Edward Cullen

My Masters Thesis

The purpose of this paper is to examine the evolution of the vampire from the Shadow archetype to the Poseidon archetype.  This evolution is seen in the differences between Dracula from Bram Stoker’s novel of the same name and Edward Cullen from Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight Saga.  The change in the vampire is interesting in that it shows a change in reader appetites.  The Shadow archetype comes from Carl Jung’s theory of the collective unconscious.  The Poseidon archetype’s characteristics come from Jean Shinoda Bolen’s interpretation of Carl Jung’s theory of the archetypes in her book, Gods in Everyman: A New Psychology of Men’s Lives & Loves.  The vampire has traditionally been the villain in novels.  However, the vampire has changed from villain to ally.  The transformation of the vampire from rogue to friend has occurred slowly, but surely.  From the 1960s television series Dark Shadows which introduced audiences to the sympathetic vampire, Barnabas Collins, to Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles, the vampire has slowly lost its wickedness.  He or she has become a tortured soul with which the audience is asked to empathize.  The change of the vampire into sympathetic anti-hero has implications for society.  Nina Auerbach declares that we embrace the vampires we need (145).  The vampire is a mirror for society.  We look at him or her and see ourselves, outcasts of society.  We wish to create our own little families in which we are accepted and loved for who we are and our shared values.

Throughout history, a lot of literature has been written concerning the relationship between the sweet and innocent heroine and the dangerous, stereotypical bad boy-hero. We see this phenomenon reoccurring over and over again, in novels from hundreds of years ago, but also in novels written in modern times as well. Why is the Byronic Hero so fascinating?
In this thesis I will research the Byronic Hero, and take a look at who he is as a character. Moreover, I will investigate some of the typical characteristics of the Byronic Hero, and explore his obsession with possession and control. Correspondingly, I will study how he dominates and seduces. Lastly, I want to see how revealing his mysterious secrets will show us who he really is. Furthermore, as examples of these characteristics I will throughout this thesis use the characters of two modern Byronic Heroes; Edward Cullen from Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series and Christian Grey from E. L. James’ trilogy Fifty Shades of Grey, as well as one contemporary Byronic Hero that is crucial in this context; Mr. Rochester from Charlotte Brontë’s Victorian novel Jane Eyre.