Flannery O’Connor and Simone Weil: A Question of Sympathy
Publication Type |
Journal Article |
Year of Publication |
2005 |
Author |
|
Journal |
Logos: A Journal of Catholic Thought and Culture |
Volume |
8 |
Number |
1 |
Pages |
102-116 |
Language |
English |
Publish Dates |
Winter |
section |
102 |
Keywords |
asceticism |
Annotation |
Desmond traces O’Connor’s reading of and response to Weil’s work over a seven-year period and the impact this reading had on the development of O’Connor’s work. Drawing on O’Connor’s explicit discussion of Weil as well as her treatment of themes central to Weil’s religious thought, Desmond argues that while O’ Connor recognized much of value in Weil’s writing she also found much to criticize. Especially problematic for O’Connor, Desmond argues, was Weil’s extreme individualism, which led to her refusal to join the church, her ignoring of Christ’s resurrections in her focus on his suffering, her extreme asceticism and her tendency to intellectual reductionism in matters of faith. |