Annie Wilkes Sparknotes

misery is a complexly simple novel, author Stephen King subtly laces his own personal experiences and feelings on writing into the narrative as he brings to life a true psychopath, and redefines the meaning of a "number one fan" Annie Wilkes is a disturbingly realistic character who hosts all of the signs of a psychopath, yet despite her monstrosities, she is both the Crone who limits paul and the Goddess who saves him. what is more, there are strong ties with annie wilkes character and the addiction to opiates King struggled with in real life, while he needs Annie, she is also killing him. When he tries to leave, the attempts are costly, both in his personal life, and in the more dramatic book, it costs him a foot and a thumb. Annie Wilkes is a manifestation of Kings addiction and his negative emotions regarding the rejection from his fans who snubbed his prior book, for not being the typical "psycho-horror" they were accustomed to.
In the same way Paul Sheldon was limited to historical romance, when he was passionate about more serious stories, King is limited to horror novels, and when he tries to deviate from his usual forte, he is rejected.
But this is the underlying meaning. Stephen King beautifully unravels a haunting character when he reveals that Annie Wilkes is a serial killer who just narrowly got away with it: killing over 31 elders and a handful of infants, neighbors, a cat, a college dorm-mate, not to forget her husband and an unlucky hitchhiker; by the end of the novel she has also used a lawnmower and a crucifix to annihalate a young cop. as annies character develops, you see her and paul fall into a mother son mindset, in order to get his pain pills he must suck them off her fingers, she both comforts and punishes him at the same time, and makes him more and more dependent on her to survive. Annie uses his addiction to Novril and continually injures him to make him more dependent on
her. Annie also nurtures and mothers Misery's return, She "raped" paul back to life and became entirely at her mercy, and by cutting off his foot and thumb, she excercises her control over paul, and reassures his inability to do anything about it, putting emphasis on the overall desperation Paul is experiencing and by extention the desperation King feels in his personal life. in the same fashion that drugs took away Kings inspiration, Annie tookaway pauls through Novril and manipulation, to create an enclosed world that neither paul nor King could seem to escape.. Annie represents a constant reader. Annie and her obsession with Sheldon's romance novels reflect the pressure of an expectant audience. Annie, is a result of Paul's succes, as she is the embodiment of the harsh academic critics that confine Paul. Anything less than stellar receives harsh criticism. this book is ultimately about being stuffedf into a box to fit fan expectations. to achieve ultimate success Paul needs the monstrous Annie more than he tries to defeat her, because Annie is an embodiement of his readers. Annie comes to embody a mother, goddess, death, and addiction in the novel. in the end, her death will never be a reality, just as to her, Misery Chastain's death will never be a reality.