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Feministic Prose:
OConnor and Literary Liberalism

Flannery OConnor, as a Southern gothic writer, is very liberal in the sense of her writing style,
with the usage of characters and themes. How are these themes, especially within the characters,
directly related to the ideologies of feminism and in addition, a reflection of author and her
writing style?

Ariana Fisher
Stoll
English Honors 12
December 7, 2014

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Ariana Fisher
English 12 Honors
Stoll
December 7, 2014
A critical approach in literature further assists the reader in understanding literary works
by shifting through a variety of lens to alter their perspective. In the respect of feminism, the
reader solely focuses on the connection between the author and the theories involved with
feminism. Feminism in itself is the avocation for women; its the focus on equality for both
genders through social construction. Often time, feminism in a literary sense can merely just
involve female characters. These characters can show direct attributes of independence, strength
and liberalism. Within her short stories and novels, OConnor does relate with the feminism
approach as her array of characters, both main and secondary, tend to be females. In addition to
Flannery OConnor being a female writer herself, she is incredibly liberal in her use of the
southern gothic style to its full potential, often utilizing her own unique type of satire towards the
South. Southern gothic literature is known for extreme obscurities, ambivalent gender roles and
disturbing settings. In relation to OConnor, she defines her works by her characters and the
arrays of themes set within the characters themselves and the overall story, resonating with some
of the core themes within feminism. The characters within Flannery OConnors books such as
Good Country People, A Good Man is Hard to Find and Wise Blood, connect with overall notion
of feminism as these attributes are developed throughout the plot, setting and theme of the
literary work.

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Throughout our human timeline, feminism is a constant reoccurrence as women have

dutifully advocated against the injustices and discrimination towards their gender. The narrative
of these movements are described in waves, in relation to three prominent eras specifically in
the United States. Within the 19th and early 20th century, the first wave of feminism focused
highly on legal inequalities such as womens suffrage and female education. (Socialist
Feminism). Political figures such as Susan B. Anthony and Margaret Fuller were key advocates
in establishing change and bring light into an unknown perspective. As the next wave
approached during the 1960s and 1970s, the debate was more focused on cultural injustices such
as gender formalities and the roles of women within society (Socialist Feminism). This era is
the potent with the key themes of the feminism movements as it defines the radicalness of the
female gender. The encouragement of concepts such as sexual fluidity, independence and
liberation from societal norms influenced the core elements of what defines feminism culture.
Sequentially, the ideology of the third wave of feminism dutifully focused on diversity within
feminist culture while still following the feminist roots set by past waves (Socialist
Feminism) Conclusively, the creation of these movements is the origin of influence for females,
inspiring them to become more than their past. This connection can be assessed to Flannery
OConnor as she was not only a female writer during 1940s era, but in addition, an author within
such an obscure and controversial genre, often challenging the morality of religion and ethics of
race. OConnor resonates with the ideologies feminism has put into place throughout the
historical waves. Her works focus on religious transcendence and social morality set the tone
of question of societal standards, especially in the roles humans play in life.
OConnor uses bold symbolism and realistic personas in her characters identities,
revealing new opportunities to extend liberalism in relation to feminism. In this short story Good

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Country Folk, the main character Mrs. Hopewell and her daughter Joy live on a farm with the
hired help, Mrs. Freeman. In her introduction, Mrs. Hopewell is depicted as jovial and sociable
character, but also as an independent individual as she is a woman who had divorced her
husband long ago (OConnor, Good Country Folk, 3). To the reader, it is assumed that Mrs.
Hopewell is a woman capable of supporting herself, her family and her farm. As the setting of
the story takes place in the late 1940s early 1950s, divorce was an uncommon occurrence
within marriage, especially if the divorce was initiated by the wife. Mrs. Hopewell strongly
exemplifies the factor of independence, much aligned with the attributes influenced by feminism.
In further dialogue, the reader is lead to infer that Mrs. Hopewells streak of self-reliance has
positively influenced her daughter Joy in various ways such as her involvement in education and
gaining a college degree.
In addition to her independence, Mrs. Hopewell develops an overbearing sense of
acceptance for everyone, especially good country folk. Throughout the story, Mrs. Hopewell
shows her upmost gratitude towards good country folk, specifically Mrs. Freeman and her
daughters Carramae and Glynese. As Mrs. Hopewell is described as a woman of faith within the
story, the reader is allowed to assume that her beliefs encourage her willingness to accept. Her
pseudo-inspirational quotes such as Nothing is perfect! and It takes all kinds to make the
world are a reflection of this acceptance (OConnor, Good Country Folk). On the contrary, her
dependency within her beliefs and her faith lead into an internal conflict. In all irony, this
acceptance is but a mere faade and rather blinds her hindsight in many aspects of her life. On
the surface, she presents herself as a patriarch of acceptance, but internally, she is aware that it is
the only way she can cope with her daughter Joy. She is aware that her daughter Joy is incredibly
different, referring to both her artificial leg and her overbearing wit and intelligence. Joy is rude,

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defiant and rebellious, yet Mrs. Hopewell only excuses her attitude because she pities her. Mrs.
Hopewell is aware that its morally wrong to pity her own kin, yet has no other way of coping
with the opposition. The conflict within itself questions the reflection of Mrs. Hopewell and
whether she truly emits Christian goodness for relying on faith to help her cope. In spite of this,
the reader can also infer that Mrs. Hopewells belief in God is merely a faade as well as she
does not exemplify any real practice of the religion. OConnor focuses heavily on this attribute
of Mrs. Hopewell because it depicts an internal conflict with religious morality. This can be an
assumed connection between the character and the author as OConnor was known for
questioning her own religious background and what defined goodness from sin. In addition, her
character acts as the symbol for the overarching theme of religion, which reoccur within all of
OConnors literary works. The character of Mrs. Hopewell exemplifies the type of characters
produced within the southern gothic genre and fluidly executes OConnors writing style as Mrs.
Hopewell is both an individual with strong characteristics, but still riddled with subtle flaws.
In addition to Mrs. Hopewell, her daughter Joy exemplifies some of the characteristics of
the modern feminist and ideal woman within society, but still follows the outline of southern
gothic writing. Joy is a particularly liberal character with an extreme cause of self-indulgence
within her own intelligence. She has a degree in Philosophy and often partakes in criticism of
aspects of society such as religion and social concepts. Joy does take pride in her intelligence as
she agrees that education is a necessary attribute for all humans. She does not let her disability
defer her to speaking her opinion on the matter. In retrospect, her leg gives her confidence and
contributes to her bold and brash demeanor. Though her intelligence does add an unsightly
amount of pretention to her personality, it also breeds independence and tenacity, similarly to the
future embodiment of the modern woman. Throughout the work, Joy exercises the opportunity to

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further break social norms by defining her identity through personal preferences. At the age of
21, she legally changed her own name to Hulga, without the acknowledgement of her mother
(OConnor, Good Country Folk). She also presents herself as an atheist, often disregarding her
mothers beliefs as she does not consider religion as a valid depiction of intellect. It is inferred by
the reader that Joys liberal mindset can be assessed to the notions of feminism as this ultimately
exemplifies the result of the feminist movement; the reality of identity and the confidence of
individuality within women.
Despite these feministic attributes, Joy also depicts anti-feministic characteristics,
relating more towards OConnors gothic writing. Joy holds a strong opinion on sexism and hate
toward men as she looked at nice young men as if she could smell their stupidity (OConnor,
Good Country Folk). Toward the end of the story, Manley Pointer, a young, bible salesman, is
introduced to the Hopewell family. He presents himself as a holy man, one who only needs the
word of God in order to live a life of faith (OConnor, Good Country Folk). Joy mocks his
religious, good country folk persona, in result of her own personal disgust against uneducated
people while of annoying her mother in the process. She view Manley as an object of inferior
aptitude and enjoys the idea of taking advantage of his lower intellect. Within her self-induced
dialogue, she believed herself to very easily [seducing] him and that then, she has to reckon
with his remorsetrue genius can get an idea across even an inferior mind[as] she took his
remorse in hand and changed it into a deeper understanding of life. She took all his shame away
and turned it into something useful (OConnor, Good Country Folk). This cruel mindset
exemplifies her extremely high standard of self-superiority as she blatantly refers to common
stereotype of men seducing women while reveling in her successful flip of gender roles. She
takes pride in the fact that Manley is too idiotic and unaware to realize the distortion in the

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situation. In this aspect, Joy represents the exact opposite of feministic standards, as feminism
stands more for equality than exclusiveness. Though in storys conclusion, Joy is subjected to a
double standard of confidence into arrogance as her own self-absorption causes her to be taken
advantage of by Manley himself, in which she loses both her leg and egotism. Characters like
Mrs. Hopewell and Joy, in some aspects, relay the liberal expression both related to OConnors
personal style as well as the true expression of feminism.
In comparison to previous characters Mrs. Hopewell and Joy, the Grandmother in work A
Good Man is Hard to Find depicts similar aspects of acceptance and feministic qualities. Within
Flannery OConnors most popular work A Good Man is Hard to Find, the main character
simply named The Grandmother, embodies the utmost Southern Belle persona, garnished with a
deep appreciation and acceptance for the South, similarly to Mrs. Hopewell. The grandmother
takes a road trip with her family including her son Bailey, his wife and their three children, June
Star, John Wesley and a small, month-old baby. She is against the idea of the family taking a road
trip to Florida, rather hoping theyd all go to east Tennessee instead. Ultimately, the choice is
finalized and she is stuck between her two grandchildren for the duration of the ride to Florida.
Even without the reader knowing the name of the main character, it is ultimately apparent by
OConnors detailed description of the characters attire that she is extremely aware of her
presence as a woman. The Grandmother:
After removing her white cotton gloves and putting them up with her purse[she] has
on a navy blue straw sailor hat with a bunch of white violets on the brim and a navy blue dress
with s small white dot in the print. Her collar and cuffs were white organdy trimmed with lace
and at her neckline she has pinned a purple spray of cloth violets containing a sachet. (OConnor,
A Good Man is Hard to Find)

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The grandmother wants others to realize that she is a lady and has the expectations of being
treated as such. In addition, her appreciation of the South extends to her relation of the people as
well. When the family stops at a diner on the road, the grandmother and the diner owner, Red
Sam, strike up a conversation immediately as her family ignores them completely. The dialogue
between the two follows:
People are certainly not nice like they used to be.
Two fellers come in here last week. Driving a Chrysler. It was a old beat-up car but it was
a good one and these boys looked all right to me. Said they worked at the mill and you
know I let them fellers charge the gas they bought? No. Now why did I do that?
Because you're a good man!
Yes'm, I suppose so.
The grandmother truly accepts the residents of the south because she sees herself no different
than them; deeply connected with them, similarly to how Mrs. Hopewell felt about country folk.
The reader can assume that the grandmother is accepting to all aspects of the south, despite
gender or race and identifies respect as the highest form of admiration. On the contrary, her
family, especially her son and children could care less about the south as they refer to it as a
hillbilly dumping ground (OConnor, A Good Man is Hard to Find). The children make fun of
the southern individuals. When asked a teasing question of becoming her little girl by Red
Sams wife, the daughter, June Star thoroughly insults her, stating, I wouldnt live in a brokendown place like this for a million bucks! (OConnor, A Good Man is Hard to Find). The
grandmother expresses her disappointment in her family continuously throughout the short story,
hoping that they would become more open-minded towards their heritage.
OConnor reveals the theme of double standard once again, specifically between
admiration and ignorance, as the family is taken advantage of by a warranted band of thieves.

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The grandmother is assured that nothing will happen to her and her family as the criminals are
southern people as well. Her overconfidence in them results in her entire family being shot down
one by one, leaving her the only person left alive. Even near the end of her life, she converses
with her murderer, stating, Listen! I know you're a good man. You look a bit like you have
common blood. I know you must come from nice people!... "Why you're one of my babies.
You're one of my own children! (OConnor, A Good Man is Hard to Find). Her belief in the
goodness of southern people blinded her hindsight when it mattered most, ironically resulting in
the death of herself and her family. In retrospect, OConnors depiction of the character, the
grandmother, may not have been the most liberal of women, her expectations of respect correlate
greatly with the notions of feminism as far as equality. Within the ideologies of feminism,
creating a new image of women that speak for equality and justice level the attitude of society,
but the idea of being feministic is not completely disassociated. The grandmother, though
portraying slightly more conservative values, exemplifies this particular aspect of feminism, also
correlating within multiple works of OConnor.
The female characters within OConnors novel, Wise Blood, identify more with
OConnors personal writing style in comparison to the feministic attributes within previous
characters. Wise Blood portrays Hazel Motes, a self-identified preacher of the Church of Christ
without Christ, who is struggling with the concept of religious ethics, reflected upon his
experiences as a misfit within an exclusively strange town. Throughout the novel, the reader
finds three female characters: a prostitute named Leora Watts, a preachers daughter named
Sabbath Hawkes and a landlady named Mrs. Flood. All three characters interact with the main
character Hazel throughout different portions of the book, but all have a common theme:

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attraction. When Haze arrives in Taulkinham, he takes a cab to visit Ms. Leora, the town
prostitute. Their first interaction follows:
Something on your mind? Mrs. Watts asked, pulling his rigid figure closer.
Listen I come for the usual business.
Mrs. Wattss mouth became more round, as if she was perplexed at this waste of words.
Make yourself at home.
They stared at each other for almost a minute and neither moved. Then he said in a voice
that was higher than his usual voice.
What I mean to have you know is: Im no goddamn preacher.
Mrs. Watts eyed him steadily with only a slight smirk.
Thats okay, son. Momma dont mind if you aint a preacher. (OConnor, Wise Blood, 30)
Mrs. Watts, despite the fact that she is a prostitute, truly lives up to her title and can be
religiously described a person fraught with sin. From her saucy demeanor, the reader can infer
that she is interested in Hazel due to the fact that its in her job description to act accordingly, but
also that she finds a slight humor in teasing him about being a preacher as she is aware that he is
lying. Her attraction to him is merely out of curiosity for her own benefit and due to her line of
work, permanent attraction is not necessarily recommended. Though after a few days, despite
their illicit sexual relationship, Hazel moves on to a new experience as he is introduced the blind
preachers daughter. Leora has no relative ties to any attributes of feminism due to the type of
character she is. It can be inferred that OConnor created this character to ass obvious validity to

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Hazes claim about disconcerting himself with the existence of sin, goodness and religious
norms.
Hazels interaction with Sabbath Hawks heavily influences his path to redemption, yet in
retrospect, frustrates him as his struggles with denial fall between the notion of curiosity and
attraction. Hazel is first introduced to Sabbath as she crosses his path along with her blind
preacher father. Her attention is caught by Haze, as he slowly shreds the religious flyer given to
him by her. She is first shocked, then annoyed by his actions. Hazel, somewhat entranced by the
blind man and his daughter, he pursues them hastily. When Haze finally is caught up with them,
Sabbath is quite annoyed with him, stating, What do you mean? she shouted, I never looked
at you with no fast eye. I only watched you tearing up that tract. He tore it up in little piece
(OConnor, Wise Blood, 46). Hazel completely ignores her, as if he has never been curious in the
first place only conversing with the blind preacher, introduced as Asa Hawks, in which he has
moved his attention to. This reaction may be purely based off his stubborn attitude or a childish
act of playing hard to get. This interaction acts as the catalyst in the relationship between Hazel
and Sabbath as Hazel soon begins to use her as an advantage to continuously trump the blind
preacher in a strange, one-sided game of religious subjection.
Nevertheless, his conversation with the blind preacher motivates him to preach his own
word of testament, in defiance towards the older man in any way possible. Hazels infatuation
with the Hawks develops into a stalker-like relationship, as he moves into an apartment across
the hall from them. Hazel decides to subject Sabbath Hawks as a pawn in his game against Asa
Hawks. He continuously flirts with her around him on purpose, stating, I thought if your girl
wanted to give me so much eye, I might return her some of it; hoping he can prove to Asa
that even his own daughter can be stolen away by sin just as easily (OConnor, Wise Blood,

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104). Though later within story, in its irony, it is revealed that Asa is faade a man only
claiming to blind to receive attention, therefore losing the interest of Hazel, but not for Sabbath
Hawks.
On the contrary, Sabbath begins to see real attraction in him as she finds just as much
curiosity in him as Hazel finds in her father. The reader can infer that she identifies Hazel with
her father, in which she compares how similar the two men are while also comparing how similar
Haze is to her. She observes the fact that he is just as stubborn and resilient as her father, yet is
confused by what faith really is and finding out who is as an individual. Sabbath knows about the
path that Hazel is taking because she has experienced a similar path due to her unorthodox
upbringing with her hypocritical father. She begins to confide in him, telling him about her
parents, mentioning that Him and her wasnt married... and due to that fact, she is a bastard
child as she was conceived out of wedlock (OConnor, Wise Blood, 116). To Sabbath, this
moment defines the transcendence from curiosity to pseudo-romance in relation to the attraction
she feels towards Hazel. The validation of her feelings is further represented in the following
dialogue:
I can save you, she said. I got a church in my heart where Jesus is King.
He leaned in her direction, glaring.
I believe in a new kind of Jesus, he said. One that cant waste his blood redeeming people
with it. My church is the Church Without Christ!
She moved up closer to him.
Can a bastard be saved in it? She asked.

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Theres no such thing as bastard in the Church Without Christ, he said. Everything is all
one. A bastard wouldnt be any different from anybody else. (OConnor, Wise Blood, 120).
Even though Hazel has lost interest in her due him finding no use for her anymore, Sabbath is
too deeply connected with him and refuses to let her feelings go regardless if Hazel accepts
them or not. Her yearning for being accepted and loved have blinded her competence as her
chance for affection, even false affection, is more realistic than her dreams could ever give her.
In truth, Sabbath, is a harlot of sorts only seeking the attention of Hazel for the sole purpose of
attraction, as she holds no standards what she wants in the relationship or what she has to subject
herself to in order to receive this affection. She admits to her sultry mentality, stating:
From the minute I set my eyes on you I said to myself, thats what I got to have, just give
me some of him!...that innocent look dont hide a thing, hes just pure filthy right down to the
guts, like me. The only difference is I like being that way and he dont (OConnor, Wise
Blood, 169).
It is inferred that OConnor depiction of Sabbath is a flawed recreation of a false and twisted
Virgin Mary figure, attesting to Hazels claim to his becoming a prophet. Ultimately, Sabbaths
character is opposite of any feministic attributes as she represents the domesticity stereotypically
sought in women dependent on men for their purpose in life.
Within the conclusion of Wise Blood, character Mrs. Flood commits to a sudden change
of heart, contesting to Hazels lasts days of life. After his experience with Sabbath Hawks and
Hazel, ironically, subjecting himself to self-blindness, the landlady Mrs. Flood soon becomes his
caretaker after many months of his own self-loathing. She too, found herself attracted to him, but
only for the purpose of self-gain. Mrs. Flood, after finding out about his additional wealth due to

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his government pension, planned to marry Hazel and exploit him for his money. Though oddly
throughout her devious mentality, she lost her tenacity as she could not make up her mind what
would be inside his head and what out..., personally affecting her feelings toward Hazel. In all
ironies, she found herself in a romantic relationship with him instead. Before admitting her
feelings towards him, Hazel dies of illness, leading to her become the subject of unrequited love.
Throughout Wise Blood, each character OConnor depicted, specifically female characters did
not resonate with the feminism approach, similarly to characters in the authors previous works,
providing evidence that despite the characters physically being female, the aspects of feminism
do not relate with every female character OConnor created within her works.
Aspects of feminism, though assumed and implied by the reader, do resound within the
literature of Flannery OConnor, specifically through some of her characters. On a broader
scheme, her choice of controversial topics such as religious morality and transcendence widen
the opportunity to develop those strong, female characters like Mrs. Hopewell and Joy in Good
Country Folk and the Grandmother in A Good Man is Hard to Find. Though not all characters,
such as Sabbath Hawks and Mrs. Flood in Wise Blood did not relate to the core aspects of
feminism, most of the themes influence the basis of the character, therefore influencing the core
of the story, resonating with the author herself. OConnors unadulterated writing style relates
greatly to the passionate liberalism of the feminism ideology as her characters truly reflect the
attributes in both the authors wit and persona as well as feminism overall.

Works Cited

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Hyde Park Chapter, and Chicago Women's Liberation Union. "Socialist Feminism: A Strategy for
the Women's Movement." Socialist Feminism: A Strategy for the Women's Movement.
History Is a Weapon, n.d. Web. 07 Dec. 2014.
O'Connor, Flannery, and Frederick Asals. "Good Country Folk." A Good Man Is Hard to Find.
New Brunswick: Rutgers UP, 1993. N. pag. Print.
O'Connor, Flannery, and Frederick Asals. "A Good Man Is Hard to Find." A Good Man Is Hard
to Find. New Brunswick: Rutgers UP, 1993. N. pag. Print.
O'Connor, Flannery. Wise Blood. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1962. Print.