“God May Strike you Thisaway”: Flannery O’Connor and Simone Weil on Affliction and Joy

Publication Type

Book Chapter

Year of Publication

2010

Author

Wood, Ralph C.

Editor

Hewitt, Avis

Book

Flannery O'Connor in the Age of Terrorism: Essays on Violence and Grace

Pages

41-57

Publisher

University of Tennessee Press

Place Published

Knoxville, TN

Language

English

Keywords

affliction (malheur)
love of God
necessity
'theology of the cross'

Annotation

Although focused on Flannery O’Connor, Wood uses Weil to defend O’Connor against the charges of being ‘fundamentally malevolent’ in the repeated portrayal of human destruction in her novels. In so doing, Wood’s article provides an interesting and insightful discussion of Weil’s work, especially her notions of affliction (malheur), necessity, the love of God, and a theology of the cross

Notes

Previously published in 2007 in Renascence 59 (3):181-195