- Maria Iustinica Roată
-
University of Craiova
The woman as a character has always been the muse of
Gothic writers. Her intelligence and adapting ability to hostile challenging
situations ensured her final triumph over evil. Madness and reason are constant
coordinates of Stephen King’s Gothic heroine, accentuating her drama or
accelerating her fateful denouement.
This
article aims to offer an unedited approach to some existential dilemmas about
human consciousness versatility that Stephen King has intensely exploited in
his novels over the years. Carrie White is the bullied, ostracized teenager,
Wendy Torrance confronts her husband’s growing madness in the phantasmagorical
Overlook, and Annie Wilkes doses her madness according to the degree of
satisfaction provided by her favourite novel.
The majority of Gothic novels expose women to inequities and dangerous situations. Unlike the English Gothic, where the heroines faced bizarre situations, in America, the female characters are prisoners of their own minds. The psyche is tormented by an evil spirit, symbolising irreversible human degradation. The challenges are unequal battles in which the protagonists must exceed their limits. Their victory is the triumph of good over evil and life over death.
