So… in the scene where
our hero meets his gal’s hubby, and taunts him about the (completely weird to begin with!) clothespin…obviously that is THE most delicate and embarrassing secret possible for that man. So…
in the world of Guys Fighting and Intimidating one another… is going for THE most horrendously embarrassing thing possible more likely to:
???
Didn’t really finish, just had to take a call…
All I wanted to add is that when you already know you are dealing with a violent person who becomes violent in relation to that embarrassing thing, you are pretty much going to get a crazy violent response to taunting him with that information. So unless you have real confidence that you are not going to have your throat slit in the middle of the night, you do not go there.
But I am the female embodiment of peace, love and understanding, so I am in no way the person to ask. Which is why I am asking you guys.
For those of us who haven’t watched the show, can you write a spoiler tag that explains your question?
Yeah, I just finished reading the book and I don’t recall anything pertaining to a clothespin.
Broom, now, yeah… I could see doing the scene and having him taunt the guy about the broom. Clothespin???
There was a clothespin/penis aspect in a subplot of another King novel, The Dead Zone, and I could picture the OP conflating the two, or maybe King used the image more than once.
In The Dead Zone:
The main character gets called to a small town to investigate a series of rape-murders. The killer turns out to be one of the local deputies, who grew up with a psychotic mother who used to punish him for any sexual development by putting a clothespin on his penis. There’s some vague suggestion that this had a lasting physical effect in addition to the psychological damage but the details were vague and while I get that to King this was a compelling image, I was more confused than horrified by it.
My question doesn’t really have to be framed by the show, that’s just what prompted it.
Bottom line: if a guy has an insanely embarrassing secret that he has become violent about in the past, do you taunt him with it to shame him, or steer clear of it to avoid possible violence? In the show he was taunted and I thought that was pretty stupid.