An Oldie but a Goodie: Rose Madder

Rose Madder

By Stephen King

Published in 1995

This novel is coming near its 30th anniversary and is still as relevant today as it was during its publication. BIG TRIGGER WARNINGS for those who need them as there is a lot of violence in this novel toward women (and a few unfortunate gentlemen who have some very unpleasant things happen to them). This novel centers on Rose McClendon (a.k.a Rose Daniels) after leaving her abusive husband and moving on to rebuild her life of freedom, all the while her husband Norman is meticulously hunting her down. While the subject matter may be difficult for some to read, the violence experienced by Rose at the hands of her police officer husband is mentioned but not expressly shown in the novel. The majority of violence shown in the novel is to those Norman attacks as he searches for his wife, taking out his rage upon innocent people who helped Rose.

What makes this novel unique is not only the parallel perspectives between that of Rose and Norman, but also Rose’s strength. Rose defies the odds. She escapes not knowing anything about the world other than what she has seen on Television and what her darling husband has told her. Rose is even so terrified when she leaves that she sees everyone else as being out to get her and dangerous, though her true threat is the man she is leaving. Rose trades her worthless wedding ring for a painting which begins to shift and call to her, becoming a sort of metaphor for her and the beast Norman is becoming. While he is a man in this novel, he soon identifies as “ze bool”, going so far as to wear a bull mask as he meticulously hunts for his wife, destroying anyone who gets in his way.

I will add one of Norman’s greatest humiliations in the novel comes from a woman who is herself a survivor of domestic violence. For a moment, the reader can rejoice in the fact that a woman has bested him. At least for now.

What really drew me to this book was how real Rose became to me. She could be anyone. A lot of nasty things can happen behind closed doors, Mr. King opened this particular door and gave his readers one of his most terrifying villains: Norman Daniels. The novel was written in time where domestic violence was high and little was being said or done. Work such as this is socially impactful to those who are able to read Rose’s story and understand that it is not easy to leave these types of relationships, and that there is always more to be done, but the first step is confronting the problem head on and admitting that behind closed doors can be the scariest horror story, even in real life.