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Midnight Sun Book Cover Art Analysis and Explanation

Introduction
The extremely popular Twilight (novel series) novels dominated screens in the late 2000s and early 2010s, with many fans still devoted and excited for any new material. Therefore, it was no surprise that on 4th August 2020, Midnight Sun (Meyer novel) sold one million copies in its first week of publication.

However, many fans were initially confused or even horrified at the sight of the book cover, which is a realistic picture of a pomegranate. Unlike for the first Twilight (Meyer novel), there are no hands holding the red fruit, but it seems to be ominously hovering, dripping sticky juice. The flesh of the fruit also seems as though it has decayed away, or has been broken, as the image exposes the gory insides to display its seeds.

This article will cover:
 * Meyer's own explanation for the cover art, fan theories and interpretations on the reasons behind the art
 * Information on links to Greek mythology
 * A brief analysis of the previous book covers to give insight into what publishers would have had to consider when making the cover art for the newest novel
 * Evidence to support the relevance of the art through direct quotations from the book
 * Significance of book cover art to show why this is an important and interesting topic

What Meyer has to say
On her website,'StephenieMeyer.com' the author Stephenie Meyer was asked:

"What does the pomegranate on the cover mean?"

Her response: "The pomegranate is a nod to the myth of Hades and Persephone. At several points in the story, Edward sees similarities between himself and Hades, and also Bella and Persephone. It’s one of the ways he processes what he’s going through, and also a way to recast himself again as the villain of the story. The image worked for me as a kind of overview of Edward’s headspace."

Theories and interpretations
The concept of the forbidden fruit from the Bible has been referenced to in the ‘twilight saga’, as the religious influences from Stephenie’s own life seep through into the story. Edward himself battles with the concepts of religion when he tries to apply it to his morals as an immortal creature. This is where the inspiration came from for the initial cover, which featured an apple to symbolize Edward and Bella’s “forbidden” love.

When asked about the apple on her website, Stephenie responded with: “The apple on the cover of Twilight represents “forbidden fruit.” I used the scripture from Genesis (located just after the table of contents) because I loved the phrase “the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil.” Isn’t this exactly what Bella ends up with? A working knowledge of what good is, and what evil is. The nice thing about the apple is it has so many symbolic roots. You’ve got the apple in Snow White, one bite and you’re frozen forever in a state of not-quite-death… Then you have Paris and the golden apple in Greek mythology—look how much trouble that started. Apples are quite the versatile fruit. In the end, I love the beautiful simplicity of the picture. To me it says: choice.”

With this in mind when looking at the cover of ‘Midnight sun’, we can see that this same concept of the forbidden fruit is applied, but as this novel is from a different perspective and therefore lightly darker, there needed to be a change to the apple. When looking at the Genesis text, it quickly becomes clear that the fruit is never named as an apple: “And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.'"

The identity of the fruit is then left open for interpretation- one of them being that the fruit is actually a Pomegranate. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, “The pomegranate has been regarded variously as a symbol of resurrection, fertility, plenty, unity, and chastity, and was associated in classical mythology with Proserpina (Persephone) who returned to earth every spring.”. Additionally, the word ‘pomegranate’ “is derived from the medieval Latin “pomum granatum,”" meaning apple of many grains or seeds.

Moreover, as this book is a different perspective, to further contrast from the original twilight novel which is from Bella's perspective, instead of a pretty apple picture, we are presented with an ugly image of a pomegranate. the more gory image could represent how we get to see into Edward's darker mind. The broken skin of the fruit also exposes the seeds within, again reinforcing the concept that we can see these events in a new way.

Fan-made website 'Twilight Lexicon' provides a similar interpretation with: “Moreover, Midnight Sun is Edward’s story, and he has never seen himself as pure or clean or worthy. He has always said he isn’t good and that he doesn’t want Bella to be like him. Hence, we have a very messy image here to represent how Edward feels about himself. The inside look at the pomegranate as opposed to seeing the outside of the fruit can represent how we are getting an insider’s look into Edward’s thoughts and feelings.”

In relation to the dripping juice which manages to make the image look more gruesome, another interpretation could be that this particular image was used to reference the theme and idea of blood which is apparent in this vampire novel. The pattern of the exposed seeds could make the fruit resemble the chambers of the heart, and therefore look like a heart dripping blood.

Additionally, to link to the Greek Myth of 'Persephone' which Stephenie confirms was a huge part of the inspiration behind the image, it could represent "how Edward is bound to his vampire nature but can’t resist Bella, who is not of his world. It could also represent the idea that once Bella partakes of the “fruit” she would be trapped in Edward’s world.

Persephone and Greek Mythology
Story of Persephone and link to pomegranates:
 * "In the Greek myth of Persephone's abduction by Hades, lord of the underworld, the pomegranate represents life, regeneration, and marriage.1 One day while out gathering flowers, Persephone noticed a narcissus of exquisite beauty. As she bent down to pick it, the earth opened and Hades seized her and dragged her down to his kingdom. By eating a few pomegranate seeds, Persephone tied herself to Hades—the pomegranate being a symbol of the indissolubility of marriage. Inconsolable at the loss of her daughter, the corn goddess Demeter prevented the earth from bearing fruit unless she saw her daughter again. Zeus intervened and worked out a compromise: Persephone should live with Hades for one third of the year and the other two thirds with Demeter. Persephone's return from the underworld each year is marked by the arrival of Spring."

When further analysing the significance of this Myth within the book and the story, Holly Blackford points out that “Meyer uses the trope of Persephone straddling two worlds, at home in neither, to convey her point of view on divorce.” The idea of marriage and divorce isn’t introduced into the series until the end of the second book and is carried on into the rest of the series, however, there is an interesting connection that these theories of Greek mythology, particularly the story of Persephone, were included in the story, even before Midnight Sun exposed the explicit connection. This idea that Bella is stuck in-between two worlds, could also make a direct connection to her struggle between the human and the vampire world, but also the Vampire and the Werewolf world.

(See every reference to this myth within the Midnight Sun novel below)

Book Covers of previous books
When Stephenie and the publishing company were deciding on the cover art for Midnight Sun (Meyer novel), they would have had to consider the previous covers to ensure that the series was cohesive. The most obvious things that they have in common are:
 * 1) The original four-book series are combinations of red and white, including the Eclipse (Meyer novel) companion: The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner, and the companion guide The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide. The only exception to this rule is the Life and Death: Twilight Reimagined gender-swapped spinoff novel in which the apple is green instead of red to signify that the gender roles are reversed and that the world is opposite to the world in the original novels.
 * 2) The covers don't have an explicit reference to the book titles.
 * 3) They reference a theme or symbol included within the plot

In The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide, Stephanie Meyer answers some frequently asked questions, one of which was "what do the covers of the books represent?"

Meyer responded with: "The Apple on the cover of Twilight represents the knowledge of good and evil. eve ate this forbidden fruit in Genesis... The question inherent in the apple is "So you want to know?" It asks is you are going to bite in and discover the frightening possibilities around you or refuse and stay safe in the comfortable world you know.

Unlike the other covers, Stephanie was not involved in choosing the cover for  New moon. ... the team chose the tulip focused on the theme of loss. The image of the flower losing its petal was chosen to reflect that. They felt the fallen petal could also be interpreted to represent the drop of blood from Bella's papercut in the first chapter.

The not-quite-broken ribbon on the cover of Eclipse is a metaphor for Bella trying to leave her human life behind her, but being unable to make a clean break. There are some threads she is unable to cut - she can't completely divorce herself from the past.

The two chess pieces on the cover of Breaking Dawn both represent Bella. They show her moving from the least significant player, the pawn, at the beginning of the saga to the most important player, the queen, at the end of the series. The chessboard also hints at Breaking Dawn's resolution, where the battle with the Volturi is one of wits and strategy, not physical violence.

The image on The Official Guide cover represents "all the pieces of the puzzle" of the Twilight Saga coming together in one place.

The hourglass on the cover of The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner: An Eclipse Novella symbolizes the theme of time and represents the fact that it is running out for Bree and her fellow newborns."

The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide was published in 2011, nine years before the release of Midnight Sun (Meyer novel) and therefore doesn't include any insight on the book cover art. However, we can still see the patterns included in the art of the other novels in the series, and use this information and apply it to the newest novel. Meyer has also released a statement for this particular Novel in an FAQ section of her website. (see below)

Quote Evidence
All quotes are taken from Midnight Sun (Meyer novel) Below is every quote from the novel that makes reference to the pomegranate.
 * “I saw Persephone, pomegranate in hand. Dooming herself to the underworld” (p. 193).


 * “Every word we spoke here — each one of them was another pomegranate seed” (p. 213).


 * “One too many pomegranate seeds, and she was bound to the underworld with me” (p. 315).


 * “This was a dangerous path to even hint at. Hades and his pomegranate. How many toxic seeds had I already infected her with?” (p.365).


 * “A flicker of unease twisted my expression. I thought of pomegranate seeds for the first time in a while” (p.470).


 * “Because what would hurt Bella the most? I couldn’t escape the truest answer. Pomegranate seeds and my underworld” (p.615).

Significance of Book Cover Art
The phrase "Don't judge a book by its cover" is very popular, and perhaps shows the significance of a book cover when someone is choosing what to read. It is no secret that a pretty book cover is more desirable. Stephanie Merry points out that “trends in book cover art come and go, sometimes inexplicably. One day you're puzzling over how an exploding rose ended up on multiple dust jackets, and the next you're confronted by an onslaught of twee illustrations.”, showing that just like anything else that relies on consumerism, there are specific trends and patterns in what is the most popular at different times.

Moreover, “The massive growth in the number of book titles has made publishers think about how to attract a customer’s attention to particular books. This is the reason why the book cover plays an important role as a tool of communication with the reader.”, further emphasising the importance of the book cover and how it attracts customers. Interestingly, in a study conducted where different groups of people were asked to choose a book, after the attractiveness of the title, being the most influential factor, 25% of all respondents chose the book based on whether or not the cover was attractive. Again, this evidence further reinforces the influence that book cover art has on people when choosing a book to read, and also highlights the significance to a publisher, so they know how to present a book to make the most money.