In the reprinted article “Light and Enlightenment in Flannery O'Connor's Fiction,” Maida (1976/2010) has substantiated her assertion that O’Connor used imagery of specific visual cues and carefully described her morally-flawed characters’ physical eyes in order to present themes of grace and spiritual illumination, either attained or disregarded, in their struggle towards redemption. Using extensive examples from O’Connor’s original stories and that author’s own profession of faith, Maida has proposed that such imagery pointed towards the tenets of Christianity, which most often constructed the solid underpinnings of thematic material in these fictional works. Methodically, Maida has identified three specific, meaningful images that repeatedly
