In the literary panorama of recent decades, few works have been able to inspire such a persistent echo Carriethe first novel published by Stephen King. This work, which celebrates its fiftieth anniversary, is not only a fundamental pillar in the horror genre, but also a very acute examination of how the patriarchy and its mechanisms work to crush every sign of female individuality. Published on April 5, 1974, Carrie stands out for its extraordinary ability to explore the depths ofadolescent alienationthe agony of feeling like a stranger, observing the world from behind the invisible walls of exclusion, and the terror of being alone, rejected, different, with no way out.
Carrie White is a teenager living in a modest village in Maine, with a bigoted and religiously obsessed mother. Her social life is non-existent, devoid of friendships or relationships, both due to her reserved and awkward nature and the maternal imposition to avoid any form of interaction or entertainment that could lead her to sin. However, Carrie’s school life is equally troubled, where her sober and severe image becomes the target of the fiercest mockery from her peers. While she showers at school, Carrie notices a trickle of blood running down her legs. She is unaware of the menstrual cycle, topic never broached by the mother. Her terror and her subsequent panic reaction trigger a series of ridicule from her classmates, who shower her with tampons and sanitary pads, leaving her shaken and scared. From that moment, Carrie gradually begins to discover that she has the ability to manipulate objects with her minda telekinetic force that she will employ against those who torment her, culminating in explosive acts of violence.
The genesis of the novel
Carrie materialized in Stephen King’s mind after reading a item about telekinesis in the magazine Lifewhich suggested how some phenomena believed to poltergeist could be explained, precisely, by telekinesis. The article indicated that young people, particularly adolescent girls, could demonstrate this ability. Furthermore, inspiration surprised him while he was working at Brunswick High School. One day, his job involved removing rust stains from the walls of the women’s showers. King observed the women’s locker room with curiosity, noting the differences with the men’s: there were no urinals while fixed to the walls there were unwritten metal boxes, which evidently contained sanitary pads, and pink plastic curtains adjacent to the showers.“The episode came to mind one day while I was working in the laundry and I began to visualize the opening scene of a story.: Girls showering in a locker room where there are no pink plastic curtains and no privacy. And one of them begins her menstrual cycle at that moment. Except she doesn’t know what it is about her and the other girls, disgusted, horrified, amused, begin to bombard her with tampons.”. The convergence of these elements provided King with the foundation to forge Carrie’s story.
The novel was received with moderate fervor: the first edition of Carrie, which cost $5.95, had sold thirteen thousand copies. Two years after publication, a film adaptation was made, which would have delivered the novel to an even wider audience, entitled Carrie – Satan’s gazedirected by Brian DePalma and immediately became a point of reference for horror cinema (the film grossed 33.8 million dollars in America alone). Sissy Spacekwho played Carrie White in the film, has established herself as an icon of horror cinema and representation of female marginalization. Her blood-stained face and inquisitive gaze in the film’s epilogue have become indelible in the collective imagination.
Carrie after 50 years
Even five decades after its release, King’s novel maintains a keen vision in conveying to audiences a severe criticism of the horrors perpetuated by bullying and, more generally, on the daily suffering and humiliation that a woman, in this case a young woman in full adolescent effervescence, is forced to endure.“Carrie is a film about what scares us in high school” King said; “And it talks about adolescent emotions, the fear of being laughed at. Piper Laurie says the crucial line when she warns her daughter that everyone will laugh behind her. It’s something we’re all afraid of, in high school, and even after we get out.”
