From: frantz@bvc.edu
Newsgroups: alt.horror
Subject: King's women (Was re: Gerald's Game)
Date: 29 Jul 92 09:43:56 CDT
Organization: Buena Vista College, Storm Lake, IA

In article <1992Jul23.162814.26437@grebyn.com>, fi@grebyn.com (Fiona Webster) writes:
> On the very interesting question of Stephen King's female characters,
> I certainly would agree that Bobbie Anderson (_Tommyknockers_) is the
> most obvious counterexample--since she's fully established as a single
> woman and an author of Westerns.  The revised version of _The_Stand_
> also offers a richer view of Frannie Goldsmith: the added scene between
> Frannie and her mother is one of my favorites in *all* of Stephen King,
> and it's a perfect complement to the lyrical sequence describing
> Frannie's burial of her father.  And what about the lesbian warrior-
> woman character in _The_Stand_--Dayna something?  She may not have a 
> very big part, but she makes the most of it, as the film folks say. :-)
> 
> We also haven't mentioned Annie Wilkes as another character who is
> far more complicated than just a "bitch-goddess from Hell."  (Stephen
> King always portrays his writing as much cruder than it really is,
> so you have to take things like his comments in _Bare_Bones_ with a
> grain of salt.)  Annie has a history, a personality, and a career.
> Her psychological *presence* in _Misery_ is so much more powerful
> than Paul Sheldon's, it's amazing...
> 
> Last but not least: King's Carrie/Charlie character.  The Girl with a
> Gift, as portrayed in both _Firestarter_ (young) and _Carrie_ (adolescent)
> is obviously one of King's favorites.  King's portrayal of the
> psychology of growing up female in our society--especially vis-a-vis
> the mother-daughter schism--is right on, in my opinion.
> 
> Remember that *female* secretaries and office personnel of the
> publishing company that rejected King's first novel, _Carrie_, were
> responsible--by copying and handing around the manuscript among them--
> for the beginning of King's career.  It's an often-told story--how
> the women in the company reacted with enthusiasm to the napkin-throwing
> scene, and succeed in getting _Carrie_ reconsidered for publication.
> 
> I have also heard that demographically, the "typical" King reader is
> (like Annie Wilkes (-:) an educated woman in her thirties.
> 
> 						--an educated woman in
> 						   her thirties,
> 

> 							Fiona W.

As an educated woman in her late twenties (I'm nearly there...), I guess I 
fit King's "typical" reader profile, and I agree with your assessment of 
the women in his stories.  However, I have to say that I was pretty 
disappointed with Carrie's demise.  It felt like a cop out to kill her off. 
 Reminded me a little of Kate Chopin's response to her protagonist in The 
Awakening.  When things aren't going well because you're "special" and a 
woman to boot, well, of course you chuck it all and die, because of course 
that's the womanly thing to do.  I give King all the credit he deserves for 
tapping into the turbulent waters of an adolescent-on-the-brink-of-physical
-maturity, and on top of that making her a woman.  At the same time, I 
think the story might have served the protagonist better in this case had 
she been allowed to live and explore her "newfound self" more.  At the same 
time this would have likely developed into another Stand-like length.  It 
also raises the question of whether the story serves the characters or the 
characters serve the story--a sticky issue in and of itself.

Andrea @ BVC

Newsgroups: alt.horror