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Part 1, Chapters 29-36
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Misery, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Addiction, Compulsion, and Obsession
Fiction, Reality, and Coping
Suffering, Justice, and the Human Condition
Control and Entrapment
Summary
Analysis
The chapter opens with the first chapter from Paul’s new novel, Misery’s Return, which is dedicated to Annie Wilkes. The font has changed, and the ns have been filled in by hand. In the novel, Ian Carmichael returns to his house in the English countryside. He weeps quietly, thinking of his wife, Misery’s, recent brush with death. His friend, Geoffrey, brought the doctor just in time to save Misery from bleeding out after giving birth. The housekeeper, Mrs. Ramage, greets him. Ian hears his son crying, and he embraces Misery with enthusiasm. Seeing the couple reunited, Mrs. Ramage tries not to dwell on what life would be like without Misery. Ian assures Misery he would have died with her, and they kiss.
Starting this next part of the novel with a snippet from Misery’s Return increases the suspense by distancing the reader from Paul’s situation somewhat. There is not much creativity to Misery’s resurrection, since Paul has simply made it so she never died in the first place. It is worth noting that the easy control he exerts over his fictional world is completely absent from his own life, as evidenced by the chapter’s existence (which Annie has forced him to write).
Themes
Paul waits for Annie’s reaction to this chapter, which he found easy to write. Annie surprises him: she likes the chapter, but it is “not right.” She calls it a “cheat,” because in Misery’s Child, Geoffrey never made it to the doctor, so Misery died. Paul realizes that Annie thinks of the story as outside of her control, even though she controls him, its creator. She wants him to bring Misery back, but she will not let him contradict previous events to do so. Annie reminisces about the serial chapter-plays that she used to watch at the movies. These often ended on cliff-hangers, and Annie would spend the following week trying to figure out how her favorite character, Rocket Man, would save himself.
Annie’s criticism of Paul’s chapter suggests that she does not want an easy fix for Misery’s death. Though Annie must know she is manipulating Paul, she still thinks of him as the story’s god, elevating art and fiction above her influence. In a way, she willingly ignores her control of Paul in this context, creating her own fictional narrative: that Paul wants to write this novel, not for her but for artistic purposes. To that end, Annie does not want him to change any part of the story so far in order to save Misery: he must acknowledge her death before bringing her back to life. Annie’s fixation this detail highlights her obsession with fiction and her strong sense of fairness.
Themes
Annie tells Paul about a chapter-play where Rocket Man escapes a plane crash with a parachute stowed conveniently under his seat. Annie calls this fair, if not realistic. Paul’s chapter, on the other hand, is a “no-brakes chapter,” referencing a scene in which Rocket Man is trapped in a brakeless car as it flies off a cliff. To Annie’s rage, the next week’s installment showed Rocket Man jumping out of the car before it drove off the cliff, which was inconsistent with what happened previously. Paul is ashamed. Annie is right—he cheated Misery back to life. Annie violently demands he right this injustice. Paul knows if he does not bring Misery back in a way Annie can believe, she will kill him.
That Annie distinguishes between “fair” and “realistic” storylines indicates she views the real world as an unjust place. What infuriates her about Rocket Man’s escape from his brakeless car is that it was internally inconsistent in a way she deems unfair. This argument reveals that Annie values fiction because it makes more sense than real life, and for that reason she will not allow it to contradict itself. Her reasoning alarms Paul because he agrees with it, and again he finds himself feeling shame for having assumed she is too ignorant to notice he’d written a cheat.
Themes
After Annie leaves, Paul imagines arguing with the typewriter, which sneers at his failure. His pain is lessening, but he knows he is addicted to the Novril, having read on the boxes hidden beneath his mattress that its principal ingredient is codeine. He resolves to dodge some of the capsules Annie gives him as soon as he writes a chapter that she likes, to wean himself off the stuff. Paul feels he knew the chapter was a cheat, because he struggled to write it, which is unusual for him. He worries that Annie will punish him violently next time he displeases her.
Again, Paul personifies the typewriter, which takes on the voice of his inner critic. By imagining it as a part of him, Paul begins to see the typewriter as a self-inflicted torment. His plan to wean himself from the Novril rings like an empty promise, something he knows he ought to do but doesn’t really intend to do. The aside that writing is usually easy for Paul aligns artistic creation with addiction and compulsion, as it is easier for Paul to give into impulse than fight against it (under normal circumstances, which these aren’t).
Themes
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Paul slides paper into the typewriter and begins Misery’s Return again. He thinks of the African bird in the Boston Zoo, Rocket Man’s parachute, and Annie rinsing the wall. Paul drifts into a doze, still searching for a way to bring Misery back that is fair, if not realistic. He remembers a game he played at camp called Can You?, in which a player had 10 seconds to save a fictional hero—Careless Corrigan—from certain doom, or else be asked to leave the circle. Paul was very good at this game, and he knows he can imagine a scenario that will please Annie. The typewriter accuses Paul of cheating, and it demands he leave the circle.
Paul’s second attempt feels more deliberate, taking into account his confinement, Annie’s concept of fairness, and her willingness to torture him if he does not satisfy her. With such high stakes, Paul feels unexpectedly challenged, as he did when playing Can You? at camp. But he feels he is able to rise to this challenge, and here, the novel draws attention to occasions in which obsessive behavior (such as imagining various fictional scenarios, searching for one that is “fair”) can actually build skill. Even the typewriter (whose voice is also a product of Paul’s imagination) seems to egg him on in a way that encourages progress.
Themes
Paul wakes. He hears Annie silently doing dishes, and he knows she is about to fall into one of her depressions. Hoping to derail this trajectory, Paul gets to work by “TRYING TO HAVE AN IDEA.” He refers to the part of his brain trying and rejecting ideas as “the sweatshops.” This process is different than “GETTING AN IDEA,” which was how he wrote Fast Cars after, by chance, seeing a parking attendant jimmying his way into a car. Trying to have an idea is less exciting, but it’s necessary for a writer, as one always encounters roadblocks to the story. Paul’s cure for such roadblocks is boredom: he usually goes for a walk.
Delving into the gritty details of writing demystifies the creative process somewhat, and it highlights the understanding and control Paul has over his mental faculties (the imagined men in his “sweatshop”). While “getting an idea” seems more random, “trying to have an idea” is a directed process. Here, the novel juxtaposes impulsive behavior with intentional action, thereby demonstrating how both are helpful in the creative process.
Themes
Paul recalls struggling to imagine a way Tony Bonasaro, in Fast Cars, could dispose of a dead body unnoticed. He had gone for a walk, and eventually someone in the sweatshop of his imagination “sent up a flare” of an idea. He was able to keep writing. In the present moment, Paul sits quietly in his chair, waiting for a similar flare. At last, Paul has an idea. He begins to write in short, tentative bursts before eventually accelerating. He does not notice the typewriter’s noise or Annie watching him from the doorway, fully lost in Misery’s world. He writes until Annie forces him to stop, and he sleeps through the night without dreaming.
By going for a walk when he isn’t being held captive, Paul manipulates his imagination by creating the right conditions for his mind to come up with an idea. In this view, inspiration seems less mystical and more directed, as Paul actively avoids distraction and runs through possible plots in his partially-subconscious mind. When he finally has an idea, Paul quickly becomes consumed by the act of creation, which makes him unaware of his surroundings. Here, the novel highlights how fiction can allow people to escape their reality.
Themes
The next chapter begins with Paul’s second attempt at writing Misery’s Return. Misery’s friend and the true father of her child, Geoffrey, receives a visit from a gravedigger named Colter. He reports strange sounds coming from Misery’s grave. Geoffrey, still recovering from the injuries he sustained the night Misery died (three days ago), tells Colter he is imagining things. He is irritated at being woken up, since sleep is the only thing that temporarily brings relief—“like a tide which cover[s] the rock of grief.” Colter insists he has heard scratching sounds at the cemetery, as if Misery is still alive and trying to claw out of the grave.
Paul’s second attempt contains a much darker atmosphere than his first, because Misery is still presumed dead at the outset. Geoffrey’s comparison of sleep to a tide that relieves his grief echoes Paul’s own painful experiences in Annie’s care, showing how fiction can reflect aspects of reality even as it provides an escape from that reality.
Themes
After a stiff drink, Geoffrey takes his carriage to investigate Colter’s claim. Terrified that Misery has been buried alive, he remembers how Ian remarked that mourning his wife would be easier if she “looked more dead,” referring to her still-rosy complexion. Geoffrey’s attention had been on comforting his friend and his own grief, but now he wonders if Misery was not dead after all. Additionally, after examining Misery’s body, old Dr. Shinebone remarked that the situation was “not a bit like Miss Evelyn-Hyde.” This strangeness amplifies Geoffrey’s doubt and spurs him onward to Mrs. Ramage’s cottage.
Geoffrey begins to build a case to convince himself—and also the reader—that there is evidence Misery may still be alive. Dr. Shinebone’s remark about “Miss Evelyn-Hyde” is intentionally unclear—neither Geoffrey nor the reader know the person to whom Shinebone is referring, and this narrative tension compels them to move forward and uncover his meaning.
Themes
Mrs. Ramage is awake when Geoffrey knocks on her door. She has not slept well since Misery died, and she feels surrounded by strange, dark thoughts. She is shocked by Geoffrey’s disheveled appearance. He has obviously re-injured himself on the ride over. He asks her who Miss Evelyn-Hyde is, and Mrs. Ramage realizes what she already intuitively knew. Exclaiming that Misery has been buried alive (ostensibly like the unfortunate Miss Evelyn-Hyde from the neighboring village), she faints. Geoffrey revives her, and he enlists her help in digging up Misery’s grave to ascertain the truth. Mrs. Ramage, too, needs a drink.
It is worth noting that the other characters in Paul’s novels are just as obsessed with Misery as her real-world fans, suggesting that their fictional adoration has inspired more of the same in the real world (or, perhaps, Paul is intentionally portraying his living fans’ obsession in these fictional characters). Mrs. Ramage’s reaction confirms Geoffrey’s suspicion that Misery has been buried alive in a dramatic fashion, without cluttering the narrative flow with details about Miss Evelyn-Hyde’s death in the moment.
Themes
Mrs. Ramage drives the carriage to the church graveyard. She realizes now that neither Geoffrey nor Ian had been in town when Miss Evelyn-Hyde was found dead in her yard in the neighboring village. Two doctors, including Dr. Shinebone, concluded she had died of a heart attack. Four days after she was buried, a woman discovered Miss Evelyn-Hyde’s hand protruding from the fresh grave. She had not been dead, but in a deathlike trance. Reaching Misery’s grave, Geoffrey and Mrs. Ramage listen closely and hear the sound of fingers scraping wood. They call out to Misery that they are coming. When Geoffrey returns with the tools, Mrs. Ramage has already begun digging with her hands.
That neither Geoffrey nor Ian were in town when Miss Evelyn-Hyde died explains their ignorance of her situation. Mrs. Ramage at last provides context for Dr. Shinebone’s comment, which itself suggests the doctor was aware of the possibility he was making the same mistake again. While it seems unrealistic that two women in neighboring villages would have the same experience so close together, this plot technically plays fair by Annie’s logic.
Themes
