THE SHADOW SIDE OF GRACE: FLANNERY O’CONNOR’S WISE BLOOD AS NEKYIA

Abstract

Flannery O’Connor’s Wise Blood is a text full of rich symbolism, a metaphoric landscape which is best understood using an integration of literary and depth psychological hermeneutics. Applying an anagogical framework to the novel, an interpretive approach meant to reveal spiritual meaning, makes it possible to see through the world of O’Connor’s Taulkinham, the fictional setting for the novel, to that of the biblical, and, once the parallel between the modern and the mythic is established, the interpretation is further enhanced by identifying the novel as a nekyia, a descent to the realm of the dead, which can also be seen as an inner descent into the unconscious, a concept developed by Sigmund Freud, C. G. Jung, James Hillman, and Evans Lansing Smith. The nekyia is symbolically portrayed in Hazel Motes’ travels throughout the city. In addition to the symbolism of the story itself, the process of writing Wise Blood can be seen as O’Connor’s personal nekyia. Lupus hospitalized the young author before she was able to complete the first draft of the novel. This unexpected and devastating reminder of mortality forced O’Connor to confront her own fears and to come to terms with the reality of the disease that would kill her twelve years after Wise Blood’s publication.