Imprinting In Twilight Is One Of The Most Controversial Elements Of The Saga
Even with all the rules/stages established by Meyer, Jacob’s imprinting on newborn Renesmee has unmistakably problematic undertones and has been criticized since Breaking Dawn was published (and continued to be when the movie was released). No matter how much diehard fans try and defend the plot, most fail to find it romantic at all. Imprinting could have been an interesting concept in Twilight had it been addressed differently. However, Jacob imprinting on an unborn baby in Bella’s womb, despite romantic/physical desires not due in Jacob’s mind until her rapid-onset adulthood, was a misguided direction.
Twilight is full of bizarre canon and strange narrative directions from Stephanie Meyer, but none feels as unnecessary as the Jacob and Renesmee imprinting. Imprinting isn’t a concept Meyer came up with all on her own, but the Twilight version of the phenomenon is distinctively hers. Ultimately, there’s little-to-no justification for Jacob’s imprinting on Renesmee as a narrative decision.
Imprinting brings an uncomfortable “child bride” aspect to Twilight that’s both controversial and offensive. Meyer tried to make it acceptable by saying that they would just start out as friends and gradually turn into lovers as she gets older (since she gradually ages so rapidly) — but the strange betrothal that imprinting represents robs Renesmee of any autonomy.
Renesmee gets no say in this, and as Twilight lore clearly states, if she dares reject Jacob, he’ll more likely than take his own life. Renesmee wasn’t able to consent to become the imprintee of the werewolf. While Meyer has tried to justify this by suggesting that imprinting also makes the imprintee develop a bond, this doesn’t make it any better. It’s morality no different from Renesmee being drugged or brainwashed into compliance.
Taylor Lautner Wasn’t Comfortable With The Twilight Imprinting Scene Either
Audiences Weren’t The Only Ones Who Found The Imprinting Scene Awkward
It wasn’t just audiences who didn’t understand imprinting in Twilight, or why it was even necessary for the story. In the years since Breaking Dawn’s release, Taylor Lautner has opened up about how uncomfortable the scene made him during filming. Speaking to Collider, the actor behind Jacob in the Twilight series revealed just how strange filming the imprinting scene was:
“It didn’t help that when we filmed it, they put an X on a wall and said, ‘This is Renesmee. You’re going to walk in the room, you’re going to look at the X and you’re going to imprint. And I’m like, ‘re you kidding me?” It was tough, it really was.”
Lautner was also, for understanding the reasons, keen to downplay the romance aspect of imprinting, and wanted to make sure his portrayal of the scene didn’t come across as anything untoward:
“That was… tough. Because what is imprinting? What do you look like when you imprint? I mean, those were all the questions going through my head. Luckily we had Stephanie [MEYERS] on set the entire time, and trust me I asked her a million times, ‘OK, explain to me one more time what imprinting is exactly?’ .
However, he has also since revealed in interviews that, as far as he’s concerned, Jacob and Renesmee do end up together and are happy — despite how uncomfortable the imprinting aspect of their story arc may make some fans and audience members. Speaking to E! News in 2022 on whether he’d return to play Jacob, Lautner fielded some questions about what he thought happened to Jacob and Renesmee after the Twilight saga. When asked for Jacob’s whereabouts he replied:
” Happy ever after with Renesmee because that’s where I left off. And yeah, he’s a pretty loyal dude.”
With the news that a new Twilight TV reboot is on the way, there’s been a resurgence of analysis of the Twilight saga, especially its more problematic elements such as Jacob imprinting on Renesmee. Audience tastes and perceptions have changed considerably since the original Twilight movies. Many aspects of the Twilight saga will more than likely need to be altered and adapted to ensure the story is palatable for modern audiences, especially when it comes to questions about what supernatural elements like imprinting, or even the supernatural allure of Bella’s blood to Edward, mean for consent.
While Taylor Lautner himself may have made peace with Jacob’s highly questionable arc, it might be that Jacob imprinting on Renesmee is a story twist future retellings of the Twilight saga should leave out.
