Roland's hat *DT VII spoilers*

[Bev Vincent]

Most artwork depicting Roland at the Tower shows him wearing a hat. We know he had one in the early stages of his journey, but I can find absolutely no mention of a hat in the final book.

The clothing he is wearing at the Tower is what he and Susannah made out of deerskin: leggings, vest, coat (with hood, presumably) and leather mittens.

The following quotes from DT7 lead me to believe he doesn't have a hat any more.

"Beyond the circle of the dying fire a wind moaned, lifting Roland's hair from his temples"

"He brushed his hair back from his forehead, leaving a fresh smear and now making her think of penitents on Ash Wednesday."

After they reach the Tower, Patrick "took the sides of the gunslinger's head in his hands and brought it forward until they were brow to brow."

Hard to do if he's wearing a cowboy hat.

Thoughts?

[candy]

now you mention it, in the start i did picture him with a hat.

i would say i stopped picturing him with one just after the longest night in w&g when he tells his story? but i can not remember it being specially mentioned?

[Ves'Ka Gan]

Hm. You've piqued my interest, I have to say I never thought about the artwork as being different from what I read in the book, but you are correct that the book doesn't make it seem likely he was wearing one...I'm going to have to break out DT7 and fish around to see what I think.

I want to say that in my mind's eye he had a hat, but its hard to know if that's how I pictured him while reading, or if the artwork planted that thought there.

[obscurejude]

Great observations Bev and I think you are right to draw attention to this inconsistency.

I figured that Whelan was trying for continuity between the Roland he first painted and his final one. King brought us right back to the beginning in his own way and I just assumed that Whelan was trying to follow suit visually as well. I kind of appreciated it in a way because I often felt that the story was really far removed from its origins with the later iterations of Roland's tale.

[sarajean]

i always assumed it was art fail.

[obscurejude]

If his purposes were to accurately portray every word that King wrote, then maybe. If, as an artist, he took a certain poetic freedom, then not at all.

Edit: I guess it has to do with what our expectations, as an audience, should be in regards to artwork depicting written characters.

[jayson]

i'm willing to grant some leeway to an artist but context plays a role for me. in a piece which is inspired by a book, i am more likely to overlook anything which deviates somewhat from the source material. however, in the context of illustrations within the work itself (or in this case, on the cover) i am a bit more hesitant to accept changes/additions/etc. i've brought it up previously with the picture in the wastelands of eddie in the field of roses looking at the Tower. it's a beautiful representation of the tower and the roses, but if it's supposed to be eddie's dream as i believe it is, then eddie is not dressed correctly. i think bev is right to be somewhat put off by the inclusion of a hat that roland seemingly no longer had when he reached the Tower.

my 2 cents plus another buck fifty.

[ola]

Aggh! I've been wanting to start a thread about this exact thing for a while now.

I assumed the cowboy hat was a very arbitrary decision. After a certain point the illustrators just decided he wore a hat whether it was mentioned or not. Now it's just an accepted part of Roland, especially on all the Marvel covers.

I also noticed that in a lot of the Whelan illustrations for DT7 he's not wearing one. And then it just appears again! It seems like a detail that would have been mentioned at least once in the book.

In fact...is there ever any mention of him wearing a hat, beside the "silly flat-brimmed" one in Wizard and Glass?

OK, end of my personal hat rant.

[KimDealisHot]

Wouldn't be the first time artwork lies. The pictures for the door Patrick draws is labeled "The Artist" in the picture but in the words Susannah says they're just hints from the other side and are unneeded and in turn Patrick doesn't draw them.

[Bev Vincent]

In fact...is there ever any mention of him wearing a hat, beside the "silly flat-brimmed" one in Wizard and Glass?

Yes, he's definitely wearing a hat in The Gunslinger. For example:

"The gunslinger touched the brim of his hat."
"The gunslinger took off his hat and wiped his forehead."
"She...turned to watch him get his hat. He clapped it on his head and brushed past her."

[Jean]

the last mention of the hat I personally remember was in Lud; I think Susannah was pulling the hat down to his ears while he was carrying her on his shoulders

[candy]

yep, i remember that one in lud, i just dont remember any mention after this. And i am sure (but dont quote me) that its not mentioned again after W&G?

You know i am going to have to check now as i am doubting myself

[Jean]

I am almost sure that there were no mentions of any hat later than that. The thing is, I always imagined Roland without any hat, so every time it was mentioned it clashed with the picture I had, so I think I would have remembered if it had come up. May be wrong, of course.

[fernandito]

Same here Jean, i always envisioned him without a hat.

[Chap]

In fact...is there ever any mention of him wearing a hat, beside the "silly flat-brimmed" one in Wizard and Glass?

Yes, he's definitely wearing a hat in The Gunslinger. For example:

"The gunslinger touched the brim of his hat."
"The gunslinger took off his hat and wiped his forehead."
"She...turned to watch him get his hat. He clapped it on his head and brushed past her."

But in the first chapter of The Gunslinger, this is said:
"His hat was gone, and so was the horn he had once carried." (or something like that.
So unless your quotes are from Tull (he might have lost it there, I don't remember), or he picked up a new one, then there's a continuity error.

[pathoftheturtle]

Of course he had a hat on in The Gunslinger; he was walking through the desert.

I think that artists usually give Roland a hat because they don't have enough real sense of the character to do more than suggest an archetype.

[Chap]

So did he lose his hat in Tull then? because he has none in the beginning of The Gunslinger. (which of course takes place after Tull)

Also:

"Beyond the circle of the dying fire a wind moaned, lifting Roland's hair from his temples"

"He brushed his hair back from his forehead, leaving a fresh smear and now making her think of penitents on Ash Wednesday."

After they reach the Tower, Patrick "took the sides of the gunslinger's head in his hands and brought it forward until they were brow to brow."

IF he had a hat, he could have had it on his back/neck hanging from the "chin strap" (if that's the right word) around his neck.

[MonteGss]

Roland forgot to pick his hat up along with the horn. I think the hat is the key to the whole story.

[Chap]

Child Roland to the Dark Tower came,
but he forgot his freakin' hat!

Spoiler:

so he had to do it over again

(major spoiler warning)

[Jean]

"How could you forget a thing like your hat?!" (Maggie, Back to the Future III)

[candy]

[gsvec]

and over and over and over . . .

[Brainslinger]

But in the first chapter of The Gunslinger, this is said:
"His hat was gone, and so was the horn he had once carried." (or something like that.
So unless your quotes are from Tull (he might have lost it there, I don't remember), or he picked up a new one, then there's a continuity error.

Yes, that's a continuity error. Or something was just left out. He lost his hat in The Gunslinger... then he had it on the bridge approaching Ludd. It said his hat was pulled down giving him the look of a hill-billy. I suppose he might have found a new one under the mountain or pulled one out of his grow-bag off-page as it were.

That isn't the last time a hat is mentioned though. He was given a new hat by one of the men in Wolves of the Calla.* I forget the character's name, but I think it was the rancher fellow. It was a big broad rimmed hat though of a different design to the pictures in the novels. I don't think it's mentioned after that instance in the Calla though.

*I'll have a look for the quote if you like. I can't be sure I'll find it, it being a miniscule mention in a large book but I do remember reading it. Honest.