›Betwixt and between‹: Räume der inneren Überwindung in Stephen Kings It

Abstract

This article discusses Stephen King's classic and currently still best-selling horror novel, It, by connecting it to theories and approaches stemming mainly from the fields of cultural anthropology, developmental psychology, and psychoanalysis. Understanding that these theories are very valuable for the comprehension of fantastic literature, I argue that the horror of It functions mainly as an illustration for deferred adolescent development. In an aesthetically complex and topologically multi-coded way, the novel exemplifies what happens when essential developmental tasks remain unprocessed. The fantastic element of the novel particularly manifests those fears that are associated with transitions between worlds defined by different social needs. In sum, my argument ties in with approaches to the fantastic that stress the language of the fantastic as being highly suitable for illuminating both the deep structures of the human psyche and psychosocial development.

Keywords

• Psychosoziale Entwicklung
• Psychoanalyse
• Fantastik
• It
• Stephen King
• Horror