Summary
When fans think of the many works of acclaimed horror authorStephen King, they hear some standout titles and instantly know the novel’s plot or direction.From the chilling vampiric tale ofSalem’s Lotto the vengeful and wronged teenage girl known asCarrieand the global apocalypse found inThe Stand, many popular titles among King’s works have become household names. Yet for every copy ofITthat has been consumed, plenty of other Stephen King novels hold a special place among his most loyal fans, and one in particular holds a unique connection to Stephen King’sDark Towerseries:Rose Madder.
A deeply personal yet otherworldly tale of the dangers of spousal abuse and finding the strength to become one’s person in the face of great oppression,Rose Madderfollows a woman fleeing her abusive husband and discovering a powerful world of mystery and danger in the process. Yet amidst this personal story is a connection to the Dark Tower that fans will be delighted and engaged with, including a setting that will feel all too familiar to fans of the series.With Mike Flanagan’s adaptationofThe DarkTower in the works, understanding howRose Madderconnects to the series has never been more critical.
Stephen King’sRose Madder, EXPLAINED
The story ofRose Madderfollows Rosie, the wife of a police officer who survives a brutal attack by her husband, but at the cost of her unborn baby’s life. Years later, after years of being too afraid to leave him as hisjob is in missing people’s cases, and he is skilled at finding people, she finds the courage to take off, heading for a random mid-west town and finding people to help her settle into a new life.
Upon settling down in her new hometown and trying to rebuild her life, she pawns her engagement ring. Shediscovers a mysterious paintingof a woman wearing an elaborate rose-madder gown at the pawn shop. She purchases it out of curiosity and fascination. In the process, she finds work by chance as a narrator of audiobooks and meets a kind man who happens to own a pawn shop. As her life begins to improve, she notices that the painting is changing before her eyes, and she finds herself drawn into the painting, transported into a new world.
In this new world, she meets a woman named Dorcas, who looks like the woman Rosie’s ex-husband was accused of assaulting. She also meets the woman from the painting, whom she calls Rose Madder for her dress and failing sanity. She is given the choice to help Rose Madder save her child’s life byventuring into a labyrinthand keeping the child from a one-eyed bull. Rosie eventually does, and can save the child’s life and gain the favor of Rose Madder.
Unbeknownst to her, Rosie’s ex-husband has been conducting searches for her,and after witnessing her on a date, he goes into a blind rage, taking the lives of people who have helped her along the way until he finally confronts her. Gathering her strength, Rosie lures him to her apartment and into the painting, where he is taken to Rose Madder. There, Rose ends Rosie’s husband’s life, and frees Rosie once and for all.
Rose Madder’s Connection ToThe Dark Tower
Of course, the primary connection between The Dark Tower and Rose Madder comes once Rosie crosses over into the world of the painting and meets Rose Madder and Dorcas. The ruins where the two women live and meet Rosie are known as the former city of Lud, a prime location in the lore of The Dark Tower. Once a bastion of progress and scientific knowledge duringthe age of the Great Old Ones, the city of Lud became the last beacon of scientific progress in Roland’s world. It was also the last to fall, and the town became the stomping grounds of two warring factions.
Ultimately, the city was destroyed when Roland and his katet, or allies as they are known in his world, came into conflict with one of the warring groups led by the Tick Tock Man. Escaping the city on an AI-powered train known as Blaine, the group discovers Blaine has gone mad and levels the city of Lud as they leave. Rosie first meets and comes to know Dorcas and Rose Madder in the ruins of this city. The story also played with a concept explored inStephen King and Peter Straub’sThe TalismanandBlack House, introducing “twinners” or parallel reality versions of people from the real world, with Dorcas being a copy of the woman Rosie’s husband was accused of hurting.
The connection betweenRose MadderandThe Dark Tower, along with the deeply personal and emotionally charged story and rich character development, makes this a prime candidate for adaptation. Mike Flanagan himself is no stranger to complex, character-driven narratives like this, such as the ones found in his shows likeThe Haunting of Hill HouseorMidnight Mass.Rose Madder’sstory’s imagery and otherworldly nature would significantly add to the developing lore and mythos that the upcomingDark Towerseries needs to embrace.
