The Image of a Woman as A Wife in The Select Novels of Stephen King

Abstract

Women empowerment is one of the targets in the the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) in 2015. Women and girls must have equal rights and opportunity and be able to live free of violence and discrimination. In this literary research,  the roles of women  are studied as portrayed  in one of the  major characters  in the selected  novels of  Stephen King.

This research analyzes the character development of Dolores Claiborne and Rose Madder in Stephen King’s novels. Specifically, it focuses on the following: plot and sub-plots; literary technique  used; and themes and sub-themes. This uses the qualitative method of descriptive discourse analysis of the two novels by Stephen King entitled “Dolores Claiborne” and “Rose Madder.” Specifically, the analysis is conducted using literary theories : formalism and feminism. Each of the novels are carefully investigated using these theories to come up with the result of the study. To accomplish the goals of this study, the following  phases are used. The first phase  is extracting the plot and the sub-plots that show the course of action in the novels. In this phase, the plot is extracted and segregated into: 1) beginning, which entails exposition and initial incident; 2) middle which includes the rising action and the climax and 3) the end which focuses on the falling action and conclusion.  The second  phase is identifying the literary technique  used  by the author  that exposes how the characters are being molded. In this phase, the devices  that the author used  to present  the characters are extracted to reveal the visual presentation of the protagonists, the kind of behavior that they show and their reactions and responses to challenging situations. The third phase is identifying the themes and sub-themes of the novels that show the universality on what the literary pieces are trying to convey. In this phase, the universal application and message of the novels are presented whether  it is trying to show a resolution or just to relay a general message to its readers.

Based on the findings, the conclusion is established: Stephen King’s novels, Dolores Claiborne and Rose Madder reveal that character development  is used as the dominant literary device to reveal the central message of the novel.