Imagining the Worst: Stephen King and the Representation of Women

by Kathleen Lant, Theresa Thompson

Overview

Stephen King has been hailed as a writer of the late 20th century Everyman, yet his representations of women remain debatable. These essays not only explore his portrayal of female characters, they illuminate Stephen King's own psychology and that of our culture's fears, anxieties, and feminine obsessions. The various works examined include Carrie, Gerald's Game, Rose Madder, Holloween, Friday the 13th, Dolores Claiborne, It, Christine, and Misery. The essays progress through various discussions of female power versus male authority, the association of female with evil, and King's monster imagery associated with the mother-figure characters. Written by various scholars and professors, these essays offer rare insight into the treatement of the female characters of Stephen King's imagination.

The works of Stephen King are as popular as they are contested. Delineated by his precise commentary on the late 20th century culture, and most notably American culture, his horror fiction strikes a more specific, personal note with readers. These essays tap into the feminine aspect of King's social commentary. Concentrating on his treatment of female characters, these essays explore Stephen King's exposure of the fears, anxieties, and obsessions concerning the female and feminine that our culture harbors. The numerous works analyzed in this book provide a comprehensive study of King's treatment of the feminine, and what it implies about our culture and Stephen King.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780313302329
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	11/19/1998
Series:	Contributions to the Study of Popular Culture , #67
Pages:	216
Sales rank:	695,423
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.62(d)

About the Author

KATHLEEN LANT is Professor of English at California Polytechnic State University where she is also Coordinator of Instructional Technology for the College of Liberal Arts./e Her publications include work on Harriet Beecher Stowe, Kate Chopin, Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Tennessee Williams, Stephen King, Louisa May Alcott, Sulvia Plath, and educational technology.

THERESA THOMPSON is Assistant Professor of English at Valdosta State University in Georgia./e She has also published articles on Virginia and Leonard Woolf, Edward Said, and D. H. Lawrence.

Table of Contents

Preface
Introduction by Kathleen Margaret Lant and Theresa Thompson
The American Context and Constructions of the Female
Cotton Mather and Stephen King: Writing/Righting the Body Politic by Ed Ingebretsen, S.J.
Patriarchal Mediations of Carrie: The Book, The Movie, and the Musical by Douglas Keesey
Rituals of Male Violence: Unlocking the (Fe)male Self in Gerald's Game by Thesesa Thompson
Women and Genre
Repulsive Attractions: "The Raft", the Vagina Dentata, and the Slasher Formula by Leonard Cassuto
The Power of the Feminine and the Gendered Construction of Horror in Stephen King's "The Reach" by André Decuir
Gerald's Game and Dolores Claiborne: Stephen King and the Evolution of an Authentic Female Narrative Voice by Carol Senf
Evil and Female Essence
"Oh Dear Jesus It Is Female": Monster as Mother/Mother as Monster in Stephen King's IT by Linda Anderson
IT, A Sexual Fantasy by Karen Thoens
Masculine Power and the "Problem" of the Female Body
Cars and Girls: Sexual Power and Sexual Panic in Stephen King's Christine by Ed Madden
The Rape of Constant Reader: Stephen King's Construction of the Female Reader and Violation of the Female Body in Misery by Kathleen Margaret Lant
Selected Bibliography of Works on Stephen King
Index

Editorial Reviews

A collection of essays on sexual and social disorientation concerning the female and the feminine in the work of horror writer Stephen King, with sections on the American context and constructions of the female, women and genre, evil and female essence, and masculine power and the problem of the female body. Topics include It as sexual fantasy, sexual power and sexual panic in Christine, and unlocking the (fe)male self in Gerald's Game. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

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