View source for Gerald's Game

{{short description|1992 suspense novel by Stephen King}}
{{distinguish|text=''[[Geri's Game]]''}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}}
{{for-text|the 2017 film adaptation|[[Gerald's Game (film)|''Gerald's Game'' (film)]]}}
{{Infobox book| <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Novels or Wikipedia:WikiProject_Books -->
| name         = Gerald's Game
| title_orig   =
| translator   =
| image        = GeraldsGame.jpg
| image_size = 200px
| caption = First edition cover
| author       = [[Stephen King]]
| cover_artist = Rob Wood
| illustrator = Bill Russell
| country       = United States
| language      = English
| series       =
| genre        = {{hlist|[[Thriller (genre)|Suspense]]|[[Psychological horror]]}}
| publisher    = [[Viking Press|Viking]]
| release_date = May 1992
| media_type   = Print ([[hardcover]])
| pages        = 332
| isbn         = 978-0-670-84650-4
| preceded_by  =
| followed_by  =
}}
'''''Gerald's Game''''' is a 1992 [[Thriller (genre)|suspense]] [[novel]] by American writer [[Stephen King]].<ref name=NYT>{{cite web|work=The New York Times|date=August 16, 1992|title=Shackled to the Past|first=Wendy|last=Doniger|url=https://www.nytimes.com/books/97/03/09/lifetimes/kin-r-gerald.html}}</ref> The story is about a woman whose husband dies of a [[heart attack]] while she is handcuffed to a bed, and, following the subsequent realization that she is trapped with little hope of rescue, begins to let the [[paranoia|voices inside her head]] take over.

The book is dedicated to King's wife [[Tabitha King|Tabitha]] and her five sisters. Originally, the book was intended to be a companion piece to King's novel ''[[Dolores Claiborne]]'', with the connecting theme of two women in crisis caught in the path of an [[eclipse]], though this aspect was greatly reduced by the time the books were published. The book was adapted into [[Gerald's Game (film)|a 2017 film]] directed by [[Mike Flanagan (filmmaker)|Mike Flanagan]].

==Plot==
<!-- THIS PLOT SUMMARY IS ABOUT THE NOVEL. DO NOT WRITE IT BASED ON THE FILM -->
Jessie Burlingame and her husband Gerald, a successful lawyer, travel from [[Portland, Maine|Portland]] to their secluded [[summer house|lake house]] in western [[Maine]] near [[List of lakes of Maine#Oxford County|Kashwakamak Lake]] for a spontaneous romantic getaway. The titular "game" involves handcuffing Jessie to the bedposts during sex, a new practice that Jessie only pretends to enjoy, though Gerald finds it exciting. This time, however, Jessie finds herself reluctant after being handcuffed and asks to stop. She is ignored by Gerald, who pretends her protests are only part of their game. Realizing her husband is deliberately feigning ignorance and that he [[marital rape|intends to rape her]], Jessie lashes out, kicking Gerald in the stomach and groin. The shock causes him to have a fatal [[heart attack]]. He dies, leaving Jessie handcuffed to the bed.<!-- THIS PLOT SUMMARY IS ABOUT THE NOVEL. DO NOT WRITE IT BASED ON THE FILM -->

<!-- THIS PLOT SUMMARY IS ABOUT THE NOVEL. DO NOT WRITE IT BASED ON THE FILM -->At first, Jessie is horrified at her husband's death and fears the humiliation of being discovered semi-naked and handcuffed, but she realizes the situation is far more dire: it is unlikely that she or Gerald will be missed for several days, no one will think to look for them at the lake house, and all the usual lake residents have gone for the season. There is a possibility that Jessie will die if she cannot escape.<!-- THIS PLOT SUMMARY IS ABOUT THE NOVEL. DO NOT WRITE IT BASED ON THE FILM -->

<!-- THIS PLOT SUMMARY IS ABOUT THE NOVEL. DO NOT WRITE IT BASED ON THE FILM -->While Jessie frantically considers her options, a combination of panic and thirst causes her to hallucinate voices: "The [[Goodwife]]" or "Goody Burlingame," a [[Puritans|Puritanical]] version of herself that insists things will be fine and that she should wait to be rescued; "Punkin", a representation of Jessie as a 10-year-old girl; Ruth Neary, a college roommate whom Jessie abandoned after a conversation that strayed dangerously close to uncovering Jessie's childhood trauma; and Nora, Jessie's former psychologist, whom Jessie likewise abandoned when Nora questioned Jessie's relationship with her father.

<!-- THIS PLOT SUMMARY IS ABOUT THE NOVEL. DO NOT WRITE IT BASED ON THE FILM -->Guided by these voices, Jessie realizes that Goody's advice to wait for rescue stems from a [[subconscious]] belief that she deserves to be trapped in this situation, even if it means her death. When she probes for the reason why, she is able to recall a long-repressed memory of being [[child sexual abuse|sexually abused]] by her father during a [[Solar eclipse of July 20, 1963|solar eclipse]] when she was ten. Jessie's father manipulated Jessie into believing that she was complicit, resulting in lifelong feelings of shame and guilt. She remembers an inexplicable event in the aftermath of the abuse, during which she experienced a momentary psychic connection with an unknown woman (''[[Dolores Claiborne]]''). The memories cause Jessie to acknowledge how unhappy and controlling her marriage to Gerald was, leading her to suspect she gave up her independence for the security of being Gerald's [[trophy wife]].<!-- THIS PLOT SUMMARY IS ABOUT THE NOVEL. DO NOT WRITE IT BASED ON THE FILM -->

<!-- THIS PLOT SUMMARY IS ABOUT THE NOVEL. DO NOT WRITE IT BASED ON THE FILM -->Waking from an imaginary confrontation with all these characters to a dark bedroom, Jessie sees a tall, gaunt apparition whom she initially mistakes for the spirit of her long-dead father and whom she nicknames "Space Cowboy" (after a 1969 [[Steve Miller (musician)|Steve Miller]] song). The figure shows her a wicker basket of jewelry mixed with human bones. Unsure if the figure is another hallucination, Jessie dismisses it, saying aloud it is "only made of moonlight", which seems to make it vanish. Her inner voices, however, believe the figure is real and that it will return to harm Jessie if she does not escape by the next night.<!-- THIS PLOT SUMMARY IS ABOUT THE NOVEL. DO NOT WRITE IT BASED ON THE FILM -->

<!-- THIS PLOT SUMMARY IS ABOUT THE NOVEL. DO NOT WRITE IT BASED ON THE FILM -->The following morning, Jessie manages to secure a drink of water from a glass on the bedside table. Refreshed and encouraged by her own ingenuity in getting the water, she renews her efforts to escape, first by trying to break the headboard, then by trying to slip off the bed and push it to the bureau where the keys are placed. Inspired by her memory of the eclipse, in which her father warned her not to cut herself on the smoked glass panes they used as [[Solar eclipse#Viewing|eclipse viewers]], Jessie breaks the water glass and uses a sharp shard to slice her wrist, giving herself a [[degloving]] injury to lubricate her skin enough to slide her right hand from the cuff. She is able to escape the bed, reach the keys, and free her other hand, but faints from [[Bleeding#Blood loss|blood loss]]. When she awakens, it is nearly dark and the Space Cowboy has returned. Jessie throws her wedding ring at his box of jewelry and bones, thinking that is what he wanted all along. Still weak from blood loss, she reaches her car and drives away, with the Space Cowboy hidden in the back seat. Jessie crashes and is knocked unconscious.<!-- THIS PLOT SUMMARY IS ABOUT THE NOVEL. DO NOT WRITE IT BASED ON THE FILM -->

<!-- THIS PLOT SUMMARY IS ABOUT THE NOVEL. DO NOT WRITE IT BASED ON THE FILM -->Months later, Jessie is recuperating from her ordeal. An attorney at Gerald's law firm assists her in covering up the incident to protect her and the firm from scandal, but Jessie feels this is another version of burying her trauma, just as she buried her childhood abuse. To free herself, Jessie writes to the real Ruth, with whom she has not spoken in decades, detailing what really happened at the lake house and subsequent events. The "Space Cowboy" had turned out to be a [[serial killer]] and [[necrophile]] named Raymond Andrew Joubert who had been robbing and [[squatting]] in lake houses in the area. Jessie confronts Joubert at his court hearing, where he mocks her "made of moonlight" statement, confirming that the encounter really occurred and causing Jessie to spit in his face. Being able to directly confront the man who once terrified her allows Jessie to face the other manipulative men in her life, freeing her of fear and allowing her to deal more honestly with her past. She apologizes for abandoning Ruth, acknowledging that Ruth had confronted her with a truth she could not face, and hopes they can resume their friendship. After mailing the letter, Jessie is able to sleep without nightmares for the first time since her ordeal at the lake house.<!-- THIS PLOT SUMMARY IS ABOUT THE NOVEL. DO NOT WRITE IT BASED ON THE FILM -->

== Film adaptation ==
{{main|Gerald's Game (film)}}
In May 2014, ''[[Deadline Hollywood]]'' reported that [[Mike Flanagan (filmmaker)|Mike Flanagan]] had been set to direct a film adaptation.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2014/05/cannes-stephen-king-novel-geralds-game-to-be-adapted-by-oculus-helmer-mike-flanagan-and-intrepid-pictures-732549/|title=Cannes: Stephen King Novel 'Gerald's Game' To Be Adapted By 'Oculus' Helmer Mike Flanagan And Intrepid Pictures|last=Fleming|first=Mike|website=[[Deadline Hollywood]]|date=2014-05-19|access-date=2015-02-13}}</ref> In an interview with [[Rue Morgue (magazine)|Rue Morgue]] in September 2016, Flanagan said that the film adaptation would premiere on [[Netflix]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.rue-morgue.com/single-post/2016/09/01/Exclusive-Mike-Flanagan-looks-forward-to-doing-justice-to-Stephen-King%25E2%2580%2599s-GERALD%25E2%2580%2599S-GAME|title=Rue Morgue|website=Rue Morgue|access-date=2016-09-13|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161015173921/http://www.rue-morgue.com/single-post/2016/09/01/Exclusive-Mike-Flanagan-looks-forward-to-doing-justice-to-Stephen-King%E2%80%99s-GERALD%E2%80%99S-GAME|archive-date=2016-10-15|url-status=dead}}</ref> In October 2016, Deadline reported that [[Carla Gugino]] and [[Bruce Greenwood]] would star in the film as Jessie and Gerald Burlingame.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2016/10/geralds-gsme-stephen-king-carla-gugino-netflix-bruce-greenwood-mikie-flanagan-1201837512/|title=Carla Gugino & Bruce Greenwood Star In Stephen King's 'Gerald's Game' For Netflix|last=Fleming|first=Mike|website=Deadline Hollywood|date=2016-09-17|access-date=2016-09-17}}</ref> On October 17, 2016, Flanagan tweeted indicating the first day of production had begun.<ref>{{cite tweet |user=flanaganfilm |number=788053442019282944 |date=17 October 2016 |title="Day 1! Off to the races. #geraldsgame"}}</ref> The film premiered on [[Netflix]] on September 29, 2017.

==See also==
{{portal|Novels}}
*[[Solar eclipses in fiction#Novels|Solar eclipses in fiction]]
*''[[Dolores Claiborne]]''

==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Stephen King}}
[[Category:1992 American novels]]
[[Category:1990s horror novels]]
[[Category:American horror novels]]
[[Category:American psychological novels]]
[[Category:American thriller novels]]
[[Category:Psychological thriller novels]]
[[Category:Psychological horror novels]]
[[Category:Speculative crime and thriller fiction novels]]
[[Category:Feminist horror novels]]
[[Category:English-language novels]]
[[Category:Novels set in Maine]]
[[Category:Novels about child sexual abuse]]
[[Category:Novels about post-traumatic stress disorder]]
[[Category:Fiction about incest]]
[[Category:American novels adapted into films]]
[[Category:Horror novels adapted into films]]
[[Category:American novels adapted into television shows]]
[[Category:Novels by Stephen King]]
[[Category:Viking Press books]]