- Position‹2 of 2
- No, Stephen King's novels are not sexist
- Argument‹2 of 2
Stephen King constantly includes strong female protagonists
Stephen King has an abundance of strong female leads in his stories.
The argument
There are so many examples of strong female leads in King's novels - ones with power, excellent morals, and the ability to find their way out of whatever situation they've found themselves trapped in. What the pattern shows is not that these characters are spared hardship but that the hardship is the occasion for their agency rather than a substitute for it. A sexist portrayal would make a woman's suffering the point of her presence in the book; in these novels the suffering is the starting condition, and the narrative interest lies in what she does about it. In Gerald's Game, Jessie Burlingame uses her past trauma to escape from her chained position - finally moving from victimized to triumphant. Her escape turns on the very history that might otherwise have defined her as a victim: what was done to her becomes the resource she draws on. She beats all those who abused her in her life to start again, both physically and mentally, so the recovery is on both registers rather than a rescue delivered from outside. Rosie McClendon in Rose Madder fights to escape from her abusive ex, utilizing a painting - again a protagonist who finds her own means of escape rather than waiting to be delivered from her circumstances. Beverly Marsh defies all odds in It, fighting for her place in the world despite all that she is experiencing, and the fight is for standing among her peers rather than merely for survival. These are strong characters that can be looked up to, admired. They battle through circumstances with strength and willpower like no other, written as the agents of their own stories rather than as the occasions for someone else's. There is no sign of sexism in empowerment.
Premises
Counter-arguments
Simply placing women in lead roles is not enough to determine whether the novels are sexist or not. It's the treatment and portrayal of women, and within that lies the issue with Stephen King's books.
Rejecting the premises
[Rejecting P1] The issue is not the women's personalities, but how they are treated in the novel.