For my write-up today on Stephen King’s Needful Things, I will talk about a passage on page 263:
“Home, that was the thing to think about. Home and her beautiful carnival glass lampshade. Home and the Sunday Super Movie. Home and [her dog] Raider. When she was at home with the door locked, the shades pulled, the TV on, and Raider sleeping at her feet, all of this would seem like a horrible dream…”
The context of this passage is that Nettie Cobb is at Danforth Keeton’s house while he is away, and she is putting up citations throughout his house to make it look as if a deputy is harassing him. She is doing this because that is part of her payment to Leland Gaunt for a lampshade that she bought from him, and Gaunt’s goal is to divide the community. But Danforth is about to return to his home, and Nettie does not want for him to see her there!
I identified somewhat with what Nettie was thinking about home—-as a place of refuge and escape. Granted, I do not trespass into other people’s houses, but there have been situations that have made me long to go home—-to my comfort zone, where I can watch TV, or read, or pet pets. Such situations have included social events, or school. Looking forward to going home can make those situations more bearable. But, sometimes, the situations can go so badly that they pollute my rest and peace at home. In those cases, I need to pray after I get home, until my mind returns to a point of stability.