Flannery O'Connor's Complete Stories

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There was a small reference to one of Flannery O'Connor's stories, “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”, and in particular the line “She would have been a good woman, if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life.” - although I can't remember the context of the reference now...

O'Connor writes about the American South, writing, mainly, during the 1950s & 1960s, what were at the time broadly contemporary tales. As such many of her characters have attitudes about race that are totally unacceptable to modern ears, but O'Connor gives them voice only for them to pour ridicule onto themselves.

I found that while the these stories are short I was not able to read more than a couple at a time, in part because the writing is dense and rich, but also because the central characters are often far from likeable. She observes human nature so well, but it is the bitterness and small mindedness that comes to the fore.

This is mostly the context for their racism, they seek any small “advantage” on which to claim superiority – they will equal take the tiny distinctions of class, what makes them “respectable” or a cut above the masses.

While these are stories of a different era, and many of the distinctions that are important to the characters have faded into irrelevance (although perhaps that it is less than certain in the case of race), the mindset endures, the distinctions may have changed but people still find plenty of ways to reassure themselves that they are better than the rest.

There is a powerful authenticity about the characters, and I think that is what makes them a challenging read – if they were more outlandish caricatures then you could stand back and laugh. But instead O'Connor draws you in, holds up a mirror to society, and it is perhaps a little too close for comfort.

There is often a moral to the tale, but while there is lesson set before them the characters seem only occasionally to learn from it. Redemption is a pretty rare commodity in O'Connor's world – and maybe it is the painful truth that it is rare in our world too...