Flannery O’Connor’s 1952 novel, Wise Blood, is a frequently misunderstood classic. While O’Connor is very rarely associated with reader response theory, its framework offers a way to more fully appreciate O’Connor as an author and Wise Blood as a novel while addressing aspects of critics’ confusion. The objective of this study is to consider a previously under-researched area of O’Connor scholarship while offering greater clarity to Wise Blood. By considering O’Connor’s personal nonfiction writing and the text of her first novel through the lens of reader response scholars such as Wolfgang Iser, this study offers a call towards viewing the works of O’Connor through a greater methodology.
","abstract_html":"<p>Flannery O’Connor’s 1952 novel, <em>Wise Blood, </em>is a frequently misunderstood classic. While O’Connor is very rarely associated with reader response theory, its framework offers a way to more fully appreciate O’Connor as an author and <em>Wise Blood</em> as a novel while addressing aspects of critics’ confusion. The objective of this study is to consider a previously under-researched area of O’Connor scholarship while offering greater clarity to <em>Wise Blood</em>. By considering O’Connor’s personal nonfiction writing and the text of her first novel through the lens of reader response scholars such as Wolfgang Iser, this study offers a call towards viewing the works of O’Connor through a greater methodology.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Stewart, Hannah Rose Horton"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts - English","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"English","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Dr. Sue Whatley","Dr. Michael Martin","Dr. John McDermott"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2024,"date_issued":"2024-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2024-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:30:45Z","subjects":["Flannery O'Connor","Wolfgang Iser","Wise Blood","Reader Response Theory","Reader Response","Literature in English, North America"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/562","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Dr. Sue Whatley","Dr. Michael Martin","Dr. John McDermott"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Stewart, Hannah Rose Horton"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2024-08-01T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["English"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts - English"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Flannery O'Connor","Wolfgang Iser","Wise Blood","Reader Response Theory","Reader Response","Literature in English, North America"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/562"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Flannery O’Connor’s 1952 novel, Wise Blood, is a frequently misunderstood classic. While O’Connor is very rarely associated with reader response theory, its framework offers a way to more fully appreciate O’Connor as an author and Wise Blood as a novel while addressing aspects of critics’ confusion. The objective of this study is to consider a previously under-researched area of O’Connor scholarship while offering greater clarity to Wise Blood. By considering O’Connor’s personal nonfiction writing and the text of her first novel through the lens of reader response scholars such as Wolfgang Iser, this study offers a call towards viewing the works of O’Connor through a greater methodology.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["WISE BLOOD THROUGH THE LENS OF READER RESPONSE THEORY"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Dr. Sue Whatley","Dr. Michael Martin","Dr. John McDermott"],"dc:creator":["Stewart, Hannah Rose Horton"],"dc:date.available":["2024-08-01T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Flannery O’Connor’s 1952 novel, Wise Blood, is a frequently misunderstood classic. While O’Connor is very rarely associated with reader response theory, its framework offers a way to more fully appreciate O’Connor as an author and Wise Blood as a novel while addressing aspects of critics’ confusion. The objective of this study is to consider a previously under-researched area of O’Connor scholarship while offering greater clarity to Wise Blood. By considering O’Connor’s personal nonfiction writing and the text of her first novel through the lens of reader response scholars such as Wolfgang Iser, this study offers a call towards viewing the works of O’Connor through a greater methodology.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/562"],"dc:subject":["Flannery O'Connor","Wolfgang Iser","Wise Blood","Reader Response Theory","Reader Response","Literature in English, North America"],"dc:title":["WISE BLOOD THROUGH THE LENS OF READER RESPONSE THEORY"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["English"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts - English"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:30:45Z"}