Good Country Patriarchy

Flannery O’Connor’s story “Good Country People” (1955) is more than just a story of a bible sales man who seduces a bizarre girl and steals her fake leg.  It is a story filled with conquest, deceit and deformities, both internal and external, which are used to uncover the conflict between Hulga Hopewell and societal patriarchy. Hulga Hopewell does not follow the societal norms of patriarchy by creating her own patriarchy filled with masculine women in control who eventually even develop sexual desires. This constructs Hulga Hopewell as a monster through her conquest for higher education, relations with the Freeman’s, contrasts with her mother’s ideals, and the way Manly Pointer perceives her. All of these characteristics lead to her destruction by the deceit of Manly Pointer to show that women cannot create their own successful patriarchy.

            The root of the monster that is Hulga Hopewell is her education which she believes puts her above everyone else, and so her appearance is often described as ugly or masculine which shows how society wishes to tear her down from her higher place. She is described as “square and rigid-shouldered with her neck thrust slightly forward” (O’Connor 174). This creates a primal image of Hulga which makes her Ph. D. in philosophy seem even more out of place. Women are not supposed to need or want higher education because it is not needed in their societal role. So, Hulga is repeatedly described as “ugly” because society sees her this way. She is a woman who has done what is considered masculine by completing school and so she is no longer a woman. Her appearance, child-like and monstrous, directly contradicts her mentality, adult and proper. This paints the picture that it is silly, like a child, and fruitless, like Hulga’s life, to be a well educated female because her education will never be able to exempt her from the constraints of patriarchy. Mrs. Hopewell says, “She was brilliant but didn’t have a grain of sense” (O’Connor 175). This shows that she may have a Ph. D. in philosophy but because she has not done what society dictates for her she cannot have a successful existence and so must be destroyed. If she had common sense, she would settle down and care for someone besides herself. Although she is supposed to be an adult and having a family of her own as patriarchy dictates, she is a thirty-two year old child living with her mother and unmarried. If her doctrine meant anything, she would be “in a university lecturing to people who knew what she was talking about” (O’Connor 175). But these “people” do not exist. She could never prove her mentality to society because that is not what society dictates for her. Patriarchy says that a women’s only desire should be to care for her family and support them. Hulga has committed a great crime by desiring anything other than this. She has skipped over the rules of patriarchy by claiming to be above it and so society will destroy her for her unsuccessful existence.

By examining how Hulga treats the Freemen daughter’s and how Mrs. Freemen treats Hulga, Hulga is seen as an abomination in society that must be destroyed. “Glycerin and Caramel”, the nicknames that Hulga gives for Ms. Freeman’s daughters are significant because the names imply sweet and innocence characteristics to the angelic girls, things that Hulga does not have herself. They are praised as being “good country people” and “the finest girls [Ms. Hopewell] knew” (O’Connor 173). Both the girls are seen as successful in life through Ms. Hopewell’s eyes because they have many admirers and are well on their way to caring for their husbands and children. However, Hulga mocks them with the names showing her disproval of her mother’s ideals of women. Mrs. Freeman is always called a “lady” but she mocks Joy Hopewell by always calling her by her changed name, “Hulga” whenever Ms. Hopewell is not around. This contradiction shows Mrs. Freeman’s fascination with Hulga’s noncompliance too patriarchy and Mrs. Freedman attacks this by irritating Hulga with her own chosen name. She sees that Hulga is not like her own daughters and is not falling into the trap that patriarchy creates for women. Hulga instead has created her own false patriarchy that Mrs. Freeman does not understand but is still attracted too. Just like her fascination with Hulga’s internal deformity of her masculine power exemplified by her name, Mrs. Freemen is also attracted towards Hulga’s external deformity, the artificial leg. The leg is a phallic symbol of her masculine way of life even though she is a woman. Mrs. Freeman is enthused by this because she understands that it is not natural for Hulga to have power beyond the household and envy’s it herself. This is showing how Hulga’s artificial patriarchy is influencing women around her with a false hope of power, which society will take away, just like Manly Pointer takes away Hulga’s belief in herself and her leg.

                         Through the punishment of Mrs. Hopewell with the monster of Hulga Hopewell, Hulga is seen as an abnormal existence in society, something that her mother understands must change for her to survive in patriarchy. O’Connor writes, “Mrs. Hopewell, who had divorced her husband long ago […]” (O’Connor 174). Mrs. Hopewell has rejected patriarchy herself by dividing herself from her husband, which patriarchy dictates is the purpose of women, to support her family. So, Hulga’s creation of her own patriarchy is a punishment that her mother has to deal with. Mrs. Hopewell tries to change or influence Hulga to follow the rules of society by giving her the angelic name of Joy, and by providing guidance with her many repeated sayings. Her daughters original name, Joy Hopewell, gave her all the constraints of patriarchy and set her up to become the angel that society hopes for from a women, but Hulga liberates herself from this constraint when she changes her name. Mrs. Hopewell’s sayings such as; “nothing is perfect”, “everybody is different” and “that is life!” all show how she tolerates Hulga and allows her to continue her artificial patriarchy in her household (O’Connor 173). Her sayings are often directed to others besides Hulga, often to explain Hulga’s own rude demeanor. Mrs. Hopewell is covering up for Hulga’s false patriarchy because she does not know how to deal with it because it is so abnormal. Hulga’s heart condition and handicapped leg foreshadows the fact that she will be destroyed if Mrs. Hopewell does not convince her to change her ways. Mrs. Hopewell’s inability to stop Hulga from her continued monstrous ways ultimately leads to her demise by society when Manly Pointer does what society had dictated her mother to do, take away her false patriarchy.

            Manly Pointer, the Bible salesmen, treats Hulga in a different way than the other ladies in the story which brings out her monstrous qualities, which he then destroys by deceiving her into thinking she is in control. Originally, Manly Pointer acts the perfect “good country” person by always calling Ms. Hopewell a lady and taking a seemingly innocent interest in Hulga. Yet, he tricks Ms. Hopewell into inviting him into her home by making her think that he has a disease just like her daughter, pulling at her heart strings. Mrs. Hopewell is exemplified by her name in the sense that she is hoping that Manly Pointer is the cure to her daughter’s artificial patriarchy. Manly Pointer is also exemplified by his name because he has intentions to take away Hulga’s false patriarchy and also by inspiring Hulga to think abnormal thoughts towards men. Mrs. Freemen says it all when she says, “Some people are more alike than others” (O’Connor 179). This shows Manly Pointers means of deceit as he convinces Hulga that they are alike. He shows his true self to Hulga by revealing that he is more than just a Bible salesman, by attempting to understand her atheism. “That’s very unusual for a girl” and “it’s what makes you different.” says Manly Pointer and in doing so admits that Hulga does not conform to patriarchy and so must be destroyed (O’Connor 181-183). Manly Pointer does this by removing the physical form of Hulga’s patriarchy, her leg and says “Leave it off for a while. You got me instead” (O’Connor 184). By saying this, Manly Pointer has replaced Hulga’s false patriarchy and intelligence with his own patriarchy and deceit. This is because like women above patriarchy, the artificial leg is first and foremost a deformity that handicaps Hulga. Manly Pointer destroys Hulga by leaving her stranded without her sense of self-made patriarchy or her higher education. He does this because Hulga has gone against societal norms by creating her own power above patriarchy and so she cannot succeed in life.

The complex character of Hulga Hopewell has gained an artificial patriarchy of her own, which has made her unsuccessful in life because she has not obeyed the constraints of society on women. Through her demise by Manly Pointer, it is seen that women cannot replace patriarchy with one of their own because society needs women for support roles. As long as societal norms say that women are to support, not lead, households, then no woman can be successful at not complying with the patriarchy of society. Just as Manly Pointer takes away Hulga's confidence and her leg, which is the symbol of her power, leaving her stranded in the barn, society will destroy any sort of undermining patriarchy.

Works Cited Page

O'Connor, Flannery. "Good Country People." 1995. Literature: Approaches to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Ed. Robert DiYanni. 2nd ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2008. 172-185. Print.