Writing to Stay Alive: Mental Projection as Catharsis in Stephen King's Misery (1987)

Belenguer Monterrubio, Nicolás
Collado Rodríguez, Francisco (dir.)

Universidad de Zaragoza, FFYL, 2022
Filología Inglesa y Alemana department, Filología Inglesa area

Graduado en Estudios Ingleses

Abstract: Misery, one of Stephen King’s most acclaimed novels, is a work that gives up
many of the usual traits of his author in order to build an equally frightening story.
Settled in an isolated landscape like a cabin in the Rocky Mountains, and with a plot
developed around two characters and a single room, the horror of his narrative is built
through the characters themselves rather than through external circumstances. Due to
the absence of supernatural elements, this psychological horror work adopts a
verisimilar and realist tone, in which elements such as madness or changes in the state
of the protagonist’s mind influence the narrative.
This paper aims to demonstrate how the narrative emphasizes the subjectivity of Paul
Sheldon, a writer hijacked by his “number one fan”, and how he projects his fears and
thoughts in the novel through various metaphors with a cathartic purpose, to the point
that he is unable to obtain his freedom until he has not confronted his own demons.

Tipo de Trabajo Académico: Trabajo Fin de Grado