On May 12, 2007, Emory University will unveil the complete collection of letters from Flannery O'Connor to Elizabeth “Betty” Hester. Hester was, um, unorthodox, but it looks like the libertines will be sorely disappointed:
Hester was a lesbian and, at one point in their correspondence, she apparently comes out to O'Connor, he said. “Flannery responds to her in very human terms, in a very perceptive way. There are those who have speculated about their relationship,” he added, but there's no evidence they were anything but friends. “I'd characterize it as a spiritual relationship,” [Steve Enniss, director of Emory's Manuscripts, Archives and Rare Books Library] said.
Based on the description, those of us who have enjoyed The Habit of Being will enjoy this collection.
Faith and theology are the dominant themes in the letters, he said. “Flannery O'Connor is clearly trying to help Betty in her understanding of the Catholic faith in hopes of being of some spiritual comfort to Betty, who was wavering in her relationship with the church.”
Intermingled with all of these intense discussions are O'Connor's hilarious observations about her family, friends and life in Milledgeville, where the writer lived on a dairy farm with her mother, Regina. “Flannery O'Connor was funny, and her sense of humor comes out in abundance,” Enniss said. “She was a great stylist, not just as a short story writer and a novelist, but also as a letter writer.”
