In one of Flannery O'Connor's...
Illustration
In one of Flannery O'Connor's finest stories, "Revelation," the central character is Mrs. Turpin, a large woman absolutely sure of her righteousness. With consummate skill and no small amount of humor, the author lays bare Mrs. Turpin's faults as the story proceeds. Only the readers see her faults. Mrs. Turpin has no idea they exist until, just before the end of the story, she suffers a vision.
Gazing at the sky, Mrs. Turpin suddenly witnesses a vast throng of souls thrashing towards heaven. To her shock, sheer lunatics stream before her. So do poor neighbors, uneducated folks, and people who look like they have just had a bath for the first time in their lives. At the very end of the procession she sees the only group she recognizes. They alone march in perfect step. Only they sing on key. They move with unimpaired dignity, and yet Mrs. Turpin can see from the stunned expression on their faces, that their self-supposed goodness is being seared away. Just as for the others, only by the grace of God are they in the procession at all.
Gazing at the sky, Mrs. Turpin suddenly witnesses a vast throng of souls thrashing towards heaven. To her shock, sheer lunatics stream before her. So do poor neighbors, uneducated folks, and people who look like they have just had a bath for the first time in their lives. At the very end of the procession she sees the only group she recognizes. They alone march in perfect step. Only they sing on key. They move with unimpaired dignity, and yet Mrs. Turpin can see from the stunned expression on their faces, that their self-supposed goodness is being seared away. Just as for the others, only by the grace of God are they in the procession at all.
