Twilight book covers
After 8 years in the public eye, the Twilight Saga has finally drawn to a close with the DVD release of Breaking Dawn Part 2 on 2nd March. The book series is thought to have sold tens of millions of copies and the films have grossed over $3billion to date. But what exactly has made this vampire series so much more popular than its predecessors?
Twilight has been moulded from a vast history of vampire literature dating back to the early 19th century. Starting with the obvious, Bram Stoker’s Dracula published in 1897 has clearly directed Twilight. Its iconic first person narration is a big influence on the Saga, as both Dracula and Twilight are written through the eyes of the main character. The aristocratic Count Dracula is reflected in the Cullen’s educated personas and the vast wealth that they have accumulated over the many years. With over 316 television and film appearances to date, Dracula is arguably the most famous vampire in history. Unbeknown to many, however, he was not the first.
In 1819 a short novella called The Vampyre was written by John William Polidori. The book was about a British aristocrat who seduces young women before draining them of their blood, creating the link between vampires and sex immediately. In keeping with this theme, sex and blood are still linked in Twilight but they become taboo. A vampire who rejects human blood and suffering, like the Cullen’s, is known as a ‘sympathetic vampire’ and the first of these was Varney the Vampire. Varney was the lead character in a series of comics written for the ‘penny dreadfuls’ pamphlets. In addition of his sympathetic status, Varney is also immune to the typical vampire weaknesses of garlic sunlight and crucifixes, just like the Cullen’s.
Jumping into the twentieth century, Anne Rice’s 1975 novel Interview with the Vampire is the most recent influence on the saga. The main character Louis could be the founding father Carlisle Cullen himself, as Louis initially rejects his vampiric nature and feeds upon animals rather than humans as he feels guilty about killing. The film version of Rice’s novel also highlights that some vampires have supernatural powers like mindreading, a gift that Edward Cullen also possesses.
The one thing missing in all of the previous vampire texts is the companionship longevity. While Interview with the Vampire gets close to this, Louis rejection of companionship after Claudia’s death reiterates the previous ideology of isolation and loneliness within vampire fiction. Twilight offers happiness, mutual love and companionship within a secure family unit, which makes fans of the franchise desperately want to be a part of it. It is the mish-mash of all of these vampire themes along with a reworking of the classic Romeo and Juliet narrative that makes Twilight the powerful franchise it is.
By Sophie Atherton @SophAthers
Tagged in Twilight