Tabitha King has been married to Stephen King since 1971. However, she's more than just the acclaimed author's "wife." The Shining writer, therefore, aimed to set the record straight after headlines referred to her as his spouse and not by her own name.
"My wife is rightly pissed by headlines like this: 'Stephen King and his wife donate $1.25M to New England Historic Genealogical Society,'" the 71-year-old author tweeted Thursday. "The gift was her original idea, and she has a name: TABITHA KING. Her response follows."
The Misery author then tweeted a letter from King that she directed toward editors. In her statement, she wanted to clarify that "wife is a relationship or status" rather than it being "an identity."
"You could have made other choices. You could have referred to me as of Stephen. Or His Old Lady. Or His-Ball-And-Chain," her statement read. "I have sons You could have referred to me as Mother-of-Novelists. I have a daughter but wouldn't it be just silly to refer to me as Mother-of-Clergy?"
"I'm seventy. I thought I would give you permission, if 'Of Tabitha' predeceases me, to title my obituary, Relick of Stephen King. In the meantime, you might consider the unconscious condescension in your style book, and give women their names," she concluded.
My wife is rightly pissed by headlines like this: “Stephen King and his wife donate $1.25M to New England Historic Genealogical Society.” The gift was her original idea, and she has a name: TABITHA KING. Her response follows.
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) February 28, 2019
Dear Editors (married to a wife or a husband):
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) February 28, 2019
In recent media coverage of a gift that my husband (ironic usage) and I made to the New England Historical and Genealogical Society, we became Stephen King and his wife.
Wife is a relationship or status. It is not an identity.
You could have made other choices. You could have referred to me as OfStephen. Or His Old Lady. Or His-Ball-And-Chain.
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) February 28, 2019
I have sons. You could have referred to me as Mother-of-Novelists. I have a daughter but wouldn’t it be just silly to refer to me as Mother-of-Clergy?
I’m seventy. I thought I would give you permission, if “OfTabitha” predeceases me, to title my obituary, Relick of Stephen King.
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) February 28, 2019
In the meantime, you might consider the unconscious condescension in your style book, and give women their names.
King, 70, is a successful and acclaimed author like her husband. Her many works include Small World, Candles Burning and Survivor. She also developed the five-part Nodd's Ridge series, which includes Caretakers and The Book of Reuben.
Born Tabitha Jane-Frances Spruce, she's a native of Maine. She still resides in the New England state with the It author. Together, the Kings have three children: Naomi King, Joe Hill and Owen King.
King helped save Carrie, a book that became her husband's debut novel and ultimately catapulted his career. He tossed the first three pages of Carrie because he wasn't fond of it. King pulled the pages from a waste bin and convinced him to revisit the story. He struggled writing from a woman's perspective, which led King to help him understand women better. The book has since resulted in two theatrical release and become a pop culture staple.
Carrie's dedication reads: "This is for Tabby, who got me into it—and then bailed me out of it."
"I married her because I loved her and because we got on as well out of bed as in it," he said in 2003, according to Mental Floss. "The typewriter was a factor, though."
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Dory Jackson is a New York-based entertainment journalist from Maryland. She graduated from Randolph-Macon College—in May 2016—with a focus in Communication ... Read more
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