Why Edward Cullen Is Still Nowhere Near Dracula, Blade, And Lestat?

In 19th Century Bram Stoker unleashed the most frightening creature in horror literature, a Romanian vampire named Count Vlad Dracula. Dracula gave birth to the modern vampire literature and fiction, and for that his character becomes the basis of what a vampire ought to be since he himself was born out of historical standards, from the infamous Eastern European ruler Vlad The Impaler and the region’s myth of the Nosferatu blood-suckers.

The fascination for vampire literature and the growing interest of the genre expanded through time and there are more characters in literature and media that have followed the same “historical cultural” trend but adapting to the conventions of the contemporary society. Two of the most famous vampire characters in contemporary society inheriting the visceral heritage of Dracula are Blade the Day Walker and Lestat.

But recently, there is a new vampire creature that tries to dominate in the scene of media and literature, Edward Cullen. However, despite Edward’s popularity among the teenage and teenage-oriented patrons; many literary scholars and genre pundits believed that he and even the entire Twilight universe was a poor imitation of the orthodox tradition serving as a guideline for vampire literature. One of the fiercest critics was Anne Rice, the creator of Lestat. Perhaps if Bram Stoker was still alive, he would have expressed the same antagonism for several reasons.

I. Edward Cullen is forever a high school student

See? This is funny enough an idea. Perhaps Stephenie Meyer did not notice it, or worse, maybe she did and she believed that the idea is cool. But even if anyone would take the congruent subtle analogy that if one was to be an immortal and fulfilled his wish to be forever young, being a high school student for hundreds of years certainly is one of the most ridiculous premise to go by. Did any of the senior faculty staff ever noticed that one of their students have severely overstayed in senior high? If one did, it’s impossible that such a strange phenomenon would not spread like wildfire and put Edward Cullen in the Guinness Book of Records as “The oldest high school student who has not graduated yet.” Well, let’s say he graduates so many times already. Then try to ask, “Isn’t there anything more interesting in his endless boring life other than high school?” If there isn’t all, then that certainly explains a lot about the character.

II. Vampires are ice cold and they break like glass

The Twilight universe is the only vampire literature where the vampires themselves don’t bleed. If they feed on nothing but the scarlet hemoglobin fluids of all warm-blooded creatures, where did it all go by the time they are wounded? It seems incomprehensible how one creature that feeds itself in blood never bleed. They break like ice but Bella Swan could kiss Edward Cullen or feel the natural elasticity of the human skin, even if it’s as cold as a corpse. That does not fit the characteristic either. Because if it does, would it sound rational even for fictional standards that a stone statue would get lacerated, then bleed and acquire stone scarsafter recovery? Furthermore, if Edward Cullen is as cold as ice, with him and all other vampires devoid of blood circulation then how in the world did Bella Swan conceive a child in the later series? It is purely logic itself that sexual reproduction is impossible without blood circulation. But the Twilight universe says, “not really”.

III. Vampires did not adapt well to the modern environment

For some reason, the immortal creatures in the Twilight universe seem to be incapable of adapting to the trappings of contemporary era. In Bram Stoker’s Dracula, the immortal nobleman from Eastern Europe infiltrated the Victorian England’s society quite perfectly. Moreover, he relied a little bit of the technology to achieve his means although the bulk of his strategy involved his supernatural powers of shape-shifting and hypnotism. Blade the Day Walker of the Marvel Comics franchise is a perfect example of a vampire character who blends with the high-tech modern society and the vampire universe itself around him perfectly coexists with the modern world, creating their own alternate dimension which is completely grounded in their reality. Anne Rice’s Lestat coexists with the contemporary society and the story itself highlights the character’s struggles in reconciling his original culture top that which he was forced to adapt through the passing of time on top of running away from his painful past.

But in the Twilight universe, it seems that the modern trapping come as secondary consideration. It seems that the modern society itself only serves as the back drop and never so much as a setting itself. It would have been better if the Twilight universe was set in a more congruent setting such as the 16th Century or so. Even their fighting methods appear to be primitive and unsophisticated. It would have appeared more interesting if Edward Cullen, throughout his lengthy lifetime spent wasted on being stranded in high school, would have rather traveled somewhere else such as China or Japan and learned some wicked moves to kick the butts of the Volturi or the other antagonists. The immortals of The Highlander franchise, even though they lived shorter centuries of their lifetimes compared to Twilight immortals, have spent their time wisely as they travel to advance their knowledge in whatever arts or sciences. None of the Twilight immortals ever did, and if they ever did, it does never seem relevant in the storyline.