Imagining the Worst: Stephen King and the Representation of Women (Contributions to the Study of Popular Culture) [Hardcover]

Kathleen Lant (Author), Theresa Thompson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 30, 1998 | Series: Contributions to the Study of Popular Culture (Book 67)

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.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This review is surprised that feminist critics have not jumped on King's fiction prior to this: the contributors document the pervasiveness of misogyny, homophobia, gynophobia, Oedipal complexes, and every kind of neurotic projection imaginable in King's work. These psychological conditions seem to be the very source of horror in much of his fiction....[T]he collection is readable and engaging. Especially provocative are Linda Anderson'a exploration of the mother as monster, Edward Madden's consideration of sexuality and horror, and Lant's piece on King's relationship with his readers."-Choice

Book Description

Scholarly essays exploring Stephen King's representation of women in his fiction.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 216 pages
• Publisher: Praeger (November 30, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0313302324
• ISBN-13: 978-0313302329
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,749,212 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars read more carefully, November 13, 2009

By 

T. Thompson "Bored by Bad Books" - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Imagining the Worst: Stephen King and the Representation of Women (Contributions to the Study of Popular Culture) (Hardcover)

As co-editor of this collection, I feel one correction needs to be made in previous comments. No article in the book claims King wrote "Halloween" or "Friday the 13th." The article that makes reference to these works simply compares King's works to these. While I don't claim this collection is particularly impressive overall, I do know that at the time it was collected almost nothing had been said critically about King as an icon of American horror fiction. Since then, I've found my own essay grossly misrepresented in other scholarly works--I've been accused of not understanding feminism at all. Very interesting, and I suspect the author of that claim hadn't read any of my article much less any of the others. However, I do hope that feminism has developed beyond the attack-without-logic approach of previous critical generations by now and future scholars will actually read carefully the essays collected. If, after careful reading, critics disagree, I welcome the disagreements. I am not sure, more than a decade after publication, that I still agree with the "me" that wrote at that time. Still, groundbreaking is still rough work no matter how inadequate the first shovelful might be. King is an uneven author, as are his critics. Some works are worth reading, others are not. This collection is equally uneven, and both editors knew this as the volume progressed. But we accomplished what we set out to do: we opened a discussion of the critical merit of King's work. I suspect he is the Edgar Allen Poe of the twentieth century, and another hundred years will demonstrate his overall impact.

5 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars If they say so..., December 15, 2003

By 

Rhiannon (Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Imagining the Worst: Stephen King and the Representation of Women (Contributions to the Study of Popular Culture) (Hardcover)

First of all, Stephen King didn't write "Holloween" (as the moron who wrote the book review spelled it) and he didn't write Friday The 13th. Did the person who wrote this book even read any of what he's wrote? Or is she just talking out her behind?

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Maybe a Close Reading is Required, May 4, 2005

By 

Lady Lazarus (Fairfax, VA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Imagining the Worst: Stephen King and the Representation of Women (Contributions to the Study of Popular Culture) (Hardcover)

I feel that this book has been grossly misread. First I think it is necessary to note that films such as Halloween and Friday the 13th are not credited as King's work. Both films are mentioned twice, once the genre that King is a part of and again as a part of the slasher genre.

I found the works in this text to be incredibly fascinating. I did not agree with all the theories presented in all the essays, but rarely does one come across an entire book of theories that they will wholly agree with. Indeed, some seem downright absurd. But the refreshful and often insightful essays written by these authors are a welcome change from the usual high-brow rhetoric that one comes across all too often when wading through literary criticism.

The bias toward feminism is present, and it can't be denied. But as this texts is a selection of essays about women, it is not shocking to find feminist theories and ideas in the roots of these works.

Considering that the topic of women in King's work is a fascinating subject to me, perhaps that's why I found this text so intriguing. Obviously it must be read with a critical eye to avoid any misinterpretations.