The Violent Bear It Away

As O’Connor argues in her letters, the best way to reach readers with different beliefs is to present her philosophical concepts in extremity. Nowhere are these extremes more sharply drawn than in the dichotomy she strikes between Mason’s religious fundamentalism and Rayber’s secular rationality. Although O’Connor is a lifelong Catholic, the portrait she paints of Christianity through Mason is hardly flattering. For all his ravings against the sinners of the city, the man proves himself to be a hypocrite through repeated acts of kidnapping and violence. His shooting of Rayber in the leg and ear can reasonably be considered attempted murder and is therefore a sin. Moreover, Mason’s certainty in his status as a prophet and carrier of God’s word gives him an arrogance that contradicts O’Connor’s own view of faith as something that must be constantly questioned.

Yet if Mason is a poor representative of the Christian faith, Rayber may be an even worse emissary of secularism. His cultish devotion to reason precludes anything that cannot be explained rationally. This causes Rayber to reject a broad range of human emotions, from love and compassion to guilt and forgiveness. In addition, Rayber defines his worldview less by what it is and more by what it is not. Fear and hatred of religion, forged in the trauma of his childhood, is the animating force behind his perspective. Rayber’s attitude is akin to those of several Enlightenment philosophers including Denis Diderot, who at times seemed less interested in elevating reason and more interested in denigrating religion.

Given the uncharacteristic extremes to which these characters take their respective philosophies, a reader might question what exactly O’Connor brings to the broader debate of religion versus reason. This question, however, misses the point of the dichotomy as detailed in the book. Based on O’Connor’s own statements about the use of extremes in her work, her intent is not to wade into a qualitative argument over which viewpoint is more valid. Rather, her intent is to challenge readers on both ends of the religion-reason spectrum to question their assumptions. On one hand, reason without an acknowledgement of the spiritual leads to profound emptiness, as illustrated by the character of Rayber. On the other, religion that rejects everything that isn’t fundamental to one’s faith leads to violence, antisocial behavior, and often mental illness, as evidenced by Mason. Both religion and reason, when pushed to the extreme, lead to the same consequences: loneliness and a deficiency of compassion.

Various dualities emerge in The Violent Bear It Away. A duality is when two seemingly opposing qualities manifest in a single individual, concept, or act. The most dramatic example of this is Tarwater’s simultaneous baptism and drowning of Bishop, which is at once the most sacred rite in all of Christianity and a mortal sin of the most serious degree. This reflects a broader duality in Christianity, in which murder is generally prohibited yet frequently sanctioned, whether in holy wars or other deeds supposedly done on God’s behalf. The drowning/baptism also constitutes the rebuke of Rayber’s cult of rationality, as something cannot be two things at once under his worldview.

Yet Rayber is afflicted with many of his own dualities, the most significant of which involves his attitude toward Tarwater. When he looks at Tarwater, he can’t help but see the “irrational, backwoods, and ignorant” (100) independence of Mason take shape. Rayber frequently looks upon Tarwater and sees himself, as both are victims of Mason’s exploitation. To Rayber, Tarwater’s countenance is one of both abuser and abused, a reflection of how abuse victims often take on qualities of their tormentors. Even Tarwater’s name is a duality of sorts, at once symbolizing the black, poisonous qualities of tar and the clear, purifying qualities of water.

Finally, there are several spiritual dualities involving fire, water, and violence. In the book, fire both destroys and creates, metaphorically burning Mason but also cleansing him to receive the prophecies of Creation. Fire destroys the cabin at Powderhead, but it also sets in motion Tarwater’s path toward creating a new life for himself as a prophet. Water too encompasses multitudes and is capable of blessing and killing—or as the friend puts it, “water is made for more than one thing” (167). Violence in general is also viewed as both destructive and constructive, as both Tarwater’s rape and Bishop’s murder are steps on Tarwater’s journey toward revelation.