By
creating Tom as alone and loveless, King seems to
ignore the fact that many gay men lead vibrant, rich lives
hallmarked by great friendships and enduring love. This is
unfortunately underscored by King's description of Tom's attachment
to Rafe, his cat. Anyone who's ever had a beloved pet can
feel for a man forced by circumstance to leave it behind forever.
But Tom reads as borderline pathetic. Even his new friend
Clay thinks so.
When
Tom comes out to Clay, it's no big deal: Clay doesn't care.
But by then, neither did I as there is so little to care about
in his character. Tom is presented as completely and utterly
alone, with nothing but feline companionship.
It
would have been more humanizing, perhaps, if Tom had a missing
husband, or an ex, or an adopted child. After all, the novel
begins in Boston, where such things are fairly commonplace.
Perhaps King felt it would be too time-consuming to include
it, or maybe it's foreign territory for him, and he didn't
feel confident writing about it. But I assert that King could
easily have remedied this situation by finding a gay man to
talk to. Frankly, it was a bit of a letdown and a flaw in
the book.
It's
not all bad though. King does do something positive
by showing that not all gay men are defined by homosexuality–Tom
is simply a man who happens to be gay. Moreover, he's portrayed
as a good man who is strong when he needs to be, kind to others,
and a loyal, true friend to his new acquaintances.
As
a bit of satire, we learn that Tom 's mother and aunts were
evangelical Christians and that he has little patience for
their ilk. When Clay asks where Tom's mother is, he replies:
“Heaven. Unless they managed to cheat her out of that too.”
Nonetheless,
Tom is not drawn as clearly as the other characters. He does
indulge in one bit of campy humor, but it isn't well received.
Other than that, King doesn't let us in on much of what Tom
is thinking or feeling.
An
article on queerhorror.com
has this to say on the subject of King's inclusion of gay
characters in his vast body of work:
