You Look Good Enough to Eat: Love, Madness, and the Food Analogy
Welcome to the first chapter of the first section of this book (the first commentator to guess what the 4 sections of this book are will win, High Praise TM 1). You know, all things considered, I didn’t hate this chapter.
No I haven’t snapped, broken by the madness. Especially compared with what’s coming, this wasn’t all bad. The chapter opens with recapping Edward’s near loss of control after smelling Bella. Ugh. I never understood why Edward smelled Bella in the first place. He’s ‘dead’. He doesn’t breathe. In fact, one would believe that if he wanted to maintain self control in a place that is the equivalent of a vampire buffet, he would make it a point not to inhale those mouth watering scents 2. Still, I can’t fault the book for this because it does give us ‘antis’ an argument I can’t believe I never ran across.
“Sorry about the food analogy,” he says to Bella when, in his clumsy attempt to explain his boorish behavior toward her on the day they meet, he ends up comparing her to ice cream. Of course, for most of us this really would be no more than an analogy. …But there’s something a bit disingenuous about Edward calling his food reference an “analogy,” since he really did want to make a meal of Bella.
You know how nowadays you can’t go for like, literally five minutes without hearing someone literally use the word ‘literally’ in like, the most literally inappropriate manner? Yet here in Twilight we have an instance where something is truly literal, but Meyer passes it off as a metaphor. Gah!
So after a start talking about how base desires (eating & sex especially) are often used interchangeably, the chapter takes a left turn into discussing Plato’s argument that our base desires are useful, indeed they even have a place in our lives. He uses the metaphor of two horses pulling a chariot, one wild and the other tame. For modern audiences, I like to call this the ‘gas-brake’ principle. A car possesses a gas pedal and a brake pedal. In this same manner, we humans possess passion and reason. Just as you cannot adequately drive a car with just one of those pedals, so can you not live an adequate life without passion and reason both. Edward in his pre-Bella life lived mostly by reason. His life was stagnant. However, upon meeting her, it was like suddenly pressing the gas pedal on a stopped car, forcing it to jump and proceed forward. The lesson is a sound one, taught in many religions and philosophies. Without the brake of reason, we careen out of control, hurting ourselves and others. But without the gas of passion, we are stationary and aimless.
The moral of the chapter: don’t be like Edward. Don’t be frozen in your life, and if you do find something to be passionate about, find something more worthy of it than Bella. (at least, that’s how I read it)
1. Currently High Praise is worth nothing but self-esteem, although I reserve the right to suddenly give it a value at any time such as… perhaps a double-secret prize give-a-way.
2. If I ever get motivated to write a fix fic for Twilight, I’d make a special note that Edward was drawn to Bella because she was actually quiet compared to the blaring thoughts he suffered with all day. Curious that she might be like him, he takes a sniff to determine what she is only to have all those delicious smells nearly overwhelm centuries of being “dry”.
Romantic Vampire Lover on 26 March 2010, 13:01 said:
Lovely, Nate. :D I’m looking forward to more of this!
Spanman on 26 March 2010, 13:05 said:
I’m guessing the four sections of the book are covering Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn, respectively. Or is it a trick question?!
Nate Winchester on 26 March 2010, 13:55 said:
Sapnman wins High Praise!
Puppet on 26 March 2010, 15:36 said:
The name’s Spanman, not Sapnman. Now run and hide before she comes after you with her rolling pin.
Danielle on 26 March 2010, 16:17 said:
I notice that all the “philosophy” covered in this book has been covered before—kind of like how all the themes in Twilight are like slightly warmed-over processed cheese.
Whoops, ‘nother metaphor.
Nate Winchester on 26 March 2010, 16:58 said:
Exactly Danielle, when that was a literally true statement.
Danielle on 26 March 2010, 18:08 said:
Literally metaphorical.
Or not, if your copy of Twilight is literally covered in literal goopy cheese.
Spanman on 26 March 2010, 23:49 said:
Something about this sentence does not make me feel very valued.
dragonarya on 27 March 2010, 16:58 said:
Nate… you’re linking to Tv Tropes again. flat stare
Ahem. This book sounds like it’s restating a lot of the stuff that sites like II have covered, except, well, it’s a published book. Also, Edward should probably have gone insane from constantly hearing people’s thoughts. Then again, maybe that explains a lot…
Steph (what is left) on 28 March 2010, 21:59 said:
My head is spinning. On another note, I’ve seen a commercial for MasterChef which stated that one contestant couple “literally put their hearts on a platter”. Oh, how I lol’d…
@ dragonarya:
bq. Nate… you’re linking to Tv Tropes again. flat stare
Ha. I made it out in under 10 links. smirks smugly
dragonarya on 29 March 2010, 11:11 said:
@ Steph:
Ha. I made it out in under 10 links.
I can only escape after about 30. At least. hangs head in shame
Steph on 29 March 2010, 23:53 said:
smirks even more smugly
Danielle on 29 March 2010, 23:57 said:
If I didn’t know they had entire sections devoted to all things Batman, I’d make it out in under 3….