Stephen King's Dolores Claiborne

Stephen King’s Dolores Claiborne explores the deep, underlying bonds between unlikely pairs. Vera Donovan and Dolores Claiborne share an intimate bond similar to that of a mother and daughter. Throughout the novel, however, this bond is often overshadowed by the fixed hierarchical relationship between them of affluent employer and low-income housekeeper. In this significant passage, Dolores and Vera share a quiet exchange during a rare moment of complete mental clarity. Dolores looks to Vera for maternal advice and is met with a decisive response. Evoking the Greek myth of Atropos and her thread of life, Vera inspires Dolores to take action against Joe, her abusive husband. Earlier in the novel, Dolores’ daughter Selena is able to repair
her relationship with her mother when she explains the abuse Joe has subjected her to. The scene on the boat, when Selena opens up to her mother, is mirrored here by Dolores and Vera. Dolores explains the same situation to Vera, and cries to her instead. This creates an image of Vera as a mother figure to Dolores. The scene takes place in a very quiet moment–one of the lulls in the sometimes hectic novel. The exchanges between Dolores and Vera are very telling of their relationship. While Dolores works for Vera, and typically has to be careful about the way she acts for fear of being fired, there is another facet to their dynamic. Dolores sees Vera as an almost parental figure, and looks to her for advice. She eventually takes care of Vera in old age. Vera can often sense when Dolores is in trouble or trying to make a difficult decision. As Dolores notices, “her eyes seemed to bore a hole right through to the other side.” Vera is able to understand far more about Dolores than she realizes. She can see right through Dolores and her motives and is far more intuitive than the mean boss she sometimes plays.