The Lightness Of Being in Stephen King’s Elevation As A Reversal of Dorian Gray
In this, his latest, book King’smain character begins to lose weight, which can be measured by his scale, BUT there is no change whatever in the appearance of his body. This is the exact reversal of what happens in Dorian Gray, where his portrait changes its appearance as he degenerates but his body appears unaffected.
At the end of King’s book, the character finally gets down to total weightlessness and then ascends (probably to Heaven). In Dorian Gray’s case, however, he finally becomes so evil that he dies.
At first it looks like King’s book is in line with Christian theology because the loss of weight by the protagonist is caused by a repentance in his life. Now he does become a better person as a result, BUT the story makes it appear that matter is evil and spirit is good.
Well, read it for yourself and let me know what you think.
Forrest Schultz
