Twilight: The Importance of Being Romance

《暮光之城》：身為羅曼史的重要性

許惠芬(Hui-Fen Hsu)

《高雄應用科技大學人文與社會科學學刊》 2卷1期 (2016/06) Pp. 51-62

https://doi.org/10.6554/JKTUHS.2015.0201.04

摘要

史蒂芬妮．梅爾《暮光之城》系列小說之狂銷，宣告它已成為文化現象，需要更多探討。儘管對此作品的評價多屬負面，但它能傳達普世對權力及愛情的渴望以及主流的意識形態。本研究所探討的文本是此系列中的第一本，內容分兩部分。第一探討羅曼史的要素及結構，以證明它是愛情小說的典範。第二分析它為何能吸引讀者，分別以性別及階級兩個層面來探討。在性別方面，女主角貝拉是落難公主的典型，男主角愛德華代表世人對上流社會的欣羨渴望。如果只把它當作奇幻小說來讀，就錯失了其角色的豐富意涵。它傳達社會規範，並為苦悶的心靈帶來慰藉。

關鍵字

羅曼史 ； 階級 ； 性別 ； 權力

並列摘要

The craze for Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series has established its status as a cultural phenomenon needing more interrogation and reflection. Although Meyer herself doesn't mean Twilight to be a serious literary work but a romance to provide entertainment, it conveys the universal longing for love and power. As a cultural product, this romance is not a neutral and autonomous entity but a social construction imbued with mainstream values. The text to be explored in this study is the first of the saga, Twilight. The contents are divided into two parts. The first part illustrates the essence and pattern of romance as exhibited in Twilight. The second part analyzes its importance in terms of of gender and class. Woman's submissive role is an essential ingredient in romance. Bella functions as a model of ＂Lady in Distress＂, while Edward's pseudo aristocratic identity as a vampire gratifies elitist urge. Despite negative criticisms from academics, Twilight is a fitting text to embody how a romance offers entertainment and meanwhile celebrates dominant ideology. To read it as a mere fantasy for young readers misses the rich implications in the characterization of aristocratic vampire and bourgeois lady in distress. This romance conveys not only social norms but emotional outlets for the discontented souls.

並列關鍵字

romance ； class ； gender ； power

參考文獻

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