“I don’t want to hurt you…
I just want to bash your brains in.”
When I thought about my adult life, I got scared by the idea that nothing might change.
The Shining
In Stephen Kings novelThe Shining, Wendy Torrance is a stay at home mom to 5-year-old Danny Torrance.
In Stanley Kubricks film adaptation, Wendy is portrayed as even weaker andmoresubmissive to and dependent on Jack.
Famously, Kubrick terrorized Shelley Duvall, who played Wendy, by isolating, antagonizing and insulting her.
You might even see what Kubrick initially saw in Duvall.
Wendy is not hysterical in the sense that she is having an emotional overreaction to something that isnt scary.
Her reaction is appropriate and healthy given those circumstances.
She is a mother charged with protecting her son.
She needs to investigate what caused him harm.
Yet her husband gaslights her.
She knows Danny is not a liar.
On and off screen, Wendys options in the movie are many peoples options in life.
Wendy Torrance escaped her abusive parents and married a nice, educated man who was a teacher.
She gave her husband a son and was a supportive homemaker and wife cooking and cleaning up after Jack.
I just want to bash your brains in.
In the real world youll seeShelley Duvall being exploited byDr.
Philto get people to tune into his lame TV show.
Every level of this story turns out the same for the woman involved.
No matter which world is real, it consists of a man ready to harm her.
Duvall described her thought process during the grueling job: after a while, your body rebels.
It says: Stop doing this to me.
I dont want to cry every day.
And sometimes just that thought alone would make me cry.
Id be like, Oh no, I cant, I cant.
And yet I did it.
For such a weak character, Wendy Torrance really pulls it out at the end.
Wendy gets her and her son to safety.
After the events ofThe Shiningshe has to start over, find work, and raise Danny on her own.
In short, Wendy triumphs.
She wins, but shesnever mentioned in horror movie conversations about Final Girls.
We still count her out.
