The Antagonists of MISERY (1990): An Analysis

Analyzing Stephen King is an entirely separate conversation, but the antagonists of 'Misery' serve as a worthwhile central focus for the writer. Antagonists can make or break a story, and I’d argue King has some of the best in fiction, especially in the 1990 film adaptation of Annie Wilkes. So, let’s analyze this iconic character and what else we can learn from varying other antagonistic factors in the film.

Annie Wilkes

Anne Marie “Annie” Wilkes is the central antagonist in Stephen King's 1987 novel Misery and its 1990 film adaptation directed by Rob Reiner.

Annie is a deeply disturbed and mentally unstable woman whose obsessive fixation on her favorite author, Paul Sheldon, defines her role as a villain. She is a former nurse whose deranged behavior has led her to become increasingly dangerous over the years.

Annie’s obsession extends to her pet pig, also named “Misery,” a tribute to her beloved fictional character, Misery Chastain. This bizarre connection between her pet and the character reflects her warped view of reality.

Background

In the film, Paul Sheldon’s car is forced off the road by a fierce snowstorm, crashing near Annie Wilkes's remote home. The accident results in severe injuries, including bilateral fractures to Paul’s legs, and he is left unconscious.

Annie rescues him shortly after the crash and brings him into her house. When Paul regains consciousness, he initially believes he is in a safe, caring environment. Annie appears to be a kind and nurturing woman, and in gratitude for her help, Paul agrees to let her read his latest manuscript. He tells her he is tired of writing the Misery series and wants to move on to new characters and stories.

However, when Annie discovers that Paul has killed off the beloved character Misery Chastain in his new book, she reacts with rage. Feeling betrayed by the death of her favorite character, she forces Paul to burn the manuscript and demands that he write a new one where Misery is resurrected. To keep Paul compliant, she administers powerful medications that not only dull his pain but also keep his mind alert and creative, ensuring that he will continue to write under her strict demands.

Personality

Annie Wilkes conceals her psychosis behind a facade of enthusiastic, friendly, and upbeat charm. Her personality is marked by erratic, destructive mood swings, shifting rapidly from sweet and endearing to dangerously violent and enraged.

Annie’s behavior is indicative of a complex mental health profile, with extreme mood fluctuations, self-harm, violent outbursts, and vivid delusions that point to borderline personality disorder. In the novel, her depression can be so overwhelming that she engages in self-destructive behavior, and Paul discovers evidence of her compulsive eating habits, suggesting her emotional turmoil manifests physically as well.

Annie is a reclusive, solitary figure who appears to have deep feelings of worthlessness and often experiences suicidal thoughts, particularly during stormy, rainy nights.

Her obsession with romance novels, notably Paul Sheldon’s Misery series, is unhealthy to the point of blurring the lines between fiction and reality. Despite the chaos in her mind, Annie's house is meticulously organized, reflecting her obsessive need for control.

This perfectionism is intertwined with a compulsive drive for power over others, revealing her obsessive-compulsive personality tendencies. Alongside the signs of borderline personality disorder, Annie exhibits traits associated with schizoid and schizotypal personality disorders, which, combined with her lack of remorse for the people she has killed, paints a disturbing portrait of a woman who is dangerously unmoored from reality.

Paul Sheldon: The Reluctant Antagonist

Paul Sheldon inadvertently contributes to the antagonism met in Annie, making him a reluctant antagonist. Paul Sheldon divides his time between New York City and Los Angeles but prefers to write his novels in solitude at a remote cabin near Sidewinder, Colorado.

While he has been married and divorced twice, he is a bachelor during the novel's events. His personal life remains mainly in the background, with his primary focus being his career as a writer.

As the author of the Misery Chastain series, Paul has achieved significant commercial success. The novels, set in Victorian-era England, have garnered a devoted fan base and brought him considerable wealth.

However, Paul holds a deep-seated resentment toward these books, viewing them as formulaic and uninspired "dime-store romances." To move beyond Misery Chastain, Paul makes a decisive creative choice in the latest installment, Misery’s Child.

He kills off the beloved protagonist, which allows him to pursue new and more ambitious literary projects. However, this choice ultimately catalyzes his harrowing ordeal, as it enrages his self-proclaimed “number one fan,” Annie Wilkes, who refuses to accept Misery’s fate.

Addiction

Paul’s reliance on Annie serves as a powerful metaphor for addiction. His physical dependence on her care mirrors a deeper dependency—one rooted in his growing addiction to the opioid painkiller Novril.

Early in his captivity, Paul becomes acutely aware of his addiction. While Novril initially provides relief for his severe injuries, he soon craves the drug beyond its painkilling effects. Annie exploits this vulnerability, frequently withholding the pills as a means of punishment or manipulation. The more Paul suffers, the more he yearns for Novril, allowing Annie to exert near-total control over him.

Paul’s desperation for the drug ultimately leads him to betray his artistic principles. In a moment of weakness, he willingly burns the manuscript for his novel Fast Cars—a work he had hoped would redefine his career—simply to appease Annie and ensure his continued access to Novril.

Fiction, Reality, and Coping

At first, Paul's storytelling instinct appears merely a byproduct of his profession—an ingrained way of thinking that shapes his perception of reality. However, as Annie forces him to write Misery’s Return, compelling him to resurrect the very character he had sought to leave behind, fiction transforms from a mental escape into a literal means of survival.

Through Paul’s predicament, Misery explores the power of storytelling not just as a creative outlet but a survival tool. In being forced to bring Misery Chastain back to life, Paul is trapped by and dependent on his craft. Once his source of success and frustration, fiction becomes his prison and his only hope for escape.

Suffering, Justice, and the Human Condition

In moments of profound depression, Annie likens humanity to “a rat in a trap,” convinced that misery itself is inescapable and that death is the only proper release. Paul observes that Annie classifies people into two rigid categories: "cockadoodie brats" and "poor things."

In either case, Annie sees herself as an agent of justice, meeting death as either retribution or mercy. This warped worldview makes her exceptionally dangerous, as she considers murder not as an evil act but as a necessary correction to an inherently unjust world.

To escape from the chaos and unfairness of reality, Annie retreats into fiction, where justice is always served, and the rules of storytelling ensure that things "play fair." Unlike real life, stories provide closure, moral resolution, and a sense of control—qualities that Annie craves.

Interestingly, the audience engages in a similar act of escapism by watching Misery or any work of fiction. Stories offer a means of making sense of an often cruel and unpredictable world, allowing both Annie and the audience to find structure and meaning where reality usually fails to provide it.