Stephen King: 'Suffer The Little Children' analyse

From a normal gymnasium teacher to a psychotic mass murder

Miss Emily Sidley is an elderly single teacher, in an American elementary school. She is not popular, but she is authoritarian. And therefore respected almost feared, by some of the student. Her voice is like a whip, her look is like a laser pistol and even when she turns her back to the students she can see them reflected in her thick glasses.

In the beginning of the novel, she is very well balanced and calm ‘’very good Edward’’ she says, appreciatively to Edward (p. 1, col. 1, l. 8 from bottom), and she feels that she has full control over the pupils and her teaching, as she thinks ‘’Robert would hang himself if given just a little more rope’’ (p. 1, col 2. ll. 12-13).

But this feeling of control does not last. “Miss Sidley was suddenly unaccountably sure Robert knew about her little trick with the glasses” (p. 1, col. 2, ll. 8-10 from bottom). Suddenly she feels seen through and not confident anymore.

Later in the same class, her delusions begin: “She caught just a flicker of Robert’s face changing” (p. 2, col. 1, ll. 7-8). Her perception of reality of the normal, little boy, Robert, changes, and she now sees “something different” (p. 2, col. 1, ll. 8-9)