Fandom and Fame
Annie Wilkes proudly proclaims herself to be Paul Sheldon’s number one fan. And if one were to cherry-pick events from the novel it would be a portrait of an absolutely devoted fan of a famous person. She literally saves his life immediately and over the long term. Sheldon only survives to continue his successful career as a result of Annie’s ministrations. And yet, the overall portrait of Annie in the book is as a fan who makes the move from relatively harmless fascination to dangerous obsession. The ordeal which Sheldon goes through while held in captivity by Annie is a microcosm of what every famous person goes through any time they are out in public. When a fan comes rushing up to them there is no real way of knowing whether they are seeking an autograph or holding a weapon. What is really at stake in the thematic exploration of fandom in the novel is the very thin border separating love and hate. As long as a famous person fulfills the expectations of a fan they can do no wrong. Until they can, at which point unconditional love can transform into hate in an instant. What the novel is essentially saying is that at one level fame is at all times kind of a scary thing.
Impact of Popularity on Artistic Expression
When she saves him after his car wreck, Paul Sheldon is at that point in which he can do no wrong in Annie’s eyes. Until he can, which in his case is changing the trajectory of her favorite character. Annie destroys the manuscript intended by Paul to release him from the bondage of commercial success based on always meeting audience expectations and allowing him to write for himself once again or so he has convinced himself. She then threatens his very life to get him to rewrite the ending to Misery Chastain’s story the way she expected it. This series of events is an extreme playing out of the anxiety that Sheldon has been experiencing for years. Indeed, most creative artists who enjoy fabulous commercial success eventually reach a point of crisis in which they must ask themselves are they still being true to their vision or are they adapting—even in minor subconscious ways—their product to fit the expectations of an audience capable of suddenly rejecting them. Sheldon’s gruesome journey through the world of his psychopathic number one fan succeeds in turning this intellectual debate into an action-filled thriller in which the ultimate decision made by the conflicted artist remains in doubt until the very end.
Addiction
King himself has asserted in several interview that the novel is about addiction and that Annie is Paul Sheldon’s cocaine. That may be simplifying the theme too much, however. After all, it would be just as accurate to say that Misery Chastain is Annie’s cocaine. Paul has been writing popular romance novels he considers trash because he is addicted to success and fame. Eventually, like all drugs, the rush wears thin and he must look elsewhere. So he writes a serious novel because he is now addicted to the idea of being taken seriously as a writer. When Annie makes Paul burn his only manuscript of this serious novel it is a metaphor for how addiction always becomes self-destructive no matter what the drug of choice may be. Likewise, Annie’s original addiction to Paul is not problematic for her until it becomes something harder. Once she has him under her control it is like she has moved from being an alcoholic to being a heroin addict. This will prove to be her undoing because she is not forced to confront her addiction whereas Paul moves on because his circumstances essentially come down to getting clean or death.
