The actor Ethan Hawke has made a movie titled "Wildcat," about the iconic Southern writer Flannery O’Connor. Hawke's been making the rounds on various media outlets lately. While the film has a limited release, it should be available soon. I’m looking forward to it. As O’Connor once remarked, her life is not very interesting in and of itself, but Hawke chose to make a movie about this writer’s imagination. The cinematography alone looks intriguing. You can get a glimpse of the film by watching the trailer here.

Flannery O'Connor was born in Savannah, Georgia, in 1925. She spent most of her life in Milledgeville, Georgia, where she crafted her distinctive literary voice. O'Connor is known for her dark, grotesque, and often violent short stories that explore themes of faith, morality, and redemption. Her unique style and unflinching portrayal of the human condition have solidified her place as a pivotal author in American literature. Tragically, O'Connor's life was cut short at the age of 39 when she died from lupus in 1964, leaving behind a powerful legacy that continues to captivate and challenge readers to this day. You can find her work in several places, including The Complete Stories. But, if you are an audiobook listener, I highly recommend the collection Everything that Rises Must Converge. The readings are dramatic and quite powerful.

As I've been reading O'Connor's short stories lately, I can't help but notice a connection to Carl Jung's theory of the Shadow in human psychology. The Shadow refers to the unconscious, repressed, or denied aspects of the self, often associated with negative or socially unacceptable traits. According to Jung, integrating the Shadow is a crucial step in the individuation process, which is the journey towards becoming a whole and self-aware individual.

Imagine my surprise when I learned Flannery O'Connor read Jung in the late 1950s. She comments on Jung's theories in her 1959 book, The Habit of Being. She writes that Jung's psychology could only be "in helping the person face his own psychic realities." While O'Connor is not overly thrilled with Jung's emphasis on a personal religion rather than her preference for traditional Catholic dogma, she still acknowledges his studies, especially in the realm of the religious significance of dreams.  

Elsewhere in her copy of Jung's Modern Man in Search of a Soul, she marked the following passage on the Shadow:

“For what is inferior or even worthless belongs to me as my Shadow and gives me substance and mass. How can I be substantial if I fail to cast a shadow? I must have a dark side also if I am to be whole, and inasmuch as I become conscious of my Shadow, I also remember that I am a human being like any other." (qt in Kinney p 86)

By underlining this passage, O’Connor focuses on the Shadow and its pervasiveness in humanity, and we see that in her writings, which are deeply infused with the presence of the Shadow, as seen through her grotesque and flawed characters who embody the darker aspects of human nature. In her short story "A Good Man Is Hard to Find," the grandmother is a selfish and manipulative character who constantly imposes her will on others. O'Connor writes, "She would of been a good woman if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life."[1] In the story, this line is spoken by the Misfit, a notorious criminal who encounters the grandmother and her family during their road trip. The quote reflects the Misfit's perspective on the grandmother's superficial and self-serving nature, suggesting that only the constant threat of violence could keep her in check.

In Flannery O'Connor's writing, characters' encounters with their Shadows often serve as catalysts for spiritual revelation and epiphany. In her short story "Revelation," the protagonist, Mrs. Turpin, is a self-righteous woman who looks down on others based on their social class and race. However, when confronted by a young girl who calls her a "wart hog from hell," Mrs. Turpin is forced to confront her Shadow, leading to a profound realization about her pride and the nature of divine grace. O'Connor writes, "Until the sun slipped finally behind the tree line, Mrs. Turpin remained there with her gaze bent to them as if she were absorbing some abysmal life-giving knowledge" (O'Connor, "Revelation" 508). This encounter with her Shadow leads Mrs. Turpin to a deeper understanding of herself and her relationship with God.  

But Flannery O'Connor does not give you grace wrapped up in a cute little bow that is made easy to see. You've got to look hard and deep for grace in her stories, and even when you find it, you're likely to encounter a mix of motivations.

For O'Connor, the Shadow serves as a means to grace and redemption. She believed in the transformative power of suffering and self-confrontation, viewing the Shadow as a necessary step in the journey towards spiritual growth. In her own words, "I have found, in short, from reading my own writing, that my subject in fiction is the action of grace in territory largely held by the devil" (O'Connor, "On Her Own Work" 118). By forcing her characters to face their Shadows, O'Connor leads them to better understand their failings and the need for divine grace. While often painful and challenging, this process is essential for spiritual revelation and transformation. As she states in her essay "The Fiction Writer & His Country," "I see from the standpoint of Christian orthodoxy. This means that for me the meaning of life is centered in our Redemption by Christ and that what I see in the world I see in its relation to that" (O'Connor, Mystery and Manners 32).

Through the presence of the Shadow in her writing, O'Connor explores the complex relationship between sin, suffering, and redemption, ultimately affirming the power of grace to transform even the darkest aspects of the human soul. She may not have been enamored with all of Carl Jung's ideas, but they resonate. They share similar themes on the complexities of human nature. Each shares a portrayal of the darker aspects of the self and how bringing it to consciousness is a part of the path to human wholeness and redemption. Jung's significance is in a psychological perspective on religion and life. O’Connor’s enduring significance lies not only in her groundbreaking contributions to American literature but also in the timeless nature of her insights, which continue to shed light on the shadows that reside within us all.

Until next Time,

 This essay appears in the May 10 edition of my Substack Newsletter. Click here to subscribe for free and not miss an issue.

James Hazelwood is the bishop of the New England Synod—ELCA Lutheran. He is also a Spiritual Director and Coach in Depth Psychology and the Christian Mystical Tradition. He is the author of several books, including Ordinary Mysteries: Faith, Doubt, and Meaning, which is available now.

Works Cited:

Kinney, Arthur F. Ed. Flannery O’Connor’s Library: Resources of Being. Athens: U of Georgia Press, 1985.

O'Connor, Flannery. "Revelation." The Complete Stories. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1971.

---. "On Her Own Work." Mystery and Manners: Occasional Prose. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1969,  

---. "The Fiction Writer & His Country." Mystery and Manners: Occasional Prose. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1969.

---. "A Good Man Is Hard to Find." A Good Man Is Hard to Find and Other Stories. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1955.

[1] O'Connor, Flannery. "A Good Man Is Hard to Find." A Good Man Is Hard to Find and Other Stories — Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1955, p. 133.