Sexuality in Wiseblood

A detailed Summary of Sexuality in Wiseblood

In the novel Wiseblood, by Flannery O'Connor, 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 Hazel's first experience with sexuality. The author depicts an incident surrounded by an aura of sinfulness. Indeed, the show's 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 want

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.

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. Enoch's 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 Leora's 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.

Haze's first sexual expe

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Approximate Word count = 1218
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English