When Annie discovers that Paul has been snooping, she punishes him. What is his punishment?
Answer
She cuts off his foot with an axe
When Annie discovers that Paul has been snooping, she punishes him by cutting off his foot with an axe.
This punishment occurs in Stephen King’s 1987 novel Misery. Paul Sheldon has been confined to Annie Wilkes’s home after she rescues him from a car crash, and he secretly explores the house while she is away. Annie notices that the safeguards she has placed around his room have been disturbed and realizes he has been investigating her belongings and past.
Annie calls the punishment “hobbling.” In the novel, she uses an axe to sever one of Paul’s feet and then cauterizes the wound with a blowtorch. The brutality reflects her obsessive need to control Paul while keeping him alive to write a new Misery novel for her.
A common mix-up comes from the 1990 film adaptation starring Kathy Bates and James Caan. The movie changes the scene: Annie uses a sledgehammer to smash Paul’s ankles rather than cutting off his foot. The novel also contains another mutilation later, when Annie cuts off Paul’s thumb after becoming angry about a missing typewriter key.