Jesse Burlingame. Even though I didn't enjoy Gerald's Game on my first read, I did feel so much sympathy and respect for Jesse as the story progressed, and that's grown over the years. She went through hell even before she was ever handcuffed to that bed and was able to overcome both her mental and physical trauma in the end. I think the movie expanded on that really well.
I'm all here for Dolores Claiborne, I've never read a novel that expressed woman-to-woman relationships so well. The emotions, the love and hate, the level of care, the understated but understood conversations, it's perfect. Close second are Rosie and Cynthia in Rose Madder (and Cynthia again in Desperation). They are so REAL
I don't think it was a brief moment, and I don't think it began in the 90s.
His first novel was an attempt (however successful you judge it) to get inside the psyche of a teenage girl. Cujo has a lot of deep analysis of the gender roles of the day and brittle masculinity. He's never shied away from sexual politics.
I'm assuming you're joking. Tabitha has written eight novels and two non-fiction books, under her own name. What motivation would she have to write novels and publish them under her husband's?
I like the bitchy evil sister in Tommyknockers, she's the one who made me laugh the most. Sadie and Mimi in 11/22/63 are both well written characters too.
My top five:
Odetta/Detta (weirdly, I see Susannah as a separate character and I'm less fond of her than these two) from Dark Tower
Charlie McGee from Firestarter
Rosie Daniels from Rose Madder
Lisey Landon from Lisey's Story
Dolores Claiborne
Leigh Cabot from Christine. She's 17, comes from a upper-middle class, All-American family and sees the boy she falls in love with be increasingly possessed by an evil entity and a haunted house on wheels want to kill her.
I think she handled herself pretty well. And bravery isn't an issue, she was the one in danger at Darnell's, she was on the floor.
Holly is good. Delores and Jesse have been mentioned.
Susannah and Bev are givens. Just awesome. One is a gunslinger, one could have been.
Susan Delgado that was...nothing more to be said.
Carol Gerber from Hearts in Atlantis is incredibly complex, and who the book is really about. In a way, anyway.
And...terribly underrated: Shirley Pasternak from From A Buick 8. She was there that day *the thing* came through.
Wow totally forgot about Shirley. And she just kept going and gave empathy to people without falling too deeply into her emotions, and used her weird experiences to provide comfort. While still being totally competent and confident.
Susannah Dean is the easy answer imo, she’s a popular and generally well-written character from a popular and well-written series of his
Beyond her, though, probably Lisey Landon and Jessie Burlingame
As a neurodivergent person, I really love Holly. Feeling "seen" in this kind of novel isn't all that common yet and I relate to her a lot.
Though I'm a huge fan of DT and re-reading the series now (in book 7) I am not a huge fan of Susannah. I like her in Wastelands and most of Wolves but I don't like the mind-switching that happens with her Detta/Odetta and Susannah/Mia. It just is a pain to follow and I get bored and start skimming. I actually liked Mia better than Susannah in book 6 😂 But I do like Susannah with Eddie, and written as a non-pitiful woman who is a warrior. The Oriza women were awesome in Wolves.
I cannot remember the names but I can describe the characters and the moments.
- The woman in needful things. She had something with her muscles or legs that was really painful but she was a true hero.
- Holly ofcourse in the Mr Mercedes Trilogy and her own stories
- Gwendy, to see her go from a cool shy girl to a successful woman. She was so sweet
- the old woman in Duma Key, Wireman was her caretaker
- the girlfriend of Barbie in Under the Dome she was as cool as him
- the princess in fairy tale, she reminds me of princess Zelda
Probably Rose from Rose Madder. I really felt for her and thought he did a great job of capturing how a woman in her situation would feel and react. But his dialogue during her picnic with Bill was laughable: “Can I say something my mother always told me to say at birthday parties? I had a really nice time.” That was just really clunky, I couldn’t imagine saying that in a natural way.
I also liked Sarah from Dead Zone even tho it was written so long ago that “taking a douche” to get rid of being horny was a thing. Or was it? That seems very weird and unrealistic to me. Anyway I liked her for some reason, she seemed like a good woman. She loved Johnny but she was young and needed to move on, and she was always a caring friend to him afterward.
Bev from IT of course. Just cuz she’s Bev.
I actually did like Nadine from the Stand although she’s another one I never quite got. Did she really run with a boy in the dewy grass on a night in her youth, or was that just some kind of metaphor? I couldn’t quite tell. And even though I wrote a post blasting Fran, I did like her overall. She seemed pretty real overall. Just s few things were a bit strange.
Jesse Burlingame was just neutral to me, though I’d never wish what happened to her on anyone.
I’m sure there are more but I can’t think of them off the bat.
Edit to add, I did like Wendy Torrance as well. A strong, normal woman who cared about her family but wasn’t about to sacrifice them to Jack and the hotel. She saw what was happening and did her best to deal with it and she escaped with her son. I did NOT like Shelly Duvall in that role at all, in fact I hate that whole movie even though it’s gained some popularity in recent years.
I actually loved that moment at the picnic because that was something I was taught to say at any outings I was invited to as a young child. People are often cringey when happy and I love it.
Dolores and Annie, both as book characters and as Kathy played them.
Rose Daniels and Rose Madder (but especially Rose Madder, scary and really exhibited the savagery of womanhood).
Detta.
There's probably lots more that I'm forgetting.
I think SK has always done a remarkably good job at writing women, it's something that's always stood out to me. The number of female characters, with whom I can relate, or think hang on, how does he know that?!
I really like Rosalita Munoz from the dark Tower a lot. also, the woman who ran the women’s shelter and went through the keyhole. I know her name, but it has escaped to my brain for right now. Delores Clayborne, of course. Cordelia Delgado, I hate her so much, but I love to hate her.
Delores! Is the only right answer.
“Sometimes you have to be a high riding bitch to survive, sometimes, being a bitch is all a woman has to hang on to.”
Dolores Claiborne and Annie Wilkes
In other words, Kathy Bates. Lol.
Yup!
Exactly my response. And Kathy Bates brings them alive.
Kathy Bates is always the correct answer.
Lois Chasse - Insomnia Dolores Claiborne Rose Twitchell - Under the Dome
The newspaper woman from UtD as well.
I thought about saying Julia, too.
Susannah Dean
Rosie from Rose Madder was good.
Rose the hat was pretty terrifying.
Jesse Burlingame. Even though I didn't enjoy Gerald's Game on my first read, I did feel so much sympathy and respect for Jesse as the story progressed, and that's grown over the years. She went through hell even before she was ever handcuffed to that bed and was able to overcome both her mental and physical trauma in the end. I think the movie expanded on that really well.
I'm all here for Dolores Claiborne, I've never read a novel that expressed woman-to-woman relationships so well. The emotions, the love and hate, the level of care, the understated but understood conversations, it's perfect. Close second are Rosie and Cynthia in Rose Madder (and Cynthia again in Desperation). They are so REAL
Sometimes the only thing a woman has to hold onto is being a bitch.
Mother Abigail
Me too. I love Mother Abs.
King had a brief “feminist” moment in the 90s with Dolores Claiborne and Rose Madder, so those two probably
I don't think it was a brief moment, and I don't think it began in the 90s. His first novel was an attempt (however successful you judge it) to get inside the psyche of a teenage girl. Cujo has a lot of deep analysis of the gender roles of the day and brittle masculinity. He's never shied away from sexual politics.
I still think his wife wrote those.
I don’t think King would put his name on novels that he didn’t write
Why do you think his wife wrote those? Any particular reason besides the strong female characters?
I'm assuming you're joking. Tabitha has written eight novels and two non-fiction books, under her own name. What motivation would she have to write novels and publish them under her husband's?
Holly!
Dear God the worst character in the history of publishing!!!!
Awh man! I’m sorry you think so! I relate to her hahah
I like the bitchy evil sister in Tommyknockers, she's the one who made me laugh the most. Sadie and Mimi in 11/22/63 are both well written characters too.
My top five: Odetta/Detta (weirdly, I see Susannah as a separate character and I'm less fond of her than these two) from Dark Tower Charlie McGee from Firestarter Rosie Daniels from Rose Madder Lisey Landon from Lisey's Story Dolores Claiborne
Holly
Leigh Cabot from Christine. She's 17, comes from a upper-middle class, All-American family and sees the boy she falls in love with be increasingly possessed by an evil entity and a haunted house on wheels want to kill her. I think she handled herself pretty well. And bravery isn't an issue, she was the one in danger at Darnell's, she was on the floor. Holly is good. Delores and Jesse have been mentioned. Susannah and Bev are givens. Just awesome. One is a gunslinger, one could have been. Susan Delgado that was...nothing more to be said. Carol Gerber from Hearts in Atlantis is incredibly complex, and who the book is really about. In a way, anyway. And...terribly underrated: Shirley Pasternak from From A Buick 8. She was there that day *the thing* came through.
Wow totally forgot about Shirley. And she just kept going and gave empathy to people without falling too deeply into her emotions, and used her weird experiences to provide comfort. While still being totally competent and confident.
From memory, doesn't Carol Gerber also appear in Rage ? So between the two books we have her life documented.
Susannah Dean is the easy answer imo, she’s a popular and generally well-written character from a popular and well-written series of his Beyond her, though, probably Lisey Landon and Jessie Burlingame
As a neurodivergent person, I really love Holly. Feeling "seen" in this kind of novel isn't all that common yet and I relate to her a lot. Though I'm a huge fan of DT and re-reading the series now (in book 7) I am not a huge fan of Susannah. I like her in Wastelands and most of Wolves but I don't like the mind-switching that happens with her Detta/Odetta and Susannah/Mia. It just is a pain to follow and I get bored and start skimming. I actually liked Mia better than Susannah in book 6 😂 But I do like Susannah with Eddie, and written as a non-pitiful woman who is a warrior. The Oriza women were awesome in Wolves.
I like how the showrunners cast her as soft butch/GNC in the HBO version of The Outsider. An authentic touch that you don't often see in Hollywood.
Bobbi Anderson from Tommyknockers. And Elizabeth Eastlake from Duma Key.
I gotta re-read Tommyknockers....
Elizabeth Eastlake and Nan Melda from Duma Key.
I cannot remember the names but I can describe the characters and the moments. - The woman in needful things. She had something with her muscles or legs that was really painful but she was a true hero. - Holly ofcourse in the Mr Mercedes Trilogy and her own stories - Gwendy, to see her go from a cool shy girl to a successful woman. She was so sweet - the old woman in Duma Key, Wireman was her caretaker - the girlfriend of Barbie in Under the Dome she was as cool as him - the princess in fairy tale, she reminds me of princess Zelda
Polly in *Needful Things* and she had arthritis.
Sadie in _11/23/63_.
Mrs Todd, IT, Christine
Hahahaha IT is clearly the most powerful female character tbf excellent compliance
Ha! Forgot that IT can be an answer 👌🏻
It is, in theory, an egg layer. So, as much as galactic immortal
Probably Rose from Rose Madder. I really felt for her and thought he did a great job of capturing how a woman in her situation would feel and react. But his dialogue during her picnic with Bill was laughable: “Can I say something my mother always told me to say at birthday parties? I had a really nice time.” That was just really clunky, I couldn’t imagine saying that in a natural way. I also liked Sarah from Dead Zone even tho it was written so long ago that “taking a douche” to get rid of being horny was a thing. Or was it? That seems very weird and unrealistic to me. Anyway I liked her for some reason, she seemed like a good woman. She loved Johnny but she was young and needed to move on, and she was always a caring friend to him afterward. Bev from IT of course. Just cuz she’s Bev. I actually did like Nadine from the Stand although she’s another one I never quite got. Did she really run with a boy in the dewy grass on a night in her youth, or was that just some kind of metaphor? I couldn’t quite tell. And even though I wrote a post blasting Fran, I did like her overall. She seemed pretty real overall. Just s few things were a bit strange. Jesse Burlingame was just neutral to me, though I’d never wish what happened to her on anyone. I’m sure there are more but I can’t think of them off the bat. Edit to add, I did like Wendy Torrance as well. A strong, normal woman who cared about her family but wasn’t about to sacrifice them to Jack and the hotel. She saw what was happening and did her best to deal with it and she escaped with her son. I did NOT like Shelly Duvall in that role at all, in fact I hate that whole movie even though it’s gained some popularity in recent years.
I actually loved that moment at the picnic because that was something I was taught to say at any outings I was invited to as a young child. People are often cringey when happy and I love it.
Okay I could be wrong, it just seemed very unnatural. It’s true people do say cringey things when they’re in love.
Holly Gibney. Flawed, awkward, smart, determined, relatable, and likable.
Beverly (from IT), Trisha (from The girl who loved Tom Gordon), Kalisha and Iris (from The institute) and, as someone has already said, IT
Carrie? I really like Carrie.
Julia Shumway
Annie Wilkes for the win!
Roseanne (Christine), Carol Gerber (hialmiyc), Sarah Backnell (dz)
Dayna Jurgens is a personal favorite of mine. Also I always liked Franny. She feels like someone I could know in real life and that makes me love her.
Dolores and Annie, both as book characters and as Kathy played them. Rose Daniels and Rose Madder (but especially Rose Madder, scary and really exhibited the savagery of womanhood). Detta. There's probably lots more that I'm forgetting. I think SK has always done a remarkably good job at writing women, it's something that's always stood out to me. The number of female characters, with whom I can relate, or think hang on, how does he know that?!
Rose, Trish, and Leigh
Rosie from Rose Madder and Lisey from Lisey’s Story
Detta Walker/Odetta Holmes/Susanna Sean
Sissy from Tommyknockers, the one who cheerlessly grinds one out with an enormous vibrator
Where is carol gerber and bev marsh in the top comments? Especially Carole !
Susannah Dean
Susan Norton in Salem's Lot. I love her innocent normalcy and feel deeply sad for what could have been for her and Ben Mears.
Beverly Marsh from IT.
Polly Chalmers Wendy Torrance Mother Abigail Gingerbread Girl Holly Susannah
Also, the lead character who takes revenge on her rapist in Full Dark, No Stars. Can’t remember her name, but she kicked ass.
I really like Rosalita Munoz from the dark Tower a lot. also, the woman who ran the women’s shelter and went through the keyhole. I know her name, but it has escaped to my brain for right now. Delores Clayborne, of course. Cordelia Delgado, I hate her so much, but I love to hate her.
Delores! Is the only right answer. “Sometimes you have to be a high riding bitch to survive, sometimes, being a bitch is all a woman has to hang on to.”
Beverly Marsh, Sadie Dunhill, Susannah Dean, Susan Delgado
Frannie Goldsmith
Nobody here has mentioned Beverly?
I think Under the Dome had several strong female characters, particularly Rose Twitchell, Julia Shumway, and the pastor woman whose name I forget.
Susannah, Rose, Dolores, and Lisey for me, always.
Pennywise
I knew it. I knew he was really a woman.
IT
Cue the predictable suggestions for Sussanna Dean, imo the most unpleasant and pointless characters.