Dolores Claiborne

Dolores Claiborne is the titular main protagonist of 1992 novel Dolores Claiborne. She is a hardened island woman that is accused of killing her wealthy employer Vera Donovan. Novel is written as a monolouge of Dolores telling police about her life. From the first pages she tells that she didn't kill Vera Donovan but she killed her husband 30 years before. Novel is about Dolores's life and relationships and how and why she killed her husband.
== Portrayal ==
Dolores is portrayed by academy-award winner Kathy Bates in the 1995 movie adaptation. Kathy Bates stated that her favorite role is Dolores.
== Early Life ==
Dolores Claiborne was born in Little Tall Island and lived there all here life. Dolores was the only child in an abusive household. Her father used beat her mother in front of her eyes. Because of this Dolores growed-up thinking a man hitting his wife is normal.
When Dolores was a teenager she met Joe St. George. She had a crush on him beacuse of his smooth forehead. They had sex and Dolores got pregnant. They married but there was no love. Dolores gave birth to Selena, her eldest child. By that time she started working as a maid. She started working for a rich woman named Vera Donovan. Vera was a hard and high-demending woman. Dolores had her second and third childs to.
== Dolores Claiborne ==
Novel starts with Dolores adressing the police chief of Little Tall Island. Dolores is in a interrogation room with three people. Andy Bisette, Frank Proloux and Nancy Bannister. Andy and Frank are Little Tall officials and Nancy is a stenographer. Dolores first tells them about Vera Donovan. Vera was the wife of Micheal Donovan, a rich bussinesman. Vera was also the mother of Donald and Helga Donovan. Dolores started working for Vera when she was pregnant. Vera was a hard woman. She was mean and sometimes cruel to her employees. She had a number of rules. She had a cleaning obsession that was very hard to get along with. Everybody that worked for her saw her as a Devil Woman. Only one that understood Vera was Dolores. She found her rules reasonable and understood Vera was a prisoner of her own rules. One day Vera's husband had a car accident but Vera didn't seem sad. 
As the time passed Dolores and Vera grew closer and began to love each other. When Vera got strokes and got bedridden Dolores moved into the Donovan house and became Vera's carer. Vera's sickness made everyone's life more miserable. She had dementia and often forgot who she was. She was haunted by images she called ' dust bunies'. Vera would see them and scream at night. Dolores would go to her and sleep with Vera until they past. She would stroke Vera's hair until her crying past.
Dolores then starts telling about Joe. She and Joe had a loveless marriage. They only married because Dolores was pregnant. Joe was abusive and violent. He beat her and called her names. He started abusing her first night of their marriage. Dolores didn't do anything about it because in 1960's beating was seen as ' home correction'. One day in 1961 when Joe hit her with a wooden blank and she realized beating wasn't home correction. She was determined that Joe wouldn't touch her again. That night when Joe was asleep on the couch and children were in their rooms Dolores bashed Joe's head with a pitcher of cream. Joe tried to get up and beat her but she had an axe in her hand. She told Joe if he'll ever hit her again one of them would die. Joe was scared so she never hit him again. Still, Joe didn't tell this to the rest of the ısland. He always bragged about how good he abused his wife.
Sometime later Dolores realized there was something off about Selena. She grew cold to everybody and she looked very depressed. One day Dolores asked her what was wrong on the way home. Selena brust out crying. She told her that Joe molested her. Selana saw his father with blood and her mother with an axe the day Dolores stood up to Joe. Selena thought that her mother attacked her innocent father. She started to be more close to Joe and Joe had used this to his advantage. When Dolores got home she told Joe to stay away from Selena. After that Dolores decided she wanted to take Selana, Joe Jr. and Pete and leave Joe. When she went to the bank to draw money she saw that Joe had taken the money away. Dolores had no chance of leaving Joe. One day she brust out crying in front of Vera. Vera asked her why she was crying and Dolores told her about the things that happened. Vera gave Dolores a very useful advice: ' An accident is sometimes an unhappy womans best friend.' Vera told her how husbands die every day and leave their wifes their money. Then Dolores planned to kill Joe and make it look like an accident. She planned kill Joe on the day of eclipse. July 20 1963. She send Selena to a camp and her boys to her sister. She made Joe fall down a well. While she was doing it she saw a image of a girl looking under a bed. Girl saw her to and asked her who she is. That girl was Jessie Mahout. Before Dolores could answer Joe screamed from the well crying for help. He tried to climb it but Dolores broke his skull with a stone. Dolores was investigated for Joe's death but wasn't founf guilty. Joe's death had been ruled an accident. Everybody in Little Tall started talking about Dolores. Selena understood that Dolores killed Joe and grew cold to her mother. One that was most affected from Joe's death was Joe.Jr. Joe used to bully Joe Jr. for being sensitive and un-macho. Joe Jr. cried and told Dolores ' he never let me love him!'. After Joe's death life moved on. Vera got bedridden and Dolores started staying with her. Pete died in Vietnam, Joe became a politician and Selena became a journalist.
One day when Dolores was hanging clothes she felt that the girl she saw on the day of eclipse was in trouble. This was when Jessie stayed handcuffed to a bed. Dolores heard Vera screaming and she got into the house. Vera threw herself out to stairs. She did that because she was tired of seeing the dust bunnies. She asked Dolores to kill her and end the pain. Dolores got into the kitchen and took a rolling pin. When she came Vera was already dead. Dolores sat beside Vera and hold Vera's hand. Later door rang and she opened it. Postman saw the rolling pin and Vera's body. He called the police and she went to her home. Later a man called Dolores and told her Vera's will was on her. Dolores said the will belonged to Vera's children. Man told her that they were dead. After Micheal's death Donald wanted a car from Vera but she told him he was too young. Donald threatened Vera to give the car. Vera bought him a car in desperation. One night when Donald and Helga were going too fast their car crashed and they died. Vera was so sad and depressed she went crazy. She thought her children would come back to her. She told everybody that they were still alive. Dolores remembered that Vera was very happy on the time of eclipse beacuse her children would come to Little Tall. Saddened, Dolores started crying for a long time. After that she went to a broken wharf to commit suicide. While she stood on the wharf she heard Vera's voice telling her she musn't kill herself and go on with life. Then Dolores left the wharf and went to place station to tell her story.
After her story ends Dolores is in peace with herself and tells Andy to do whatever he wants to do with her. Then her monolouge ends.
Last three pages of the novel are newspaper articles. First one says a island woman named Dolores Claiborne wasn't found guilty of Vera Donovan's death. Andy and the others must've felt that Joe St George deserved to die so they set her free. Second article is about an anonymous donation to a orphanage. Third article is a from a gossip magazine of Little Tall. There we learn Selena will come to Little Tall Island after 20 years and meet her mother.
== Dolores and Her Children ==
Dolores is a great mother who would do anything for her children She loved her children very much and cared for them. When she learned that Joe hurt Selena she planned to kill him. She killed Joe St George for her children.
After Joe's death Selena became estranged. She only called Dolores for duty and never visited her. Dolores felt so sad for Selena.
== Dolores and Vera ==
Dolores and Vera had a weird relationship. They were friends and they loved each other. They were there for each other when needed. They always fought and sassed each other. Vera gave Dolores important advices and Dolores always took care for her.
== Personality ==
Dolores is vey smart. She can understand other people easily and plot effective plans. She is cunning and planning. She planned Joe's plan without giving away. She is rude, sarcastic and funny. She has anger problems.
Dolores is no-nonsense and determined. She is kind and unterstanding to the people she likes, rude to the people she dislikes. She is intependent and strong.
She is a loving mother . She did everything she did for her love to her children. She protects her children and cares for their future and education.,
While she killed Joe she certainly isn't ruthless. She feels remorse and guilt for Joe's death.
Dolores is wise and observent.
Category:Wise
Category:Elderly
Category:Related to Villain
Category:Rescuers
Category:Titular
Category:Protectors of Innocence
Category:Protectors
Category:Parents
Category:Anti-Heroes
Category:Successful
Category:Selfless
Category:Determinators
Category:Female
Category:Fighters
Category:Jerks
Category:Honorable
Category:Victims
Category:Vengeful
Category:Betrayed
Category:Book Heroes
Category:Non-Action
Category:Merciful
Category:Feminists
Category:Wrathful
Category:Strong-Willed
Category:Stephen King Heroes
Category:Rebellion Heroes
Category:Lethal