Carlisle's 'Real' Age Makes Twilight So Much Creepier (As If It Wasn't Creepy Enough Already)
The Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer captivated audiences worldwide with its romanticized take on vampires and werewolves.
One of the most intriguing characters in the books is Carlisle, the head of the Cullen family and a respected physician. However, there is a fact about Carlisle's character that might surprise some fans: he's only 23 years old.
Carlisle is a wise and mature figure in the books. He's had a long time to cultivate a calming and authoritative presence, since he was turned from his human form in 1640, during a plague.
Still, we have several questions about Carlisle's life, since he would appear to most of the world like he should be living in a frat house.
How exactly would a 23-year-old man be allowed to adopt a bunch of teenagers as his kids? Sure, they probably didn't go through any proper legal channels… but does nobody think it's weird for a 23-year-old to have "adopted" teen daughters living in his house? If you saw that, wouldn't you find it kinda bizarre?
You also have to wonder why the hospitals Carlisle works at aren't more suspicious. It takes between 11 and 14 years to become a medical doctor in the United States, which means that Carlisle Cullen (assuming you didn't know about his vampirism) would have started attending university at the age of twelve.
But he was apparently already a highly respected physician when the Forks hospital hired him. So he started his medical training when he was what… five? Does NOBODY find this strange? Or do they just assume he's a Doogie Howser-type genius?
The whole thing takes a turn into creepy-land when you realize that Carlisle was 271 years old when he first met his future wife Esme. She was 16 at the time, young enough to be his… er… (excuse me while I do some math…) Great Great Great Great Great Great Great Great Great Granddaughter. That's nine greats, for those of you counting at home – and it's a conservative number.
Carlisle doesn't marry Esme when she's 16. That happens 10 years later when she attempts suicide, ends up at the morgue, and he remembers the teen he met so many years previously. So he brings her back to life, changes her into a vampire, and marries her.
Sit with that for a bit.
Of course, complaining about age differences in Twilight is like complaining that there's too much singing in Cabaret. Carlisle Cullen is clearly managing to pull off being the world's youngest doctor/adopted father, and according to the author he and his wife love each other very much. So maybe we should stop overthinking it.
…Still though. It's a bit creepy.