Stephen King's Gothic

John Sears

Description

Stephen King is the world's best-selling horror writer. His work is ubiquitous on bookstore, supermarket, and personal library shelves and has been faithfully adapted into some of the most iconic horror films of the twentieth century. This study explores his writing through the lenses of contemporary literary and cultural theory. Through analyses of some of his best-known work, including "Carrie" and "Misery," the authors argue that King offers ways of encountering and understanding some of our deepest fears about life and death, the past and the future, technological change, other people, monsters, ghosts, and the supernatural.This is the first extended critical-theoretical engagement with King's writing, and will be of interest to students, academics, and fans of horror fiction.

Sujets

• Literary Criticism
• Idioma inglés
• English
• American
• Anglais

Informations

• Publié par: University of Wales Press
• Date de parution: 30 juin 2011
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780708323465
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

Gothic Literary Studies

Stephen King’s Gothic

John Sears

University of Wales Press

STEPHEN KING’S GOTHIC

SERIES PREFACE

Gothic Literary Studies is dedicated to publishing groundbreaking scholarship on Gothic in literature and film.The Gothic,which has been subjected to a variety of critical and theoretical approaches, is a form which plays an important role in our understanding of literary, intellectual and cultural histories. The series seeks to promote challenging and innovative approaches to Gothic which question any aspect of the Gothic tradition or perceived critical orthodoxy. Volumes in the series explore how issues such as gender, religion, nation and sexuality have shaped our view of the Gothic tradition. Both academically rigorous and informed by the latest developments in critical theory, the series provides an important focus for scholastic developments in Gothic studies, literary studies, cultural studies and critical theory.The series will be of interest to students of all levels and to scholars and teachers of the Gothic and literary and cultural histories.

SERIES EDITORS

Andrew Smith, University of Glamorgan Benjamin F. Fisher, University of Mississippi

EDITORIAL BOARD

Kent Ljungquist,Worcester Polytechnic Institute Massachusetts Richard Fusco, St Joseph’s University, Philadelphia David Punter, University of Bristol Chris Baldick, University of London Angela Wright, University of Sheffield Jerrold E. Hogle, University of Arizona

Stephen King’s Gothic

John Sears

UNIVERSITY OF WALES PRESS CARDIFF 2011

© John Sears, 2011

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any material form (including photocopying or storing it in any medium by electronic means and whether or not transiently or incidentally to some other use of this publication) without the written permission of the copyright owner. Applications for the copyright owner’s written permission to reproduce any part of this publication should be addressed to the University of Wales Press, 10 Columbus Walk, Brigantine Place, Cardiff CF10 4UP.

www.uwp.co.uk

British Library CIP Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN (hardback) 9780708323458 ISBN (paperback) 9780708324028 eISBN 9780708323465

The right of John Sears to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 79 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

Typeset in Wales by Eira Fenn Gaunt, Cardiff Printed by CPI Antony Rowe, Chippenham,Wiltshire

In memory of A.G.S. 1933–2009

Acknowledgements

Abbreviations

C ONTENTS

1 Rereading Stephen King’s Gothic

2Carrie’s Gothic Script

3 Disinterring, Doubling: King and Traditions

4 Genre’s Gothic Machinery

5MiseryTropes’s Gothic

6 Gothic Time in ‘The Langoliers’

7 ‘This Inhuman Place’: King’s Gothic Places

8 Facing Gothic Monstrosity

9 Conclusion: King’s Gothic Endings

Notes

Bibliography

Index

viii

x

1

28

54

80

106

130

155

182

209

227

241

251

A CKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The British Academy generously funded a research visit to the Fogler Library at the University of Maine, Orono, in March 2009. I am grateful to Stephen King for permission to view some of the materials stored there, and to Brenda Steeves and her colleagues at the Special Collections of the Fogler Library for all their assistance with my research. Early versions of chapters 6, 4 and 8 were delivered at the PCA/ ACA conferences in San Francisco in 2008, New Orleans in 2009 and St Louis in 2010.Another version of chapter 4 was delivered at the IGA conference at Lancaster University in 2009. I am grateful to the organisers of all these events for allowing me to present, and to members of the various audiences for their comments and ideas, which were always positive and constructive. In particular I owe much to Mary Findley, Phil Simpson,Tony Magistrale and Patrick McAleer, and to other regular and oneoff presenters at the ‘Stephen King Area’, and to Catherine Spooner and Fred Botting.The anonym ous reader for University of Wales Press offered detailed and valuable comments that, in every case, improved this book. Sue Zlosnik and Berthold Schoene gave important initial en couragement to this project. Patricia Allmer has, as always, supported it from beginning to end, beyond and back. Stephen King generously granted permission to reprint extracts from his works.The following permissions were also kindly granted:

For extracts from the following books:Bag of Bones© Stephen King, reproduced by permission of Hodder and Stoughton Limited;Carrie © Stephen King, reproduced by permission of Hodder and Stoughton Limited;Firestarterreproduced by permission of© Stephen King, Hodder and Stoughton Limited;The Dark Half© Stephen King, reproduced by permission of Hodder and Stoughton Limited (© 1989