Flannery O'Connor (Twayne's Studies in Short Fiction) (No 2) [Hardcover]

Suzanne M. Paulson (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 232 pages
• Publisher: MacMillan Publishing Company.; 1ST edition (October 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805783016
• ISBN-13: 978-0805783018
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,990,212 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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5.0 out of 5 stars Examines the impact of modernism on O'Connor's life and art as seen in her themes and literary techniques; offers 25 essays..., August 3, 2008

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R. Neil Scott "Writer, Professor & User Servi... (Murfreesboro, TN USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Flannery O'Connor (Twayne's Studies in Short Fiction) (No 2) (Hardcover)

Paulson exmines the influence of modernism on Flannery O'Connor; examining "O'Connor's 'modern consciousness' to [help] explain why her work at first glance seems 'different' and to suggest a more balanced approach than the strictly theological one that dominates most criticism on O'Connor today."

The book is divided into three parts.

Part 1, "The Short Fiction: A Critical Analysis," outlines the variety of themes and literary techniques O'Connor displayed in her short fiction. Paulson identifies a predominant character type -- "Death-Haunted Questers" -- and, four recurring types of conflict in her stories: Male/Female, Class, Racial, and Good/Evil.

Part 2, "The Writer: Selected Comments by O'Connor, Her Friends, Her Mentors, Her Editors, and Her Critics," is intended to provide readers with "a selection of O'Connor's own comments on her art, her reader, and her community." Selections are included to illustrate "interesting interrelationships" of authorial commentary. Considers her Introduction to A Memoir of Mary Ann as the most important excerpt in this section.

Part 3, "The Critics," includes reprints and excerpts of 25 critical essays, a chronology of O'Connor's life, honors and work, and a bibliography of primary and secondary sources.

States that the 25 essays included are intended, not only for readers "familiar with The Complete Stories but [also for those] just beginning a study of the criticism." Advises that the selections were chosen "to reconcile some of the differences in the critical canon" as well as to provide "thoughtful interpretations representing diverse judgments about O'Connor's short fiction generally."

The selections include:

Quinn, Sister M. Bernetta. "Flannery O'Connor and the Catholic Writer": (154-56).

Levy, Maurice. "Catholic Writing and Universal Themes of Suffering": (157-59).

Curley, Dan. "Flannery O'Connor and Moral Relativism": (159-61).

Fitzgerald, Robert. "Flannery O'Connor and the Modern Consciousness": (161-64).

Eggenschwiler, David. "Wholeness, Incompleteness, and Estrangement: Flannery O'Connor and Christian Humanism": (164-68).

Myers, David A. "Fragmentation and Angst in 'The Displaced Person'": (169-70).

Le Clezio, J.M.G., "The Parent's Fear of Death in Modern Civilization": (170-72).

Heller, Arno. "The Developing Self in the Modern World": (172-73).

Klug, M.A. "Flannery O'Connor and the Artist" (173-75).

Gresset, Michel. "Flannery O'Connor and the South" (176-77). Trans. C. Frederick Farrell, Jr. and Edith R. Farrell.

Gordon, Sarah. "Flannery O'Connor and Realism" (177-80).

Rubin, Louis D., Jr. "Flannery O'Connor and Southern Fiction" (180-82).

Driskell, Leon V. and Joan T. Brittain. "Flannery O'Connor and the Bible" (182-84).

Bleikasten, Andre. "Flannery O'Connor, Freud, and Lacan" (185-88).

Jones, Bartlett C. "Flannery O'Connor and Depth Psychology" (188-90).

[Kahane], Claire Katz. "Flannery O'Connor's Sadistic Wit." (191-95).

Westling, Louise. "Feminine Identity." (195-98).

Browning, Preston M. "O'Connor's Clinical Understanding of Neurosis." (199-210).

Morton, Mary L. "O'Connor and Jung." (201-03).

Asals, Frederick. "The Terrifying, the Comic, and the Melodramatic." (204-07).

Currie, Sheldon. "Flannery O'Connor's Comic Imagery." (207-09).

Kessler, Edward. "Flannery O'Connor's Poetic Imagery." (209-13).

Richard, Claude. "Flannery O'Connor and Narratology." (213-18).

Drake, Robert. "Flannery O'Connor's Compassion." (218-19).

Walters, Dorothy. "The Lack of Beauty in Flannery O'Connor's Work." (220-23).


R. Neil Scott / Middle Tennessee State University