English Language and Literature Commons^™

"God Made Me Thisaway": Mary Wilkins Freeman, Flannery O'Connor, And Religiosity As Challenge To Heteronormativity, Anna M. Worm

Masters Theses

The fiction of Mary Wilkins Freeman and Flannery O'Connor, especially Freeman's “A New England Nun” and “The Balsam Fir” and O'Connor's “A Temple of the Holy Ghost” and “Good Country People,” expose and challenge heteronormativity. Consideration of heteronormativity and compulsory heterosexuality, as well as religious themes demonstrates the way their works offer an avenue of challenge for characters struggling with societal forces that push them towards an unwanted or unfulfilling heterosexuality. Although Freeman's works suggest that a satisfactory life outside heterosexual norms is unrealistic, with community alienation the price for resistance, she envisions religion a valuable tool in such resistances. …