Dr. Christine Schintgen of OLSWA recently had an article concerning the morality of Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight book series featured as the cover story for the January 2011 issue of Catholic Insight. The article, “Is Twilight Pro-Chastity?” is based on a talk which the assistant literature professor delivered to the Academy in November as part of OLSWA’s Faculty Presentation series. The subject Dr. Schintgen tackled in the article is an extremely controversial one. The wildly popular young adult series concerning the romance between a vampire and a human girl has enjoyed an immense success, garnering applause not only from secular reviewers but from many Christians as well. As she notes early in the article, the fact that the teenaged leads abstain from intimacy until marriage “is a much discussed aspect of the novel series, and has led some commentators to describe the series as ‘pro-chastity.’” Dr. Schintgen challenges this view, arguing that while Twilight and its sequels might appear at first glance to contain moral messages about chastity, they actually embody an unhealthy view of relationships, sexuality, and marriage.

Dr. Schintgen contrasts the view of love presented by Meyer’s protagonists with the Church’s teachings as embodied in works such as Karol Wojtyla’s Love and Responsibility. As she notes halfway through the article, the Church espouses an integral, selfless love “that does justice both to persons and the Creator.” Twilight, the other hand, “presents a kind of ‘mythology of the body’” in which romance is pursued for the sake of selfish and obsessive enjoyment rather than true love that wills the good of the other. Further, Dr. Schintgen points out that although the book has been commended by some for carrying a pro-life message, in that the female lead chooses not to abort her child, the story actually presents a skewed view of the meaning of intimacy, highlighting its pleasurable aspect over its procreative and unitive aspects.

The article is accompanied by a beautiful series of sketches by first year OLSWA student Joseph Ferrant of Brudenell. Joseph has gained a reputation on campus for his prowess in the visual arts. His pictures artistically and delicately address the same themes that Dr. Schintgen covers in her piece. One in particular, which portrays the “heroine” of the Meyer books offering an apple to the “hero,” in a pose highly reminiscent of depictions of Adam and Eve, was featured on the cover of the issue.

Dr. Schintgen’s article is especially relevant in light of the popularity of the books and their film adaptations. A generation of children and young adults are being shaped by this literature and similar works that contain the same ideas. It is especially important now to be vigilant and to carefully discern the truth rather than jumping to casual conclusions about a work’s moral value. As Dr. Schintgen says, “Satan will be only too pleased if great numbers of Christian parents are taken in by the lie that the Twilight novels . . . promote chastity and will help their children negotiate the difficult passage from adolescence into adulthood with their innocence and virtue intact. The opposite is closer to the truth.”

Sketches by first-year student Joseph Ferrant

The whole of Dr. Schintgen’s article can be found here at Catholic Insight.