Talk About A Smart B...

Yes, I know. We are all done discussing Mr. Sparkles and the Swan Formerly Known As Bella. However, SB Sarah has done one of the best close readings and most intelligent literary criticisms I've read thus far on the mystery of The Bespangled One. She answers the question "What Is It About Edward?" beautifully.

A single paragraph that just made me want to go back and write more literary criticism for English:

He tames his desire to kill her and eat her, but he still consumes her, which is the point that made me the most uncomfortable, but may also serve as a primary reference as to why Edward is so alluring a character. While Edward and Bella don’t knock boots in Twilight, Edward manages to insert himself figuratively into her life and become the center of every moment of Bella’s life – and she’s all for it. More than one person commented to me privately after reading my review that the manner in which Bella subsumes her identity and becomes absorbed by Edward almost symbiotically made them as readers profoundly uncomfortable, because it echoed abusive relationships they witnessed or experienced. It wasn’t romantic for them, that totalitarian management - it was creepy.

Word.