Musings on Swan Song and The Stand (again): the women and POC

[gategrrl]

It's Xmas, and I'm still on my End of the World As We Know It kick. I started rereading Swan Song
(which long-time readers of this LJ will recall I read last year, I think) after going through The Stand: Expanded Edition: For the First Time Complete and Uncut (Signet)(yet again).

I have decided I really don't like King's portrayal of Franny, the pregnant 20 year old, in The Stand. She's the only character in the entire book who breaks out into tears over EVERYTHING, real or imagined, that happens to her or anyone else. None of the male characters break down into tears on a regular basis. Neither do any of the other female characters. She's annoying as hell, and I honestly wished several times that her character had been killed off in the explosion that kicked off the last third of the book.

In Swan Song, the women are more central to the story...sort of. Sister is a homeless woman who regains her sanity after many years of craziness. She was drunk, drove off the road, and killed her young daughter in the accident. Her husband and mother in law rejected her. She's forgotten her real name, and goes by Sister. She's probably one of the more interesting characters in the book. Another one is Glory, who Josh falls in love with; she has a son Aaron. Anna is another strong woman character in the village of Mary's Rest. There's Sheila who serves the men on the Bad Guy Side, but who isn't really bad, even though she enjoys sex (or used to) before nightmares of her male companion holding a dead infant started haunting her. And then there's Swan, the main protagonist who actually doesn't DO a heckuva lot except be angel, "leads" and performs miracles in rejuvenating the dead earth and waking up the plant life. She is perhaps the weakest of the bunch. Her story starts as the book ends, so you rarely get to see her actually use her powers as powers, even though they're hinted at, and she never truly uses the crown of glass that Sister works long and hard to deliver to her.

There's some virgin/whore going on in Swan Song, but considering the number of strong women that populate the book, I can forgive it. McGannon makes some structural errors in his plot, as does King. His characters don't come alive quite as much as Kings. But he gives larger roles to women and POC and makes them human. Josh, Swan's protector (a role bestowed up on him presumably by a God who reanimates a dead man) is not the Magical Negro that King so loves. He's not a perfect character by any means; and although white characters seem to populate this book more than black characters---all of the cities are blasted away and rednecks seem to rule---but even so, there's a sizable population of nonwhite people who live out in the boonies, yes? Not saying I'd give McGannon a blue ribbon for Swan Song, but he DOES include nonwhite characters in a major role, and secondary and tertiary roles which is something I don't notice too many horror/fantasy writers doing; horror and a lot of fantasy in this country (USA) seems lily-white except for the growing genre of zombie fiction (thanks to the inclusion of a black actor in the first Living Dead movie thanks to the director/producer).

King, on the other hand...his main female characters are Frannie, a weepy sobby pregnant girl who cares too much for the feelings of the teenage boy she travels with and doesn't take enough care of her OWN: and Nadine, a woman in her 30s who is "saving" herself for her invisible husband, the Dark Man, and who goes crazy over the course of the book. There is also the Magical Negress, Abigail Freemantle who serves as the touch stone to gather all the main characters together and who really doesn't want the job but does it anyway. Abigail is the ONLY obvious black woman in the book. When the book was cast for the miniseries, the Judge was played by a black actor. I guess someone clued King and the director into the fact that apparently only white folks were immune from Captain Trips if you go by the book. Other people could just go off and die. Which they did.

Sorry for the long post. I'm thinking out loud. Comments are welcome.

Comments

[queenoftheskies.livejournal.com]

I adore Swan Song and read it over every few years. Your post reminded me that I was thinking about doing it again at the holidays.

I found the characters McCammon brought to life in the book quite different from those in other books I'd read in the same genre.

I think he develops them and his story in a different fashion from King, and though I remember enjoying The Stand and reading it through twice, it gets old to me, where Swan Song does not.

I love Sister's evolution. I think that was probably the highlight of the book for me. You're right that he uses a lot of female characters. I'd love to read it again and compare notes to your post.

Have you read his book, They Thirst? Vampires in Los Angeles.

[gategrrl.livejournal.com]

I think it's evident that King and McGannon write differently...mmmm...their writing process is different, of course, and the end result.

I've tried reading his earlier stuff and just couldn't get through it EXCEPT for Boys Life, which I *adore*, even though I'm tired of Young Boy's Memoir (ie Tom Sawyer) reiterations.

Not big into vampires, but I'll give They Thirst a look-see.