“The Enduring Chill” – Flannery O’Connor

Vocabulary

  1. Potentate - a monarch or ruler, especially an autocratic one.
  1. Turrets - a small tower on top of a larger tower or at the corner of a building or wall, typically of a castle.
  1. Dilapidated - in a state of disrepair or ruin as a result of age or neglect.
  1. Resigned - having accepted something unpleasant that one cannot do anything about.
  1. Ferocity - the state or quality of being ferocious
  1. Frayed - (of a person's nerves or temper) showing the effects of strain.
  1. Indignations - anger or annoyance provoked by what is perceived as unfair treatment.
  1. Bodhisattva- (in Mahayana Buddhism) a person who is able to reach nirvana but delays doing so out of compassion in order to save suffering beings.
  1. Nirvana - (in Buddhism) a transcendent state in which there is neither suffering, desire, nor sense of self, and the subject is released from the effects of karma and the cycle of death and rebirth. It represents the final goal of Buddhism.
  1. Vedanta - one of the sixorthodox (āstika)schools ofIndian philosophy.All Vedanta schools, in their deliberations, concern themselves with the following three categories but differ in their views regarding the conception of the categories and the relations between them: Brahman– the ultimate metaphysical reality; Ātman/Jivātman– the individual soul or self; Prakriti– the empirical world,ever-changingphysical universe, body and matter.
  1. Fez - a flat-topped conical red hat with a black tassel on top, worn by men in some Muslim countries (formerly the Turkish national headdress).
  1. Taciturn - (of a person) reserved or uncommunicative in speech; saying little.
  1. Sari - Asari,saree, orshari[note 1]is a female garment from theIndian subcontinent[1]that consists of a drape varying from five to nineyards(4.5 metres to 8 metres) in length[2]and two to four feet (60cm to 1.20 m) in breadth[3]that is typically wrapped around the waist, with one end draped over the shoulder, baring the midriff.
  1. Quarter - One leg of an animal's carcass, usually including the adjoining parts.
  1. Guernsey - a breed ofcattleused indairy farming. It is orange/red and white in colour, and is particularly renowned for the rich flavour of itsmilk, as well as its hardiness and docile disposition.
  1. Pinion – (noun) the outer part of a bird's wing including the flight feathers. (verb) cut off the pinion of (a wing or bird) to prevent flight.
  1. Depending – to hang down
  1. Kafka – Franz Kafka was aGerman-languagewriter of novels and short stories who is widely regarded as one of the major figures of20th-century literature. His work, which fuses elements ofrealismand thefantastic,typically features isolated protagonists faced by bizarre or surrealistic predicaments and incomprehensible social-bureaucraticpowers, and has been interpreted as exploring themes ofalienation,existential anxiety,guilt, andabsurdity.Kafka's writing has inspired the term "Kafkaesque", used to describe concepts and situations reminiscent of his work, particularlyDer Process(The Trial) and "Die Verwandlung" (The Metamorphosis). Examples include instances in which bureaucracies overpower people, often in a surreal, nightmarish milieu which evokes feelings of senselessness, disorientation, and helplessness. Characters in a Kafkaesque setting often lack a clear course of action to escape a labyrinthine situation. Kafkaesque elements often appear in existential works, but the term has transcended the literary realm to apply to real-life occurrences and situations that are incomprehensibly complex, bizarre, or illogical. (On the reference to Kafka’s Letter to His Father….): Letter to His Father(German:Brief an den Vater) is the name usually given to the letterFranz Kafkawrote to his fatherHermannin November 1919, indicting him for hisemotionally abusiveand hypocritical behavior towards him.Kafka hoped the letter would bridge the growing gap between him and his father, though in the letter he provides a sharp criticism of both:

"Dearest Father,

You asked me recently why I maintain that I am afraid of you. As usual, I was unable to think of any answer to your question, partly for the very reason that I am afraid of you, and partly because an explanation of the grounds for this fear would mean going into far more details than I could even approximately keep in mind while talking. And if I now try to give you an answer in writing, it will still be very incomplete…”

According toMax Brod, Kafka actually gave the letter to his mother to hand on to his father. His mother never delivered the letter but returned it to her son. The original letter, 45 pages long, was typewritten by Kafka and corrected by hand. Two and a half additional pages were written by hand.

  1. Mastitis - inflammation of the mammary gland in the breast or udder, typically due to bacterial infection via a damaged nipple or teat.
  1. Communion - the sharing or exchanging of intimate thoughts and feelings, especially when the exchange is on a mental or spiritual level. Also, the service of Christian worship at which bread and wine are consecrated and shared. Also known as the Eucharist, Holy Communion, the Lord's Supper, Mass, "the breaking of the bread during Communion".
  1. Jesuit-member of the Society of Jesus (S.J.), a Roman Catholic order of religious men founded by St. Ignatius of Loyola, noted for its educational, missionary, and charitable works, once regarded by many as the principal agent of the Counter-Reformation, and later a leading force in modernizing the church
  1. Cynical - believing that people are motivated by self-interest; distrustful of human sincerity or integrity.
  1. Abhorrent - inspiring disgust and loathing; repugnant.
  1. Psychosomatic - (of a physical illness or other condition) caused or aggravated by a mental factor such as internal conflict or stress.
  1. Bier - a movable frame on which a coffin or a corpse is placed before burial or cremation or on which it is carried to the grave.
  1. Saturnine - (of a person or their features) dark in coloring and moody or mysterious.
  1. Procession - a number of people or vehicles moving forward in an orderly fashion, especially as part of a ceremony or festival – or the emanation of the Holy Spirit.
  1. Asceticism - severe self-discipline and avoidance of all forms of indulgence, typically for religious reasons.
  1. Unintelligible - impossible to understand.
  1. James Joyce - James Augustine[1]Aloysius Joyce(2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist and poet. He contributed to themodernistavant-gardeand is regarded as one of the most influential and important authors of the 20th century. Finnegans Wakeis a work of comic fiction byIrish writerJames Joyce. It is significant for its experimental style and reputation as one of the most difficult works of fiction in the English language. Joyce's influence is also evident in fields other than literature. The sentence "Three quarks for Muster Mark!" in Joyce'sFinnegans Wakeis the source of the word "quark", the name of one of theelementary particlesproposed by the physicistMurray Gell-Mannin 1963.The French philosopherJacques Derridahas written a book on the use of language inUlysses, and the American philosopherDonald Davidsonhas written similarly onFinnegans Wakein comparison withLewis Carroll. PsychoanalystJacques Lacanused Joyce's writings to explain his concept of thesinthome.In 1999,Timemagazine named Joyce one of the100 Most Important People of the 20th century,and stated: "Joyce ... revolutionised 20th century fiction".In 1998, theModern Library, US publisher of Joyce's works, rankedUlyssesNo.1,A Portrait of the Artist as a Young ManNo.3, andFinnegans WakeNo.77, on its list of the100 best English-language novels of the 20th century.
  1. Catechism - a summary of the principles of Christian religion in the form of questions and answers, used for the instruction of Christians.
  1. Ineffable - too great or extreme to be expressed or described in words.
  1. Surreptitiously - kept secret, especially because it would not be approved of.
  1. Emblazoned - conspicuously inscribe or display (a design) on something.
  1. Implacable - relentless; unstoppable