GOOD COUNTRY PEOPLE

Written by

HEATHER KING

in

, , ,

“Listen to him,” says the Father at Christ’s Transfiguration, mirroring Mary’s injunction to the wedding guests at Cana.

Boy, do I like to do the opposite, endlessly nattering on, sharing my projects and plans, presenting my well-reasoned Pharisaical defenses of the faith to Christ–Christ!

This morning I was reflecting that Jesus suffered on the cross, and continues to suffer, so that the gate may remain open a crack–the narrow gate that few will enter because I, for one, so mightily resist dying to myself, taking the last place, surrendering completely…

Anyway, here’s a video I worked up yesterday in a burst of enthusiasm…

Flannery O’Connor’s stories, like the parables of Christ, open up many more questions than tney answer.

This is a reflection on one of my all-time favorites: “Good Country People.”

Comments

12 responses to “GOOD COUNTRY PEOPLE”

  1. Anne Fountain Avatar
    Anne Fountain

    Thank you, Heather, for sharing your thoughts on “Good Country People”. Flannery O’Connor should be one of my favorite authors. I love her style and odd plot twists, and I know she was deeply Catholic – I just never had one of her stories cracked open like this. It’s funny that about a month ago I was going to ask you to write/say something about her works…and here – such a “coincidence”. Please do more.

    Reply
    1. HEATHER KING Avatar
      HEATHER KING

      Thank you, Anne! That IS a coincidence! There are several more I’d love to unpack but need to carefully read…will put on my to-do list. “The Enduring Chill” may be next…

      Reply
  2. Charlotte Avatar
    Charlotte

    I stopped watching last night so I could read (reread?) the story, and was so disturbed by the end that I couldn’t listen to the video until today. But you give me hope that IF Joy/Hulga has any hope of redemption, it will happen through being laid so low. I’m not sure she won’t block the grace even here, but I see it’s an open door for her to let some Truth in. And that’s why it’s such a good story, or one of many reasons, because she really might not—and that, is apparently how it goes with us: all too often, we slam the door on grace. The good thing is God gives us another chance and another. Thanks for all the connections to what’s going on now and the delusions of women re sexual control. How to get it across to vulnerable young women who buy into the lies as I did?? I subbed for a pre-confirmation class yesterday, 14YO girls, and I don’t have a clue how you reach them.
    One other thing. I agree with your comment that FO’C is many-layered, almost like Scripture. After I read it, as I was washing dishes or making tea or whatever, I watched the contents of my thoughts, and found them very much like something out of a FOC story. Mean and ugly and self-aggrandizing. Like when you read Scripture and meet yourself in every sinner.

    Reply
    1. HEATHER KING Avatar
      HEATHER KING

      Agreed right down the line, Charlotte…amazing that even now, when the culture is so thoroughly jaded, that FO still has the power to shock…so much more to think about, just in this story, never mind her many others…writing is one way to reach the young (and any) people…or the way I know best, even if the work can seem so seldom to avail…still, giving it our all and really disciplining ourselves to let go of so much else in our lives in favor of sitting down each day to write is its own form of “teaching” or example or whatever…even if only to ourselves!

      Reply
  3. Donna Avatar
    Donna

    Thank you for taking this short story apart and giving me a greater understanding of the symbolism and meaning that lie under the surface story. I read it years ago, but didn’t really see what O’Connor was giving me to see. Your explanation helped very much. I remember being horrified and still worried about her glasses. Is there a reason why the glasses go into his pocket? Thank you, Heather

    Reply
    1. HEATHER KING Avatar
      HEATHER KING

      Hi Donna, the way I read it, he takes her glasses because they are another crutch she has to rely on…he takes them, and puts them in his pocket out, both out of her reach and within his. So he’s commandeering her power to himself, and also simply being horribly cruel. And then there’s the whole “vision” aspect to glasses…the story talks about her own vision, spiritual and physical, quite a bit. She doesn’t notice things anyway…doesn’t care for beauty…also there’s that great line near the beginning that says something to the effect that she had as a GOAL to remain wilfully blind to the world…so maybe FO on one level is also saying be careful what you ask for…whata we deeply long for, right or wrong, often comes into being…also she’s def going to have to ask her loathed mother Mrs. Hopewell to get her another pair of glasses…so though she likes to think of herself as fiercely independent and forging her own path, like all of us, she is dependent upon the kindness and help of others…

      Reply
  4. Elizabeth Avatar
    Elizabeth

    Thought of you this morning, Heather, when I saw this piece.

    https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/20/arts/design/flannery-oconnors-paintings-georgia-college.html?unlocked_article_code=1.5k4.s8lT.KUXNL4kKrvXE&smid=url-share

    Reply
    1. HEATHER KING Avatar
      HEATHER KING

      Thank you, Elizabeth! Wonderful that her paintings are coming to light…

      Reply
  5. Donna Avatar
    Donna

    Thank you, Heather, for the further illumination. What an amazing author she was.

    Reply
    1. HEATHER KING Avatar
      HEATHER KING

      yep!

      Reply
  6. Susan Manus Avatar
    Susan Manus

    I have wanted to read this story for a while so I checked this book out from the library and finally read it. Excellent story! Thanks for your commentary.

    Reply
    1. HEATHER KING Avatar
      HEATHER KING

      Fantastic, Susan, I’m so glad you read the story…the more I think about it, the more, as I said, I know I barely scratched the story…

      Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More posts

Discover more from

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading