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“
I would like to talk to you up close!
„
~ Norman's catchphrase, meaning he wants to hurt or kill someone.
Norman Daniels is the main antagonist of Stephen King's Rose Madder. He is the abusive husband of Rose McClendon, the novel's main protagonist. He pursues his wife after she leaves their abusive household, determined to "punish" her by "talking to her up close".
Norman is extremely abusive, controlling, bad-tempered, sexist, racist, homophobic, psychopathic, antisocial, cannibalistic, and insane.
Biography[]
Background[]
Norman was born to Ray Daniels, who was abusive to Norman and his mother. He regularly beat, molested, psychologically, verbally, and emotionally abused Norman. Whenever he was about to hurt Norman, Ray would say that he "would like to speak with him up close". He was also a virulent racist and misogynist and taught his son to hate all women, lesbians, homosexuals, and people of different races. It’s implied that he later murdered his own parents.
Prior to the events of the narrative, Norman met and married Rose on the promise of a diamond ring and that he'd be a decent lover. However, over time, he revealed his darker qualities as a corrupt cop prone to violence and various prejudices such as racism, sexism, and homophobia. Towards Rose, he would often abuse her through bites with the warning statement of wanting to talk to someone "up close", to say nothing of violating her with a tennis racket and treating her kidneys as punching bags.
However, his particularly defining moment of villainy was described in the prologue set a few years before the events of the novel. Norman and a partner of his named Harley Bissington beat and raped an African-American prostitute named Wendy Yarrow for which they received official reprimands which made him even more volatile than before, then lost his temper and beats up Rose while she was pregnant with their child simply for reading a book Norman did not like, causing her to suffer a miscarriage. He then threatened her into saying it was an accident, knowing that he'd kill her if she said otherwise. She considered leaving Norman but dismissed the idea since he was a cop and finding people was what he was best at. It’s also possible that he was planning to kill her anyways, since he actually wanted to replace her with someone else as his new wife.
Rose Madder[]
At the beginning of the narrative, Rose discovers a single drop of blood on their bedsheets and, after fourteen years of dealing with Norman's abuse, decides living with him is too dangerous and to leave him with his bank card in hand. However, Norman soon catches onto Rose's escape from their hellish domestic life and pursues her, resolving to hunt her down and kill her by "talking to her up close". In the meantime, he is shown resorting to various forms of torture and intimidation for information, such as when he graphically squeezes the testicles of the man who found his bank card for answers. Rose also discovers that Norman's "diamond ring" is actually worthless and trades it for an unusual portrait of a woman seemingly named Rose Madder. She also takes residence in Daughters and Sisters, a women's shelter run by Anna Stevenson, soon leaving for her own place. Eventually arriving in the city Rose fled to and interrogates then murders travelers aid Peter Slowick by squeezing his testicles until they pop and fatally devoured him.
As the plot develops, Norman becomes more hellbent on capturing Rose and even more insane. Norman disguises himself by shaving his head and moving about in a wheelchair and expresses much contempt, usually throwing out filthy, misogynist insults towards the various women he encounters. He assaults and murders several of Rose's associates at Daughters and Sisters, breaking Cynthia's nose and murdering Anna and Pamela Haverford. His attempt to murder Rose's associate Gertrude, however, results in his temporary defeat and humiliation. In a fit of insanity, Norman steals a child's Ferdinand the bull mask (hearing the phrase "Ze Bool" in his mind) and dons it as his own. He also assaults Rose's new lover Bill Steiner, although he fails to kill him when he is led on by Rose.
During this time, Rose has entered the world of the painting and aided Rose Madder, who resembles Rose but harbors a monstrous nature of her own, in retrieving her child in the labyrinth guarded by the bull beast Erinyes. Seeking revenge, Erinyes possesses Norman and fuses the bull mask to his face, effectively transforming Norman from a mad man to a monstrous minotaur. However, he meets his end when he is led by Rose into the painting where he crosses paths with Rose Madder, mistaking her for his wife. Determined to "punish" her, Norman falls into the trap and is violently and fatally devoured by Rose Madder who "speaks to him up close".
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