Abstract:
Few studies have examined abandonment in young adult cinema through Freudian melancholia. This dissertation fills that gap by analysing The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009) directed by Chris Weitz. It argues that Bella Swan’s reaction to Edward’s departure is not normal mourning but pathological melancholia as defined in Freud’s “Mourning and Melancholia” (1917). Focusing on Bella’s catatonic withdrawal, hallucinations, attachment to Jacob, and manic flight to Italy, the study uses the concepts of identification, split ego, self-attack, and the transition from dejection to mania. The findings show that Bella internalises Edward, turning anger into self-reproach and hallucinations; her self-sacrifice is manic, not heroic, and the happy ending leaves her pathology intact
