What would Mary read?

Dymphna posted this lovely picture of Mary on the feast day of St. Joachim and Ann. It got me thinking about a Facebook discussion on the Twilight series that grew out of my oldest daughter posting Fr. Euteneuer's critical article, Vampire Logic. Father is no fan of the series. In fact, he says, " I don't hesitate to tell people that I am totally disgusted with the new fad sweeping over our youth culture these days." He has a lot of good reasons and I recommend you read them.

I admit I haven't seen any of the films, but I did read the first book after I found it on the bedside table in my granddaughter's room when we visited last year. It was basically a weird teen romance with a lot of heavy breathing and a "hero" who sleeps with his girlfriend but never has sex with her for fear he might be overcome and kill her. She, on the other hand, thinks being turned into a vampire is worth it so she can live with her lover forever even though vampires have no souls. I got tired of the heavy breathing and Bella being continuously overcome in Edward's presence. Frankly, the book is boring. Maybe the sequels are more interesting, although why a bunch of moms are swooning over this teen series is beyond me and I completely agree with Fr. Euteneuer's criticism. 

Evil symbols, like dragons, serpents, and vampires etc. are powerful. Think of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. There is no confusion about evil being evil. The dragon, the ringwraiths, the goblins, the trolls...all the creatures of the dark and dank arouse terror.

But now we have this remaking of the vampire into (I can't help laughing) a vegetarian who no longer has to fear the dark. He shines in the light like diamonds. Of course, from a farmer's point of view these "vegetarians" would be about as welcome as a coyote or a wolf. But a vampire heartthrob? I've seen the trailers for the movies and the posters. The guys playing the vampires look metrosexual and certainly not very manly. I wonder if that's part of their appeal.They are so empathetic with women, they're like soulmates.No need to work at a real male-female relationship that takes effort if you have a vampire around. On the other hand, the vampire can be the ultimate "bad boy," part of whose appeal is his lack of respectibility in normal society. Sort of a James Dean with fangs.

Pardon me for throwing cold water on this. (All the adult women swooning over Edward Cullen, particularly Catholic moms, could use a cold shower.) But I do have one question. What would Mary think?