connected Edward who drives fast cars, and his only undoing being Bella herself, the one person whose mind he cannot read.

And it is on that note that the connection to characters other than the villain exists deeply within Edward’s parallels to Dracula.

Edward is as mentioned, a parallel also to Mina Murray, as both are the gothic hero to their respective heroine. Beginning with Mina, Tumblr user incorrectsmashbrosquotes, in frustration at adaptations of Dracula percieved not to do Mina justice vented “Gimme an adaptation where Mina loathes this pestilential demon with every fiber of her being.” I agree with this sentiment, as this is the Mina that I too see, and also the Mina that Edward reflects so brilliantly when Bella is in danger at the climax of the novel. Before the chase from the hunters has truly begun, Edward is described with animalistic rage, as Meyer’s language associates him with a non-human wilderness as he “roar[s] in frustration,” and “hiss[es],” exhibiting the traits of a Mina Murray “driven to stamp out this stain upon the world [that Dracula is] as her husband [Jonathan] is,” just as incorrectsmashbrosquotes desires. As Edward saves Bella from James’ venom, Bella notices “[his]doubt was suddenly replaced with a blazing determination,” reminding me instantly of incorrectsmashbrosquotes’ final assessment: Gimme a Mina with all the fury of Hell behind her.

Edward is not just the spiritual successor to Mina, but has moments of being the adaptation across centuries that Mina deserves.

A Comparison of Relationships

Moving onto how these characters interact, we see that there certainly are parallels to Bella and Edward’s romantic dynamic with how Jonathan interacts, of course with his fiancée and later wife Mina, but also how he interacts with the vampires.

Bella and Edward’s relationship builds through mystery to romance, and touches on a ghosting os sexual desire. The earlier stages of their knowing each other emphasize a forbidden allure that Edward associates with Bella, creating a romantic allure from the inherent temptation of forbiddance. When simply inviting Bella to sit with hi at lunch, Edward says"I decided as long as I was going to hell, I might as well do it thoroughly.” Engaging with Bella is seen as sinfully tempting to him, as though it is she who is the supernatural temptress, and not he who is the dangerous creature. Yet, after only a few more sentences are exchanged in that same interaction, he says “But I'm warning you now that I'm not a good friend for you.”

Even early on, this is a forbidden relationship, tempting like the devil to Adam and Eve, as referenced with the bright red apple in Edward’s hands on the classic cover of the novel.

Jonathan is fed temptation as quickly by the count when he asks on the 7th May entry if he may enter the library as he wishes, and he is told in response:

“You may go anywhere you wish in the castle, except where the doors are locked, where of course you will not wish to go. There is reason that all things are as they are, and did you see with my eyes and know with my knowledge, you would perhaps better understand.”

There is extensive detail which is inherently intrigueing, telling Jonathan that he may go anywhere but where he will not wish to go… it is an intrigue, a tantalising temptation that, like is discussed earlier, moves in on him slowly and then quickly, all at once. On th 15th May, Jonathan’s intrigue has been amused so that, as soon as the count leaves the castlehe relays that he “thought to use the opportunity to explore more than [he] had dared to do as yet.”

Despite Edward’s warnings, Bella is still interested in pursuing at first friendship with Edward and then romantic relationship, just as Jonathan is only tempted to explore once he knows he is not to.

Finally, contact is breeched, entering into a sensual engagement between the parties. Dracula finds his emotions overwhelming, and as Jonathan cuts himself shaving, he describes the Count’s eyes “[blazing] with a sort of demoniac fury, and he suddenly made a grab at [his] throat.” Though through rage, Dracula is overwhelmed by one form of passion or another, marking the beginning of a short-lived pattern of behaviour wherein rage compels contact. Edward, however, has his movements constrained by fear- not of Bella, but of what he might do to her, afraid he might cause trauma as his literary ancestor caused to his own mortal counterpart- as he tentatively takes Bella’s hand, saying to her: "That's amazingly pleasant, the warmth." He is unused to this sensation after almost one hundred years without it, astounded by it. Edward and Bella are so aware of their own differences to one another that touch between them is a remarkable thing, reinforced with their first kiss as Bella’s narration notes: “And then his cold, marble lips pressed very softly against mine.”

While Jonathan never overtly kisses Dracula, the next instance of Dracula’s rage fuelling physical contact between them to address has a significant twist of implied lust underscored. After Jonathan’s encounter with the brides, Dracula rescues him from them, announcing:

"How dare you touch him, any of you? How dare you cast eyes on him when I had forbidden it? Back, I tell you all! This man belongs to me! Beware how you meddle with him, or you'll have to deal with me.”

Firstly, the repetition of “dare” highlights his rage beyond his own comprehension. Secondly, he is possesive over Jonathan as he cries “this man belongs to me,” marking him not just as Dracula’s personal victim and prey, but implying a sexual element to the relationship given the nature of Jonathan’s interaction with the brides. It brings to mind one of Twilight’s most famous quotes: “you are my life now,” which Edward says to Bella as they negotiate the terms of their own intimacy. Dracula and Edward’s possesiveness over Jonathan and Bella respectively has an inherit implied sexuality through their possesiveness, and through the conflicting emotions that charge their tactile encounters. From Jonathan’s perspective also, the touch is repulsive yet enticing, as he says “[he] shuddered as [he] bent over to touch [Dracula], and every sense in [Jonathan] revolted at the contact,” which is overflowing with negativity and revulsion, and yet this is the moment where he has to touch Dracula in order to gain his freedom from him. Conversely, Bella yet again refers to Edward’s touch as cold as “his cold lips pressed against [her] skin” as he saves her from the venom of her attacker James. Yet again, this is a moment in which the touch is described with the negative connotations of the cold, but Edward is saving Bella- moreover Bella describes the pain of the venom as like “fire” and the cold is welcome.

The touches between both dynamics are undesirable and yet tantilising, like a forbidden love. It is a lust that no involved party dares at first to admit. And as Bella and Edward confess their attraction to each other from as early as Bella’s admittance in the prologue, Dracula also reminds the brides that “[y]es, [he] too can love; [the brides] [them]selves can tell it from the past,” dragging involuntarily the notion of romantic love back into the conversation even between him and his latest victim Jonathan. In much the same vein, pun most definitely intended, Edward calls out desperately for Bella after finding her attacked, repeating her name ten times before he can help her, emphasising the desperate emotion.

And what of Jonathan and Mina?

With the comparison of Edward to Mina, we see the other side of his relationship with Bella. While the Dracula connection represents the physical and dangerous aspects of Edward navigating his feelings for Bella, his parallel to Mina shows the insity with which he cares deeply and tenderly for his delicate, too-human mate.

Mina’s heroism comes largely from her initiative, organisation, and intelligence as she rallies the group together, but a significant ammount of what makes her admirable is the way in which she cares so compassionately and selflessly for the sickly Jonathan in Transylvania.

On the 19th August when Mina finally receives news from Jonathan, she immidiately makes her plans to rush to him, even when Sister Agatha has warned she may needed away from home for some time as Jonathan is deathly ill. Mina watches over him and tends to him with the aid of the nuns which brings to mind how Edward watches over Bella.

We see that he watches her sleep, as Bella narrates that she “(…) drifted to sleep in [Edward’s]cold arms,” and the next morning she discovers that he has stayed with her and receives the realisation with great joy. Later, when Bella is in the hospital and the following interaction occurs:

"Bella."He stroked my face anxiously. "I'm not going anywhere. I'll be right here as long as you need me."

Like Mina is to Jonathan, Edward is a comforting presence to Bella and is dedicted to her care. Mina is there as quickly as she can be, setting off straightaway to be at the side of the man she loves. Edward is not only Bella’s saviour from James, but he also provides the comfort she needs by being there for her as she recovers from the ordeal.

With both of these relationship dynamics, what is seen is kindness, gentle care and comfort, and one party being willing to look after the other, embodying the tradtional vow of “in sickness and in health,” and showing one of the key aspects of both how Jonathan views Mina and how Bella views Edward: heroic, angelic, and comforting.

By comparing Mina to Edward, we see another interpretation of what the highest form of intimacy is between Mina and Edward, and their respective lovers. For the comparison between Edward and Dracula, touch- particularly sexual touch- is the apex of the illicit engagement between Dracula and Jonathan, and between Edward and Bella. But by seeking comparative aspects between Edward and Bella’s relationship to Jonathan and Mina’s another aspect of a relationship dynamic such as these is brought to the fore: not base, carnal desire and the intimacy of knowing another’s body, but the emotional and intelligent desire and deep intimacy of knowing the other’s mind.

Edward is established to be able to read minds in Port Angeles after saving Bella from unsavoury characters when she is separated from her friends. When he takes her to dinner, he says that he “heard what [the attackers] were thinking,” and Bella narrates her description of how his face contorts when he remembers their vile thoughts, relaying “he growled, his upper lip curling slightly back over his teeth.” Edward uses this ability to protect Bella, saving her from them in the nick of time.

Similarly, Mina, as she approaches the full throws of vampirism can be used as a sort of pendulum to hunt Dracula as she has developed a kind of psychic connection to him. On the 29th October, Dr Seward’s journal notes of how Mina, under hypnosis, has revealed that Dracula is being brought upsteam. On the 2nd November, Van Helsing uses hypnosis again to establish Dracula’s current position via Mina yet again.

Both Edward and Mina can use their vampiric telepathy for the good of others, especially for the protection of those they love, yet both of them share the same blockage to their gifts as neither can read the mind of their significant other. Edward has “one exception” to his gift, as implied to Bella in Port Angeles, and Mina’s connection to Dracula under hypnosis seems to be limited to that specific connection and under those specific conditions.

In order to discover the untimacies of their significant others’ minds, Edward and Mina both have to investigate beyond the use of their supernatural gifts. Edward and Bella talk and try to figure each other out, Bella as a mortal who cannot read minds, but Edward as a vampire who has only one mind he cannot read- the one he wants to read most- which places the knowledge of the mind on almost a higher level than the carnal knowledge of a body.

Edward and Bella make a habit of taking it in turns to ask each other questions to work the other out like a puzzle, and Mina uses her talents as a stenographer to piece together the journals and newspaper clippings and doctors’ logs that have been gathered over the months since Jonathan went to Transylvania, giving special importants to the diary of Jonathan himself.

Jonathan does not trust himself with the journal anymore, as revealed when Mina arrives in Budapest to take care of him. However, he trust her with the deepest intimacies of his most horrified mind. As if to emphasise the high pedestal on which intellectual intimacy is put in their relationship, Mina seals the journal with wax, promising not to read them unless she has to for Jonathan’s sake.

Mina and Jonathan’s relationship is one of trust, represented by the gift of Jonathan’s innermost thoughts, and Mina choosing not to read them unless she has to. Similarly, Edward has no choice but to respect Bella’s boundaries, and so Bella slowly opens up to him as they get closer.

It is the intimacy of knowledge of the mind, and the trust that comes with that.

Conclusion

For over a decade, Twilight has received flack, as have the girls who read it and watched the films, especcially from those who believed the vampires were neutered and that Twilight was too far-removed from the classics of the vampire genre. But by comparing it to the quintessential vampire novel Dracula, we see that Twilight has direct comparisons to the classics, as well as deep connections to one of the most revered contributions to the genre from over a hundred years before its publication.

Twilight acts as a far truer spiritual successor to Dracula than was believed by many, and contributes greatly to the vampire genre, earning its place rightfully.

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