A professor of Gothic literature praises ‘Twilight’ for its vegetarian vampires

Laura Westerngard, Ph.D. has high praise for the vampires in The Twilight Saga for their practice of vegetarianism.

As she was analyzing a collection of vampire films for Vanity Fair, the gothic literature expert pointed to the virtue of the vampires’ exercising temperance despite their material wealth and prosperity. Explaining the cultural significance of the metaphor, she said:

“Twilight is an interesting phenomenon. Edward is not cast as a seductive outsider that we should avoid. But he and his family represent what we should aspire to. They have wealth, they have cars, perfect beauty, they have strength. And maybe most importantly, they have restraint. Because they are vegetarian vampires, and this struck a chord. They became such a cultural phenomenon.”

Dr. Westerngard was impressed by the vampires’ evolution in The Twilight Saga. She pointed out that while they share many similarities with past interpretations, they also seem unburdened by some of the more restrictive elements of the monster’s existence.

“The Twilight vampires align with a lot of the depictions that we’ve seen throughout the centuries. In other ways, they diverge. When we get to Twilight, vampires technically can go out in the sun. It doesn’t weaken them, but it does expose them for their true nature. Their diamond skin, however, plays right into that same idea that they represent the pinnacle of status, beauty.”

Describing what she thinks makes the Twilight vampires so enthralling, she points to the fusion of two concepts from previous bloodsucker films. In her view, the series is a marriage of the affluence seen in Dracula (1931) with the juvenile flair of Joel Schumacher’s The Lost Boys (1987).

“They pull [Dracula’s] Bela Lugosi’s class and wealth together with The Lost Boys’ flashy youth culture and create this new monster that everybody wants to either be or be with. They are the pinnacle of 21st century capitalist aspirations.”

The Twilight Saga is an adaptation of the eponymous novels by Stephanie Meyer. A collection of five films tells the story of the romance of teenager Bella Swan (Kristin Stewart), her vampire lover, Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson), and his wealthy family. Because the Cullens have successfully blended in and achieved a high status in society, Bella develops a desire to give up her mortal life to become a vampire.

Part of what makes The Twilight Saga unique is that the stories are told through the feminine gaze. The first film was written by Melissa Rosenberg (Jessica Jones) and directed by Catherine Hardwicke (Thirteen). The story struck a chord with female moviegoers to the extent that they even inspired the E.L. James novel, Fifty Shades of Grey (2011). 

So far, the films have raked in a whopping $3.4 billion at the international box office.

The Twilight Saga is streaming on Netflix.