Paul Sheldon
Paul Sheldon, the protagonist of the novel, is a middle-aged author who has found incredible success in the publishing world by writing a series of tawdry romance novels featuring a character named Misery Chastain. While his Misery novels have brought him a degree of wealth and fame, Paul is embarrassed and unsatisfied with the aesthetic challenges of writing in the romance genre. He aches to become a “serious” novelist respected by critics, but also capable of selling modestly well.
He has decided he is ready to take the leap of faith required to make that dream come true. He has killed Misery in what he plans to be the last entry in the series. He has also just completed manuscript for a new novel titled “Fast Cars” that he is convinced will allow him to make that leap from commercial success to critical darling.
The very day that he puts the final period on that single printed manuscript Paul heads off for cross-country trip only to get caught in a terrible blizzard that causes him to have an accident. The novel commences with Paul awakening in a narcotic-induced haze to discover that exposure to the elements after the crash would have killed him if not for the heroic actions of his number one fan. Paul is thankful that his rescuer is not just his number one fan but also a trained nurse capable of treating him so he can make a full and quick recovery.
Annie Wilkes
Annie Wilkes is that self-proclaimed number one fan of Paul Sheldon. It turns out, however, that Annie is less the number one fan of Paul than she is the number one fan of Misery Chastain. Upon discovering that her favorite character has been cruelly killed off by the author in what he planned as his final entry, Annie’s formerly eccentric or quirky personality becomes more clearly psychopathic. She is determined to keep her favorite character alive no matter what it takes.
Paul will later learn that although Annie has been telling the truth about once being employed as a nurse, she has withheld the reason why she no longer has that job. The truth about her sociopathic personality becomes clearer with each new plan to further torture Paul. He learns that he is not Annie’s first victim. As a nurse she killed many patients without being detected and then, once she was found out, she was acquitted at trial due to a lack of evidence.
Annie transforms from Paul’s angel of mercy and his number one fan into a woman strangely scorned. She feels betrayed by her favorite author destroying her favorite character and sets to the task of making Paul resurrect Misery from the dead. Paul is horrified to realize that there is no limit to the lengths Annie is willing to go to make him complete a novel tailored to the desires of his fan rather than his own imagination.
