Imagining the worst : Stephen King and the representation of women

Author(s)

• Lant, Kathleen Margaret
• Thompson, Theresa

Bibliographic Information

Imagining the worst : Stephen King and the representation of women

edited by Kathleen Margaret Lant and Theresa Thompson

（Contributions to the study of popular culture, no. 67）

Greenwood Press, 1998

• :alk. paper

Note

Includes bibliographical references (p. [183]-190) and index

Description and Table of Contents

Description

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.

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

by "Nielsen BookData"

Details

• NCID: BA40881482
• ISBN:
  • 0313302324
• LCCN: 97048575
• Country Code: us
• Title Language Code: eng
• Text Language Code: eng
• Place of Publication: Westport, Conn.
• Pages/Volumes: viii, 203 p.
• Size: 25 cm
• Classification:
  • LCC : PS3561.I483
  • DC21 : 813/.54
• Subject Headings:
  • LCSH : King, Stephen, 1947- -- Characters -- Women
  • LCSH : Horror tales, American -- History and criticism
  • LCSH : Women in literature
• Parent Bibliography ID:
  • BA00668424