HaCKeRz Kr0nlcKLeZ 1/HaCKeRz Kr0nlcKLeZ.iso/anarchy/essays/schoolsucks/wiseblood.txt

Text File | 1996-04-27 | 7.2 KB | 112 lines

Sexuality in Wiseblood
That Heinous Beast: Sexuality

In the novel Wiseblood, by Flannery OÆConnor, one finds an unpleasant,
almost antagonistic view of sexuality. The author seems to regard sex as
an evil, and harps on this theme throughout the novel. Each sexual
incident which occurs in the novel is tainted with grotesquem. Different
levels of the darker side of sexuality are exposed, from perversion to
flagrant displays of nudity. It serves to give the novel a bit of a
moralistic overtone.
The "Carnival Episode" illustrated HazelÆs first experience with
sexuality. The author depicts an incident surrounded by an aura of
sinfulness. Indeed, the showÆs promoter claims that it is "SINsational."
In his anxiousness to view the sideshow, Haze resorted to lying about
his age. He was that eager to see it. When he enters the tent, Haze
observes the body of an obese naked woman squirming in a casket lined
with black cloth. He leaves the scene quickly.
This first bout with sexuality was certainly a grotesque one, and one
which, perhaps, helped fortify his resolve not to experiment with sex
for years to come. Haze reacted to the incident on different levels.
Before watching the "show," he was filled with curiosity. So badly he
wanted to view this "EXclusive" show. After glancing at the body, he
first thought that it was a skinned animal. When he realized what it
was, he at once left the tent, ashamed, and perhaps frightened of the
object before his eyes.
HazelÆs reaction was not unnatural. The sight with which he was
confronted would invoke both fear and embarassment within most
ten-year-olds. Not only was the body nude, but it was inside a casket as
well. The author parallels this vulgar display of sexuality with death
itself. But Hazel reacted to more than just the sight of the object. He
at once realizes that he was not supposed to watch the naked lady, that
it was sinful to do so. He feels ashamed for having gone inside the
tent, and punishes himself. Here, it is evident that the author means to
show that Sexuality is a sinful creature.
        This moral tone is reinforced by the behavior of his parents during the
episode. Whilst inside the tent, Hazel hears his father remark
appreciatively about the nude body: "Had one of themther built into
everÆ casket, be a heap ready to go sooner." After returning home,
HazelÆs mother realizes that her son has experienced something that he
should not have, and confronts him about it. Though he does not admit
what he has done, he proceeds to punish himself. It is inferred that
Hazel respects his motherÆs attitude toward the matter. OÆConnor seems
to propose that Hazel must do penance for what he has done, or, on a
larger scale, for witnessing vulgar displays of sexuality.
        Perversion reaches its height when OÆConnor introduces the reader to
Enoch Emery. During EnochÆs various dealings with women, one witnesses
vulgarity in all its forms. The events surrounding the first of these
incidents is tinged with a bit of mystery. OÆConnor paints the portrait
of a Peeping Tom, an adolescent Enoch Emery watching a topless woman
sunbathe while hidden in between abelia bushes.
Strangely enough, the woman has a "long and cadaverous" face, with a
"bandage-like bathing cap." Ironically, the woman also has pointed
teeth, with "greenish-yellow hair." The woman is portrayed as a
corpse-like figure who is surprisingly similar to HazelÆs one-time
mistress, Leora Watts. Sexuality comes in the form of a corpse, an
allusion not to be missed. The narrator depicts Sexuality as being
analogous to spiritual death.
In this episode, however, one sees more than just the grotesque. Enoch
Emery introduces us to the grimmer side of sexuality, a side in which a
predator spies on an unknowing woman, and gains pleasure from it. The
meaning behind the scene is somewhat masked by the lascivious behavior
of a typical eighteen year old, but its aim is clear. Here is sexuality
at its darker side: one in which women are violated unbeknownst to them.
EnochÆs other dealings with women are also on the perverse side. He
enjoys making "suggestive remarks" towards them. The fact that they do
not respond to him results from two things. Firstly, the women do not
find him appealing in the least bit. At the "Frosty Bottle," the
waitress refers to Enoch as a "pus-marked bastard," and a "son of a
bitch." Secondly, the author points out that sexuality and perversion in
all its forms is evil.
        Perhaps one of the most grotesque representations of sexuality in the
novel is found in Mrs. Leora Watts. The circumstances surrounding Haze
and LeoraÆs first encounter are rather distasteful. Hazel discovers her
address while inside a public bathroom, an incidence not to be taken
lightly. The author blatantly states her attitude toward prostitution:
that it originates within the most disgusting and disgraceful locales
of  society.
        The creature, Mrs. Leora Watts, is quite hideous, and grotesque in most
every manner. She is a large woman, with "yellow hair and white skin
that glistened with a greasy preparation." Her teeth were "small and
pointed and speckled with green and there was a wide space between each
one." When Hazel first meets her, she is cutting her toe nails, a task
not the most pleasing to witness. The room in which Leora Watts lives is
quite dirty. The atmosphere is not unlike that of a public bathroom.
        HazeÆs first sexual experience is an unpleasant one. It is almost as if
he has been captured and used by this monstrosity, when it was he who
initiated it. It is all the more ironic that it is a female prostitute
who is manhandling the male. The ceremony begins as Haze reaches for
LeoraÆs big leg. It is a rather strange action in that he does not
making any overt sexual advances towards her. He does not find her
appealing, he merely wants to have sex.
Through the course of the episode, Hazel behaves as if he were pained by
his own actions. When Leora grips his hand, he almost reacts violently.
In fact, "he might have leaped out the window, if she had not had him so
firmly by the arm." As she makes advances towards him, he moves rigidly
toward her. HazelÆs behavior is similar to that of a person doing
penance for sins committed. This is reminiscent of HazelÆs actions as a
child. OÆConnor manages to convert an often joyous and pleasurable
experience into a painstaking one.  Here, once again, we witness her
moralistic attitude toward sexuality: sex for pleasure ought to be
painful, for it is wrong.
        Through the depiction of Mrs. Leora Watts and HazelÆs first sexual
encounter, it is more than evident that the novel treats the subject of
sexuality in a distasteful manner. Leora Watts is the physical
manifestation of the authorÆs disdain for sexuality and prostitution.
She is both repulsive and grotesque. Sexuality is treated as an ugly
thing, and sex for pleasure is seen as immoral.
        In the novel Wiseblood, the reader is confronted with an antagonistic
and adverse view of sexuality. The novel represents sex as an evil, one
which encourages the basest forms of human behavior. Through individuals
like Leora Watts and Enoch Emery, the author depicts people whom have
reached the depths of perversion and the grotesque.