Because: Duh. Obviously, I had to end with the woman who created said universe, bringing together the fictional and real women I've obsessively chronicled over the past two-and-a-half weeks.
True story: When I first read Twilight, I liked it but I didn't love it. I was sufficiently intrigued by the chapter of New Moon included at the end of the book to go ahead and order it and Eclipse (a genius decision on the part of Little, Brown if ever there was one - I mean, common sense tells you that the second chapter of New Moon isn't going to begin "And then Bella was eaten. The End." but the whole setup is still unbelievably dramatically enticing), but it hadn't really tipped over into full-tilt obsession. Interest shifted into fascination and then addiction when I first visited Stephenie Meyer's website, a veritable treasure trove of fan fuel.
It's fairly astonishing, what Meyer has accomplished in five years' time. Over three months after the release of Breaking Dawn, all four books in the saga are still in Amazon's top ten. Entertainment Weekly are kind of her bitches now. The out-of-control swirl of hype around the film is ultimately rooted in her work.
Meyer's seen a lot of criticism, both of herself and of her work, as the saga has become more and more popular. Some people seem to see her as a goody-two-shoes moralizer, a reading that I personally just don't get. Some academic more well-versed in LDS theology and traditions than I can take on that land mine, but I think that any woman who refers to Cinderella as an "abused shut-in" is doing at least a bit more critical thinking about gender tropes than people are giving her credit for. A sardonic sense of humor comes through in statements like the one shared in the above quote, in which she addresses the sometimes-overzealous fans of the series. The literary references in the saga show a genuine love of reading and thinking about books - what other novel popular with teenagers references The Merchant of Venice? Her FAQs on each book show her to be extremely thoughtful, and responses in which she directly addresses the arguments that the books are anti-feminist are well-reasoned and thought-provoking. In interviews, she has adamantly rejected the idea that her stories should be taken as prescriptive of anyone's behavior, and whenever I've seen her asked about a moral to the saga, she's declined to give even a relatively innocuous one. Maybe it's in the eye of the beholder, but I see capability and intelligence in Meyer and her work.
Finally, by far the most badass act by Stephenie Meyer has been her decision to suspend work on Midnight Sun. I won't lie, I was seriously disappointed when she made that decision - the first chapter of the book, posted for a long time on her website, was what really drew me in on that first visit mentioned above, and I was probably more excited about Midnight Sun than Breaking Dawn. The fan backlash following Meyer's suspension of the book shows the degree to which her decision was, in my opinion, admirable. In the face of a rabid fandom, what must be serious publishing revenues and ever-increasing hype, it was brave to choose herself and her work. She asserted her agency over the world she created, an unpopular act to be sure, but, in my eyes, seriously badass. I look forward to seeing what comes from her next, Twilight universe or otherwise.
Two weeks!
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