By now everyone has read or heard of the Stephanie Meyers Twilight Saga. Both the author and the series has been well praised, Stephanie Meyer being compared to Anne Rice, and the series being compared to the J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series, and I can see why. It has romance, action, suspense, and rivalry. However, does it unintentionally send girls the wrong message? I believe so.

Let me break it sown for you. Bella Swan is portrayed as a girl who's clumsy, can't take care of herself very well, is easily hurt, and always needs protecting, most of this protection coming from either Edward or Jacob. But one her more annoying traits is she's very dependent on other people. When Edward left in New Moon, she acted as though she simply couldn't function without him for several months, and only somewhat came out of this whenever she was with Jacob. Some girls may not think much of this, but to others, it may give them the impression that a girl can only be truly happy if she has a guy around.

This kind of behavior over a boy is a disgrace. I can understand Bella's constant need to be protected to an extent because she's just that clumsy, and delicate, but her dependence, and neediness is way too high in its level, and is just so irking to me, and sets woman about 150 years back. This neediness also makes me worry, because it seems like no matter what kind of emotional, or physical pain he may put her through, she'll stick by him.

And now on to Edward. Edward is seen as this mysterious, perfect being with no flaws and a natural draw. Most girls think he's romantic, but personally, I think he's just a stalker. I am not denying that Edward deeply cared for Bella, but there is a difference between just being in love, and being obsessive. Edward has snuck into her room to watch her sleep, said he would kill himself if she ever dies or left him, and took the engine out of her car so she wouldn't go over to Jacob's house. All of these are traits of obsessive behavior, but because they're painted in the book as romantic, loving, and endearing gestures some girls may think them okay, not only in the book, but in real life. What makes matters worse is Bella brushes most of them of in an 'Oh, it's okay, he only acts this way because he loves me,' way. No, taking the engine out of your girlfriends car is NOT okay!

Sure, Bella's extreme dependency, and Edwards obsessive and possessive behavior, mixed with all the other components in the books, it manages to make itself work. But in real life, a extremely needy girlfriend, and an obsessive boyfriend, is an unhealthy relationship that can easily turn into a very dangerous situation.