# Another Twilight discussion: is Edward a metaphor? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 3, 2008, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-twilight-discussion-is-edward-a-metaphor/475496 "2008-12-03T12:36:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2008, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-twilight-discussion-is-edward-a-metaphor/475496/1 "2008-12-03T12:36:46Z")
So, I was reading my [guilty pleasure](http://www.thesuperficial.com/) about Robert Pattison (Edward the Dreamy) taking one of the Jonas Brothers Girlfriends out to lunch and this quote: > [@](#): > > Cashing in on his success playing a\* brooding metaphor for Mormonism \*in Twilight, Robert Pattinson took actress Camilla Belle (10,000 BC) out for lunch yesterday in Venice caught my eye. Did I miss something when I attempted to read this book? Or is The Superifical writer just being his/her usually snarky self. I usually don’t miss the metaphorical stuff going on in a story line, but my hatred for this book overshadowed any reasonable thinking I may have. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2008, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-twilight-discussion-is-edward-a-metaphor/475496/2 "2008-12-03T12:49:30Z")
Well, the author is a Mormon, and I suppose some Mormons feel like outsiders, as the vampires would… But no, I don’t see the parallel at all. Vampires in the “Twilight” series are perceived as incredibly cool and attractive, as the prototypical “Bad boys” with a sensitive side that teenage girls love. Mormons may be many things, but they are NOT perceived by ANYONE as cool or as seductive “bad” folks. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2008, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-twilight-discussion-is-edward-a-metaphor/475496/3 "2008-12-03T13:04:12Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Mormons may be many things, but they are NOT perceived by ANYONE as cool or as seductive “bad” folks. Well, not since Joseph Smith… _d&r_ ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2008, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-twilight-discussion-is-edward-a-metaphor/475496/4 "2008-12-03T23:48:51Z")
Not Mormonism per se as much as religiousity in general and chasteness / virginity / dealing with temptation specifically. From [io9](http://io9.com/5096310/twilights-hidden-morality-plays): > [@](#): > > The more you examine author Stephenie Meyer’s themes, the more obvious it becomes that her books are a thinly-veiled religious screed against teen sex. […] Meyer has said that there are elements of her devout Mormonism in the story (it opens with a quote from Genesis), […] It is not hard to view many of the motifs as inspired by the author’s religion: even her vampires enjoy an exquisitely gifted eternal life together as a family after choosing the path of virtue rejected by others of their kind. […] Meyer has received infinite praise for not allowing her characters to engage in premarital sex. Twilight’s “chastity buzz” […] Bella’s teenage passions are consistently > thwarted by her decades-old suitor. If she doesn’t faint while kissing him, Edward will pry her off and get angry, unable to control himself. What a wonderful lesson for little girls. ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-twilight-discussion-is-edward-a-metaphor/475496/5 "2008-12-04T00:11:58Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Mormons may be many things, but they are NOT perceived by ANYONE as cool or as seductive “bad” folks. Then why do they keep sending cute boys with strange underwear to my door? ---
**Author:** ![Wisp00](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/977dab/32.png) [@Wisp00](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wisp00)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-twilight-discussion-is-edward-a-metaphor/475496/6 "2008-12-04T00:57:28Z")
> [@jackdavinci](#): > > Then why do they keep sending cute boys with strange underwear to my door? Strange underwear? I don’t think I’ve gotten the ones with strange underwear… at least not that I know of… 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Grumman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-twilight-discussion-is-edward-a-metaphor/475496/7 "2008-12-04T01:36:09Z")
I’d say he’s a metaphor for the entire book, by virtue of sucking. ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-twilight-discussion-is-edward-a-metaphor/475496/8 "2008-12-04T02:17:57Z")
Well I didn’t notice anything, and I _am_ a Mormon. There’s certainly plenty of material about sexual tension and delayed gratification and all that, but let’s face it, literary vampires have been seducing pure virgins without quiiiiiite getting to the sex for quite some time. I don’t know how much you can really attribute the happily-ever-after-for-eternity ending to LDS theology, since vampires, again, do have a tendency to live forever anyway. Myself, I would say it’s more vampirey than Mormony, but I didn’t actually read the 4th book, I only read a snarky synopsis. ---
**Author:** ![GythaOgg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/49beb7/32.png) [@GythaOgg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GythaOgg)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-twilight-discussion-is-edward-a-metaphor/475496/9 "2008-12-04T03:50:57Z")
For a beautiful set of snarky commentary on the books, I suggest [LDS Sparkledammerung](http://stoney321.livejournal.com/317176.html) . The commentator has her own ideas about the supposedly Mormon undertext in the books…and sums them up rather nicely. With pictures, yet! It’s hilarious reading and I highly recommend it. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-twilight-discussion-is-edward-a-metaphor/475496/10 "2008-12-04T04:13:44Z")
> [@Wisp00](#): > > Strange underwear? I don’t think I’ve gotten the ones with strange underwear… at least not that I know of… 😕 Google Mormon + “magic underwear.” ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-twilight-discussion-is-edward-a-metaphor/475496/11 "2008-12-04T04:14:27Z")
> [@Wisp00](#): > > Strange underwear? I don’t think I’ve gotten the ones with strange underwear… at least not that I know of… 😕 All Mormons wear [strange underwear](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_garment). -FrL- ---
**Author:** ![Wisp00](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/977dab/32.png) [@Wisp00](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wisp00)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-twilight-discussion-is-edward-a-metaphor/475496/12 "2008-12-04T07:55:28Z")
huh, Thank you **elfkin477** and **Frylock**. I had no idea, but I find it extremely fascinating! ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-twilight-discussion-is-edward-a-metaphor/475496/13 "2008-12-04T15:22:23Z")
> [@GythaOgg](#): > > For a beautiful set of snarky commentary on the books, I suggest [LDS Sparkledammerung](http://stoney321.livejournal.com/317176.html) > . > > The commentator has her own ideas about the supposedly Mormon undertext in the books…and sums them up rather nicely. With pictures, yet! > > It’s hilarious reading and I highly recommend it. AND it proves my point about Joseph Smith. OK now, so help me this is true- Mormo and Moroni are names of types of Vampires in the Balkans. ---
**Author:** ![Reloy3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c68b51/32.png) [@Reloy3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reloy3)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-twilight-discussion-is-edward-a-metaphor/475496/14 "2008-12-04T16:43:47Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > All Mormons wear [strange underwear](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_garment). > > -FrL- Not quite true, but way to make fun of my religion. Do jews wear “magic beanies”? ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-twilight-discussion-is-edward-a-metaphor/475496/15 "2008-12-04T17:25:00Z")
> [@Reloy3](#): > > Do jews wear “magic beanies”? Well, yeah, but we try not to stare too hard. Ditto on the underwear. ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-twilight-discussion-is-edward-a-metaphor/475496/16 "2008-12-04T17:31:02Z")
He (and his whole clan) is a metaphor for the treatability of homosexuality. Essentially it is ok to be a vampire (gay) and want to consume the blood of humans (have homosexual sex) so long as you control the urge by hunting only non-humans (having only heterosexual sex). The desire to hunt human (have homosexual sex) may seem overpowering but if you fight it hard enough you’ll eventually regain equilibrium and find a higher plane of happiness and social integration. I make no claim that was intended subtext. It is just the first thing I thought of when I read the books. ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-twilight-discussion-is-edward-a-metaphor/475496/17 "2008-12-04T17:49:48Z")
If we can stop with the dumb insults to a religion you guys don’t actually seem to know much about, you might be interested in reading this essay on Twilight: [What Girls Want](http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/print/200812/twilight-vampires). Although the beginning of the essay really annoyed me (“I hate YA novels–they bore me.” So why are you writing about them? “Twilight is fantastic.” What?) when she gets into the story and sex and teen girls, I think she makes a lot of really good points. I particularly like the line “the books constitute a thousand-page treatise on the art of foreplay.” Yeah, pretty much. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-twilight-discussion-is-edward-a-metaphor/475496/18 "2008-12-04T18:11:36Z")
> [@GythaOgg](#): > > For a beautiful set of snarky commentary on the books, I suggest [LDS Sparkledammerung](http://stoney321.livejournal.com/317176.html) > . > > The commentator has her own ideas about the supposedly Mormon undertext in the books…and sums them up rather nicely. With pictures, yet! > > It’s hilarious reading and I highly recommend it. Ooooh, thank you very much! ---
**Author:** ![Atomicflea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/58956e/32.png) [@Atomicflea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atomicflea)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-twilight-discussion-is-edward-a-metaphor/475496/19 "2008-12-04T18:52:07Z")
> [@Shirley\_Ujest](#): > > Ooooh, thank you very much! HILARIOUS. I enjoyed this more than the actual books. I read them all and the storyline was good, but Meyers really is quite a predictable writer. ---
**Author:** ![Reloy3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c68b51/32.png) [@Reloy3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reloy3)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2008, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-twilight-discussion-is-edward-a-metaphor/475496/20 "2008-12-04T19:11:31Z")
> [@FriarTed](#): > > Mormo and Moroni are names of types of Vampires in the Balkans. Cite? (And I did try to google it, came up empty) There was a claim (not factually based) in the fundamentalist anti-Mormon screed “The God Makers” that “Mormon” means “Gates of Hell” in Chineses. So, I’m dubious. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-twilight-discussion-is-edward-a-metaphor/475496.md?page=2)