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Rose Madder (novel)
Encyclopedia
Rose Madder is a 1995
novel
by Stephen King
. It deals with the effects of domestic violence
(which King had touched upon before in the novels It
, Insomnia
, Dolores Claiborne
and Needful Things
, and many others) and, unusually for a King novel, relies for its fantastic element on Greek mythology
. In his memoir, On Writing
, King states that Rose Madder and Insomnia
are "stiff, trying-too-hard novels."
investigation has made him even more volatile.
Nine years later, when Rose is making the bed, she notices a drop of blood on the sheet from her nose the night before; Norman had punched her in the face for spilling iced tea on him. Rose realizes that she has passively suffered through Norman's abuse for fourteen years and that if she continues to put up with it, he may well eventually kill her. Rose reluctantly decides to leave Norman, departing from her unidentified city on a bus, with their bank card. Once Norman realizes Rose's flight, he resolves to hunt her down.
Rose arrives in Midwestern city, disoriented and afraid. When she arrives at the bus station, she meets a man named Peter Slowik, who guides her to a women's shelter
. There, she quickly makes several friends and, with the help of the shelter's director, gets an apartment and a job as a hotel housekeeper.
Rose decides to pawn her engagement ring, only to learn that it is only cubic zirconia
. However, she notices a painting of a woman in a rose madder
gown and immediately falls in love with it. She trades her ring for the painting, which has no artist's signature. Outside, a stranger asks her to read a passage from a novel, and is so impressed that he offers her a job recording audio books. Then, a pawnshop employee, Bill Steiner, asks her out; the two begin a relationship.
Rose discovers that that the painting seems to periodically change, and is eventually able to travel through it. On the other side, she encounters a woman called Dorcas, who resembles Wendy Yarrow, as well as the woman in the rose-madder gown. Rose refers to her as "Rose Madder" because of her gown and her evident insanity. Rose Madder asks Rosie to rescue her baby from an underground labyrinth inhabited by a one-eyed bull called Erinyes. Rose does so, and Rose Madder promises to repay her. Rose returns to her world and puts the strange incident at the back of her mind.
Norman, who has arrived in the Midwest, attacks some of Rose's friends from women's shelter, murders the director, and then follows Rose to her apartment. Rose tricks Norman into following her into the painting, where Rose Madder kills him. Rosie returns to her world and leads a normal life with no further summons from Rose Madder. She marries Bill and has a daughter, but finds that the violent rages which characterized both Norman and Rose Madder have begun to spring up within her. She then remembers that Rose Madder, perhaps foreseeing the problem, gave her some magic seeds and told her to "remember the tree". Rosie plants the seeds in a secret grove by her favorite lake and finds the seeds grow into a beautiful but deadly tree. She then revisits that tree periodically for her remaining years as it grows and is able to release her rage and go on with her life.
1995 in literature
The year 1995 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*The Dylan Thomas Centre in Swansea is opened by Jimmy Carter....
novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
by Stephen King
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
. It deals with the effects of domestic violence
Domestic violence
Domestic violence, also known as domestic abuse, spousal abuse, battering, family violence, and intimate partner violence , is broadly defined as a pattern of abusive behaviors by one or both partners in an intimate relationship such as marriage, dating, family, or cohabitation...
(which King had touched upon before in the novels It
It (novel)
It is a 1986 horror novel by American author Stephen King. The story follows the exploits of seven children as they are terrorized by the eponymous inter-dimensional predatory life-form that exploits the fears and phobias of its victims in order to disguise itself while hunting its prey. "It"...
, Insomnia
Insomnia (novel)
Insomnia is a novel written by Stephen King and first published in 1994. Like It and Dreamcatcher, its setting is the fictional town of Derry, Maine. The original hardcover edition was issued with dust jackets in two complementary designs...
, Dolores Claiborne
Dolores Claiborne
Dolores Claiborne is a 1992 psychological thriller novel by Stephen King. The novel is narrated by the title character. Atypically for a King novel, it has no chapters, double-spacing between paragraphs, or other section breaks; thus the text is a single continuous narrative which reads like a...
and Needful Things
Needful Things
Needful Things is a 1991 horror novel by American author Stephen King. According to the cover, it is "The Last Castle Rock Story." However, the town later served as the setting for the short story "It Grows on You," published in King's 1993 collection Nightmares and Dreamscapes which, according to...
, and many others) and, unusually for a King novel, relies for its fantastic element on Greek mythology
Greek mythology
Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...
. In his memoir, On Writing
On Writing
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft is a memoir and writing guide book by Stephen King, published in 2000. It is a book about the prolific author's experiences as a writer. In 2008, Entertainment Weekly listed On Writing 21st on their list of The New Classics: Books - The 100 best reads from 1983 to...
, King states that Rose Madder and Insomnia
Insomnia (novel)
Insomnia is a novel written by Stephen King and first published in 1994. Like It and Dreamcatcher, its setting is the fictional town of Derry, Maine. The original hardcover edition was issued with dust jackets in two complementary designs...
are "stiff, trying-too-hard novels."
Plot summary
In the prologue, which takes place in 1985, Rose Daniels's husband, Norman, beats her while she is four months pregnant, causing her to suffer a miscarriage. Rose briefly considers leaving Norman but dismisses the idea: Norman is a policeman, and is excellent at finding people. Norman also has a violent temper and was recently accused of assaulting an African-American woman named Wendy Yarrow. The subsequent lawsuit and Internal AffairsInternal affairs
Internal affairs may refer to:* Internal affairs of a state* Internal affairs , a division of a law enforcement agency which investigates cases of lawbreaking by members of that agency...
investigation has made him even more volatile.
Nine years later, when Rose is making the bed, she notices a drop of blood on the sheet from her nose the night before; Norman had punched her in the face for spilling iced tea on him. Rose realizes that she has passively suffered through Norman's abuse for fourteen years and that if she continues to put up with it, he may well eventually kill her. Rose reluctantly decides to leave Norman, departing from her unidentified city on a bus, with their bank card. Once Norman realizes Rose's flight, he resolves to hunt her down.
Rose arrives in Midwestern city, disoriented and afraid. When she arrives at the bus station, she meets a man named Peter Slowik, who guides her to a women's shelter
Women's shelter
A women's shelter is a place of temporary refuge and support for women escaping violent or abusive situations, such as rape, and domestic violence....
. There, she quickly makes several friends and, with the help of the shelter's director, gets an apartment and a job as a hotel housekeeper.
Rose decides to pawn her engagement ring, only to learn that it is only cubic zirconia
Cubic zirconia
Cubic zirconia is the cubic crystalline form of zirconium dioxide . The synthesized material is hard, optically flawless and usually colorless, but may be made in a variety of different colors. It should not be confused with zircon, which is a zirconium silicate...
. However, she notices a painting of a woman in a rose madder
Rose madder
Rose Madder is the commercial name sometimes used to designate a paint made from the pigment Madder Lake - a traditional lake pigment, extracted from the common madder plant ....
gown and immediately falls in love with it. She trades her ring for the painting, which has no artist's signature. Outside, a stranger asks her to read a passage from a novel, and is so impressed that he offers her a job recording audio books. Then, a pawnshop employee, Bill Steiner, asks her out; the two begin a relationship.
Rose discovers that that the painting seems to periodically change, and is eventually able to travel through it. On the other side, she encounters a woman called Dorcas, who resembles Wendy Yarrow, as well as the woman in the rose-madder gown. Rose refers to her as "Rose Madder" because of her gown and her evident insanity. Rose Madder asks Rosie to rescue her baby from an underground labyrinth inhabited by a one-eyed bull called Erinyes. Rose does so, and Rose Madder promises to repay her. Rose returns to her world and puts the strange incident at the back of her mind.
Norman, who has arrived in the Midwest, attacks some of Rose's friends from women's shelter, murders the director, and then follows Rose to her apartment. Rose tricks Norman into following her into the painting, where Rose Madder kills him. Rosie returns to her world and leads a normal life with no further summons from Rose Madder. She marries Bill and has a daughter, but finds that the violent rages which characterized both Norman and Rose Madder have begun to spring up within her. She then remembers that Rose Madder, perhaps foreseeing the problem, gave her some magic seeds and told her to "remember the tree". Rosie plants the seeds in a secret grove by her favorite lake and finds the seeds grow into a beautiful but deadly tree. She then revisits that tree periodically for her remaining years as it grows and is able to release her rage and go on with her life.
Editions
- ISBN 0-451-18636-2
- ISBN 0-613-09625-8
- ISBN 0-670-85869-2