In this sweeping introduction to O’Neill’s work as an American dramatist, Dr. White argues the relevance and even necessity of understanding literature, history, and Catholicism in order to appreciate the significance of O’Neill’s play. Explaining that O’Neill was the creator of a genuine American drama, White also suggests that he could not have done so without his Catholicism, nor, the doctor provocatively maintains, without losing it. This introduction to O’Neill is consequently a tour de force review of the history of the interaction between Americanism, Modernism, and Catholicism on the cultural, literary, and artistic battlefields of the beleaguered nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Dr. White describes “The Temple of the Holy Ghost” as a gentle piece of work punctuated, however, with grotesque elements. He characterizes O’Connor as a great Catholic artist of our own time and extols this story as one of her few, if not only, openly Catholic works. The title, according to White, speaks to the essence of “matter” and “spirit.”
Here Dr. White makes passing reference to O’Connor’s affection for the films of W.C. Fields, as he segues into a discussion of “Everything That Rises Must Converge.” White characterizes this story as frightening, and one in which O’Connor presents an empty, dead world wherein she deals with intellectual pride and the racism of the deep South in a bygone era.
Here Dr. White makes passing reference to O’Connor’s affection for the films of W.C. Fields, as he segues into a discussion of “Everything That Rises Must Converge.” White characterizes this story as frightening, and one in which O’Connor presents an empty, dead world wherein she deals with intellectual pride and the racism of the deep South in a bygone era.
In this talk Dr. White discusses O’Connor’s “A Good Man is Hard to Find” within the context of the four stages of violent charity; which like Christ’s suffering is a charity that wounds. He opines that it is O’Connor’s vision that the modern world is mad, sealed off from God’s grace. Dr. White discusses what he describes as the comic first half of the story along with the shocking second half.
In order for a Catholic writer to reach a wide audience with his Catholic message, he must rarely mention the faith. There are many for whom the mention of religion sends them out of the room, the very ones who may most need the message most. And for those whom religion is a topic of interest, they only want something light and moving. Thus, The Loved One meets both of these obstacles: it is Catholic without saying it is Catholic and carries messages of deep religious meaning. Evelyn Waugh was invited to Hollywood to negotiate the making of Brideshead Revisited into a movie. The talks failed. While there he was taken to visit Forest Lawn Cemetery, the famous final resting place of the movie industries brightest stars. It told him everything he needed to know about Tinsel Town. It inspired the book. He sets out to make five points: Over excitement (exaggeration), the Anglo American impasse (we have nothing in common), no such thing as an American (we are all foreigners), the European raiders, and memento morte (thought of death.) He warns his readers in the beginning of the book not to read the book. Do not take his advice. Read the book.
