UPDATE: Here's a synopsis--
In 2008, I conducted a poll of over 10,000 Twilight fans through TwilightLexicon.com asking them to decide who they believe is the best match for Bella. Nearly 25 percent of respondents were either undecided or believed that Bella should have ended up with Jacob instead of Edward. What none of Team Jacob—and few of Team Edward—realize is that whatever romantic affection Bella and Jacob felt for each other was artificial: the result of hormones mixing with the gravitational pull of imprinting. Jacob did not imprint on Bella, but he did imprint on her daughter and the fact that Bella carries one half of Renesmee’s DNA is the driving force behind the attraction Jacob and Bella feel for each other from day one. This paper explores the nature of imprinting and then argues that the attraction between Bella and Jacob is not only voided in Breaking Dawn, but was always the result of the fact that Bella is Renesmee’s mother.
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In July 2009, I presented a paper at TwiCon in Dallas. As time was short (the speakers before me had gone WAY over), I had to condense my 20-minute presentation into 7 minutes. I basically threw out the paper and spoke from the heart, which turned out to be just what the audience needed.
It was a controversial topic. The title of my presentation was "There is no Team Jacob." Here's the intro (just so you can hear the crowd reaction):
In light of the release of Breaking Dawn Part 1, the film, I thought it was finally time to release the paper to run free on the Internets, and hopefully spawn some interesting discussion. As it is SUPER lengthy (remember, I had planned for a 20-minute speech), I didn't want to include it in this post. Instead, you can CLICK HERE to read it. Enjoy!
In 2008, I conducted a poll of over 10,000 Twilight fans through TwilightLexicon.com asking them to decide who they believe is the best match for Bella. Nearly 25 percent of respondents were either undecided or believed that Bella should have ended up with Jacob instead of Edward. What none of Team Jacob—and few of Team Edward—realize is that whatever romantic affection Bella and Jacob felt for each other was artificial: the result of hormones mixing with the gravitational pull of imprinting. Jacob did not imprint on Bella, but he did imprint on her daughter and the fact that Bella carries one half of Renesmee’s DNA is the driving force behind the attraction Jacob and Bella feel for each other from day one. This paper explores the nature of imprinting and then argues that the attraction between Bella and Jacob is not only voided in Breaking Dawn, but was always the result of the fact that Bella is Renesmee’s mother.
------
In July 2009, I presented a paper at TwiCon in Dallas. As time was short (the speakers before me had gone WAY over), I had to condense my 20-minute presentation into 7 minutes. I basically threw out the paper and spoke from the heart, which turned out to be just what the audience needed.
It was a controversial topic. The title of my presentation was "There is no Team Jacob." Here's the intro (just so you can hear the crowd reaction):
In light of the release of Breaking Dawn Part 1, the film, I thought it was finally time to release the paper to run free on the Internets, and hopefully spawn some interesting discussion. As it is SUPER lengthy (remember, I had planned for a 20-minute speech), I didn't want to include it in this post. Instead, you can CLICK HERE to read it. Enjoy!
3 comments:
Ashley, this was such a great, thought-out article. It kept me on the edge of my seat. :-)
Hello from a fellow Theorizing Twilight contributor ("Violence, Agency...")!
Thanks for making this article available - really interesting theory! Two thoughts:
1. The theory would suggest that others who imprint on young children would first have been attracted to the child's mother - for example, Quil would have first been attracted to Claire's mother. This could have been the case - it's something the books don't explore, so there's really know way of knowing.
2. I also wonder if your theory further supports the heteronormativity that the books so strongly follow. If Jacob was attracted to Bella for carrying half of Renesmee's DNA, wouldn't he also be attracted to Edward for carrying the other half? Or can we assume not, because (we assume) Jacob is heterosexual? Or is there some difference because Edward is a vampire?
Anne,
You make some good points.
1. I think we can assume that the unique biology of Renesmee (and her exceptional gifts) is what causes the extreme pull, manifesting between Bella and Jacob. Claire is just a normal human, but Renesmee communicates from the womb. It could be argued that she communicates at the genetic level as well. ;)
2. I'm not really sure what to say to this one. You're probably right, though I don't focus on heteronormatiy in my readings (my background is on ageism more than queer theory, for example). But yes, for me, since Jacob is heterosexual he would only be attracted to Bella. Although, I guess an argument could be made that all of the tension between Jacob and Edward is some sort of frustrated sexual attraction... But that's for another dialogue.
Great comments!
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