The lingering legacy of Carrie

April is a crucial month for Stephen King fans as this year marks the fiftieth anniversary of his debut novel Carrie, which began his career as well as set a tone for women in horror.

Even after so many decades, the legend of Carrie White still resonates and not just due to the various takes on her story. There’s something about Carrie that is sadly timeless and needs to be talked about.

My first encounter with Carrie was not the book(my first King read is in a similar vein that I’ll get to in a moment); it was the 1976 Hollywood film starring Sissy Spacek in the title role. While that movie does have its flaws, it excels with great character performances and by that standard, Spacek is still the killer queen here.

The relatable realism that she brought to this portrayal of an awkward outsider who becomes the doomed prom queen makes you root for Carrie , even when she unleashes hell on her high school tormentors. Despite the path of destruction she ultimately trods upon, you still want Carrie to reach a better place yet that was never in the cards for her:

My first Stephen King read happened to be Christine, which was dubbed “the male Carrie” but one of the main differences between these troubled teenagers is the power dynamic each is held to.

While Carrie is a complete outsider in her own hometown, Arnie Cunningham is not totally friendless-in fact, a good portion of the story is told through Dennis, Arnie’s best childhood friend who sees the signs that his nerdy pal is changing and not for the better with his new car obsession.

It stuck me upon thinking about both books that Carrie has no friends at all-the only constant connection in her life is her demented mother(the support from her gym teacher is too recent to offer any comfort or guidance once the vicious prank at prom occurs). 

Even classmate Sue Snell’s penance for an earlier incident is done remotely via the loan of her boyfriend Tommy. Perhaps if Sue had tried to talk to Carrie herself, things might’ve been different. Perhaps not as even Dennis couldn’t save Arnie from his own highway to hell.

In many ways, Christine is a bittersweet buddy story as Dennis tries to pull his friend back from the automotive abyss that is claiming him slowly but surely. Also, there are moments when Arnie(mostly in the movie version but a little in the book) seems to revel in his new found source of power, a luxury not granted to Carrie at all:

Along with friendlessness, Carrie is also imbued with a deep sense of guilt and shame about her powers, a trait that has been passed down to other paranormal heroines as well.

From Buffy Summers to Jean Grey and currently Eleven of Stranger Things, young women with supernatural gifts are made to feel “out of control “ with their abilities, which are their own birthright. More often than not, men are around to teach or take command of them and show them the “right” way to use them, usually meaning to  disconnect from their emotions.

Even when briefly unable to use their powers, any act of forcefulness is seen as shocking with the sense of fear about their own violent capabilities stopping these young women in their tracks. While reflecting upon your actions is a good thing, it does make you wonder why this particular prompt is placed on women and girls more often here:

I’m not blaming King for this at all; if anything, he tapped into that double standard and showcased it for all to see.

What does seem to be a positive change for those Carrie themed characters is pursuing the need for human connection; friendship helped Buffy(and later her best friend Willow) from being consumed by her powers and Eleven being  raised as a lab experiment becoming able to develop some true humanity is due in part to the gang of friends she’s made along the way.

Even Jean Grey has had her moments of clarity from her bonds with other mutant friends and able to make her own choices regarding her own power.

 Perhaps this is why Carrie is still relevant today-too many women and girls are feeling powerless despite what they bring to the table. Encouraging them to trust in their own abilities and make their own choices seems to be threatening to certain people. 

Carrie shows how dark that path can get without any sincere guidance and yet, has empathy for its leading lady, another quality in short supply these days. 

Hopefully, in the next fifty years, things may change for other women learning to deal with power and a story like Carrie White’s is merely a reflection of the past rather than what lies ahead. Perhaps Carrie’s legacy can be reborn as a phoenix in both fiction and fact: