What do you think?
Rate this book
Giving the Devil His Due: Demonic Authority in the Fiction of Flannery O'Connor and Fyodor Dostoevsky
Flannery O'Connor and Fyodor Dostoevsky shared a deep faith in Christ, which compelled them to tell stories that force readers to choose between eternal life and demonic possession. Their either-or extremism has not become more popular in the last fifty to a hundred years since these stories were first published, but it has become more relevant to a twenty-first-century culture in which the lukewarm middle ground seems the most comfortable place to dwell. Giving the Devil His Due walks through all of O'Connor's stories and looks closely at Dostoevsky's magnum opus The Brothers Karamazov to show that when the devil rules, all hell breaks loose. Instead of this kingdom of violence, O'Connor and Dostoevsky propose a kingdom of love, one that is only possible when the Lord again is king.
"This is one of those rare books that should appeal to readers who love classic fiction and those with a strong interest in Christian theology. I admired Jessica Hooten Wilson's readings of both O'Connor and Dostoevsky—muscular, intelligent criticism, written with a passion for the worlds they conjure. It's splendid work, provocative, and deeply satisfying." –Jay Parini, author of The Last Station and Jesus: The Human Face of God
"How refreshing it is—and how necessary—to read criticism that gets us down to the real stakes of moral existence. Wilson brings us Dostoevsky and O'Connor in their full profundity of faith and recognition of evil. This is just the right approach for college students awash in the trivia of youth culture, reminding them that their own lives can have a richer meaning." –Mark Bauerlein, Professor of English, Emory University
"This is one of those rare books that should appeal to readers who love classic fiction and those with a strong interest in Christian theology. I admired Jessica Hooten Wilson's readings of both O'Connor and Dostoevsky—muscular, intelligent criticism, written with a passion for the worlds they conjure. It's splendid work, provocative, and deeply satisfying." –Jay Parini, author of The Last Station and Jesus: The Human Face of God
"How refreshing it is—and how necessary—to read criticism that gets us down to the real stakes of moral existence. Wilson brings us Dostoevsky and O'Connor in their full profundity of faith and recognition of evil. This is just the right approach for college students awash in the trivia of youth culture, reminding them that their own lives can have a richer meaning." –Mark Bauerlein, Professor of English, Emory University
156 pages, Paperback
Published February 28, 2017
36 people are currently reading
443 people want to read
About the author
Jessica Hooten Wilson
13 books143 followersJessica Hooten Wilson (PhD, Baylor University) is the inaugural Visiting Scholar of Liberal Arts at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California. She previously taught at the University of Dallas. She is the author or editor of eight books, including Reading for the Love of God, The Scandal of Holiness (winner of a Christianity Today 2023 Award of Merit), and Giving the Devil His Due: Demonic Authority in the Fiction of Flannery O'Connor and Fyodor Dostoevsky (winner of a 2018 Christianity Today Book of the Year Award). Wilson speaks around the world on topics as varied as Russian novelists, Catholic thinkers, and Christian ways of reading.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
December 20, 2019
What an excellent book.
Literature as soulcraft.
If you've not read Dostoevsky and O'Connor (particularly The Brothers Karamazov and The Violent Bear It Away) this one is hard to follow. If you have, it will make you cherish these writers and their work all the more.
Literature as soulcraft.
If you've not read Dostoevsky and O'Connor (particularly The Brothers Karamazov and The Violent Bear It Away) this one is hard to follow. If you have, it will make you cherish these writers and their work all the more.
March 30, 2020
I’ve always admired the work of Dostoevsky, and because I had the honor of being one of Dr. Jessica Wilson’s students, I’ve fallen equally in love with the fiction of Flannery O’Connor. This book blends the two artists’ work together and portrays the way in which Christ completes his work of salvation through the demonic presence of violence and the illusion of the “autonomous self.” “Giving the Devil his Due” is a sobering reminder of the ways in which the enemy works within each of us, but ultimately this work can lead us towards the good. The book itself gives the devil the credit he is due, but by acknowledging his work and his practices, Dr. Wilson actually points the reader towards the good Divine kingdom of love. A must read.
December 30, 2017
This is great scholarly work
Author Jessica Hooten Wison takes two authors who are widely appreciated yet somewhat misunderstood due to their penchant for bizarre characters troubled by demons. But there is more for the reader to learn.
"O’Connor and Dostoevsky unmask the devil who has hidden under the guise of the triumphant and omnipotent self," Wilson writes. O'Connor and Dostoevsky are not obsessing on the devil as much as they are pointing out the either/or choice each person faces when it comes to where their allegiance lies.
I love O'Connor and Dostoevsky, who both shock and unsettle with their characters. Wilson does a great job explaining why you should appreciate and treasure these two great authors and take seriously the devil as much as they do.
You should read this book and then read more Dostoevsky and O'Connor.
Author Jessica Hooten Wison takes two authors who are widely appreciated yet somewhat misunderstood due to their penchant for bizarre characters troubled by demons. But there is more for the reader to learn.
"O’Connor and Dostoevsky unmask the devil who has hidden under the guise of the triumphant and omnipotent self," Wilson writes. O'Connor and Dostoevsky are not obsessing on the devil as much as they are pointing out the either/or choice each person faces when it comes to where their allegiance lies.
I love O'Connor and Dostoevsky, who both shock and unsettle with their characters. Wilson does a great job explaining why you should appreciate and treasure these two great authors and take seriously the devil as much as they do.
You should read this book and then read more Dostoevsky and O'Connor.
May 1, 2020
Subtitled, "demonic authority in the fiction of Flannery O'Connor and Fyodor Dostoevsky," Wilson spends a fair bit more ink, it seemed, on the latter than the former. It may also have been subtitled, "observing Dostoevsky and O'Connor through the lens of Rene Girard," for she leans heavily on the Frenchman's observations throughout, as well as a fair bit of Nietzsche and Lewis.
Ultimately, Wilson demonstrates the common conceptions of both authors with respect to demonic activity, and argues that the Southern author was in fact influenced by the Russian. As a fan of both, I was less familiar with O'Connor than Dostoevsky and was not disappointed that she focused more on the latter.
This was an interesting survey of two authors who attempted to point readers to Christ through depicting the despair associated with autonomy and the violence towards which such autonomy always trends.
Ultimately, Wilson demonstrates the common conceptions of both authors with respect to demonic activity, and argues that the Southern author was in fact influenced by the Russian. As a fan of both, I was less familiar with O'Connor than Dostoevsky and was not disappointed that she focused more on the latter.
This was an interesting survey of two authors who attempted to point readers to Christ through depicting the despair associated with autonomy and the violence towards which such autonomy always trends.
May 16, 2019
Helpful!
I couldn't figure out on my own the usefulness of Flannery O'Connor's morbidity in her novels and short stories, even after reading many of them, and returning to them again years later.
This book has helped me understand O'Connor's intended audience - those who don't believe in the devil - and this sheds a lot of light on her intentions. I'm grateful for her work, and for Dostoyevsky's. And, like the author of this book, I hope for more fiction writers who will imitate them in our time. Our culture needs them.
I couldn't figure out on my own the usefulness of Flannery O'Connor's morbidity in her novels and short stories, even after reading many of them, and returning to them again years later.
This book has helped me understand O'Connor's intended audience - those who don't believe in the devil - and this sheds a lot of light on her intentions. I'm grateful for her work, and for Dostoyevsky's. And, like the author of this book, I hope for more fiction writers who will imitate them in our time. Our culture needs them.
December 27, 2019
Good read. Made me want to read Dostoevsky and O'Connor. A book that makes me want to read other books is always a good book in my mind.
July 1, 2018
Fascinating look at evil origins and machinations in the fictional writings of the Russian Orthodox, Dostoyevsky and Southern Catholic, O’Connor. A window or maybe a mirror into our own autonomous post Truth world, where feelings and pleasure count and facts/Truth are discarded. Author and Professor Jessica Hooten Wilson has expanded my interest in both writers and their lives.
June 7, 2024
Good strong ethics and psychology infused literary criticism. It will primarily help you remember how much you like Dostoevsky and Flannery O'Connor, giving you the lasting impression, Oh yeah, those guys were pretty serious about this spiritual stuff.
Secondarily, it may remind you how bewildered you are with literary theorist/ anthropologist/ theologian Rene Girard. All to the good, of course.
Secondarily, it may remind you how bewildered you are with literary theorist/ anthropologist/ theologian Rene Girard. All to the good, of course.
March 17, 2023
I read this book in preparation to teach Dostoevsky (and therefore skimmed some of the passages on O'Conner) and found Dr. Wilson's analysis to be insightful, concise, and direct. Really helpful guide for reading Dostoevsky and would be a fascinating read for anyone interested in literature devoted to addressing the problem of pain.
January 11, 2025
Haven’t read Brothers K, so had to skip some bits to avoid spoilers (🫣). But this book was very interesting and exceedingly helpful as I begin to discover the contours and shape of my dissertation.
May 8, 2020
Just a wonderful book. Not only does she break open these two authors in a way that helps others to embrace and read their works she also weaves in René Girard. Overall, she puts forward a needed via of humanity that we all need to wrestle with in this postmodern time. I highly recommend one reads this book for the simple reason to see a bit better the darkness in the world. The light of passion of this text helps to awaken one’s mind to the beauty of life that darkness desires to obscure.
August 13, 2020
Both authors discussed show that demon possession is likely without Christ. Wilson does a great job and sparked an interest in O'Connor whom I had never heard of before.
July 4, 2022
Thought provoking - brings revealing insight into the works of Flannery O'Connor and Fydor Dostoevsky - Outstanding!
September 29, 2025
Reread now with a lot more Dostoevsky and O’Connor under my belt (and as I prepare to teach BK again)- really incisive guide to themes and intentions of D and O’C
September 8, 2024
“While OConnor and Dostoevsky write stories that suggest they are on the devil's side, as some have accused them, a closer look reveals that they are merely giving the devil his due. Their ultimate goal is transformation, a transformation that is violent, that demands death.”
When I read “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” as I’m sure everyone did in AP Lit, I read it completely devoid of any context on Flannery O’Connor other than that she was Catholic and represented a keystone of Southern Gothic literature. Predictably, I found her narrative style confusing and her short stories unnecessarily hopeless, although I did love her prose. There are many authors where it is completely justifiable and even encouraged to separate the art from the artist. O’Connor and Dostoevsky are not on that list, and Dr. Wilson beautifully demonstrates over 133 pages why that’s the case.
Brothers Karamazov in particular is largely misunderstood on multiple fronts in Western culture because of how STEEPLY drenched it is in the context of mid-1800s Russia and the Russian Orthodox tradition. It’s also a long book, and there’s a lot going on character-wise. Dr. Wilson does a fabulous job of picking out Ivan as the main victim of her analysis and elevating O’Connor’s Rayber as Ivan’s mirror character. Modern criticism and commentary on Dostoevsky and O’Connor has frequently attempted to read these authors with a secular lens, stripping them of their original religious intent. In a literary era of pluralism and “no wrong answers,” we as an audience tend to forget that authors and artists can also write and create with a very specific meaning and targeted effect which is not up for interpretation (and which they will often gladly tell you). I highly recommend Dr. Wilson’s book for any Dostoevsky and/or O’Connor fans out there (and for some pretty frequent Freud bashing), or anyone who wants to explore autonomy and the existence of suffering in a world created by a perfect God.
My “want to read” shelf also grew exponentially during this read to include authors like Rene Girard, Carson McCullers, Walker Percy, and Maria Bloshteyn (and more). I’d love this book alone for the unexpected further reading recommendations.
You can read this book without having read Brothers Karamazov or either of O’Connor’s novels, but you would be doing yourself and Dr. Wilson’s work a major disservice.
“After all, their stories imitate what they consider to be the most scandalous story of all: the death of God, the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.”
When I read “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” as I’m sure everyone did in AP Lit, I read it completely devoid of any context on Flannery O’Connor other than that she was Catholic and represented a keystone of Southern Gothic literature. Predictably, I found her narrative style confusing and her short stories unnecessarily hopeless, although I did love her prose. There are many authors where it is completely justifiable and even encouraged to separate the art from the artist. O’Connor and Dostoevsky are not on that list, and Dr. Wilson beautifully demonstrates over 133 pages why that’s the case.
Brothers Karamazov in particular is largely misunderstood on multiple fronts in Western culture because of how STEEPLY drenched it is in the context of mid-1800s Russia and the Russian Orthodox tradition. It’s also a long book, and there’s a lot going on character-wise. Dr. Wilson does a fabulous job of picking out Ivan as the main victim of her analysis and elevating O’Connor’s Rayber as Ivan’s mirror character. Modern criticism and commentary on Dostoevsky and O’Connor has frequently attempted to read these authors with a secular lens, stripping them of their original religious intent. In a literary era of pluralism and “no wrong answers,” we as an audience tend to forget that authors and artists can also write and create with a very specific meaning and targeted effect which is not up for interpretation (and which they will often gladly tell you). I highly recommend Dr. Wilson’s book for any Dostoevsky and/or O’Connor fans out there (and for some pretty frequent Freud bashing), or anyone who wants to explore autonomy and the existence of suffering in a world created by a perfect God.
My “want to read” shelf also grew exponentially during this read to include authors like Rene Girard, Carson McCullers, Walker Percy, and Maria Bloshteyn (and more). I’d love this book alone for the unexpected further reading recommendations.
You can read this book without having read Brothers Karamazov or either of O’Connor’s novels, but you would be doing yourself and Dr. Wilson’s work a major disservice.
“After all, their stories imitate what they consider to be the most scandalous story of all: the death of God, the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.”
January 18, 2021
When I take my daughter to theatrical productions for the first time, we always read the synopsis first. Especially with more serious musicals, like Les Miserable, she pays better attention to the show because she knows the basics of what's going on.
That's how I feel after reading Wilson's book. I know a bit about Flannery O'Conners' work, including the historical context from which she wrote. I know some of Dostoevsky, Brothers Karamazov in particular. Now, I'm going to read these works for the first time. May I better appreciate what unfolds before me.
That's how I feel after reading Wilson's book. I know a bit about Flannery O'Conners' work, including the historical context from which she wrote. I know some of Dostoevsky, Brothers Karamazov in particular. Now, I'm going to read these works for the first time. May I better appreciate what unfolds before me.
February 13, 2025
This little book is a gem. For those of you who like the works of Flannery O'Connor and Fyodor Dostoevsky this would be a great read for you. Jessica Hooten Wilson takes both their works and explores how these two authors present the Devil and demonic influences in their fiction. Wilson's work highlights the idea that both authors seek to counter a culture that may believe in God but disbelieves in the Devil. This disbelief in the Devil has caused Great harm within our cultures. Ultimately all of us will mimic one or the other regardless of what we believe about them.
December 31, 2020
I read this before reading the Dostoevsky and O'Connor books referenced, so I was at a slight disadvantage. However, I picked up The Violent Bear It Away and plan on reading very soon as well as Karamazov.
The juxtaposition of the two works is quite interesting as on the face of it, without reading them, it wouldn't have sprung to mind, but I think Wilson did a good job getting into the characters, so I look forward to reading them.
The juxtaposition of the two works is quite interesting as on the face of it, without reading them, it wouldn't have sprung to mind, but I think Wilson did a good job getting into the characters, so I look forward to reading them.
November 27, 2021
This is a thoughtful and scholarly (though highly accessible) exploration of characters in Dostoevsky’s and O’Connor’s fiction and the choices they make to submit either to God or set themselves up as their own authority and mimic Satan’s rebellion against God. A humbling and refreshing read. This is one I will definitely read again!
January 18, 2021
Excellent Read
The deep dive on the works of Dostoevsky and O’Connor through Girardian lense was very enjoyable and insightful. I am glad to have stumbled upon this author while listening to podcasts.
The deep dive on the works of Dostoevsky and O’Connor through Girardian lense was very enjoyable and insightful. I am glad to have stumbled upon this author while listening to podcasts.
September 1, 2021
A wonderful little tome paralleling the devil and the demonic in the fiction of Dostoevsky and Flannery O’Connor, the work parallels these themes in The Brothers K (relatively few digressions into Dostoevsky’s wider body of work) and into the whole of O’Connor’s corpus.
July 5, 2020
A must read for fans of Flannery O’Connor and Fyodor doestoyevsky. I learned things that I missed.
August 26, 2022
Wilson, as always, makes incredible arguments and insights. One obviously big takeaway is that we’ve all got to be reading more Dostoevsky & O’Connor.
June 9, 2025
Aaaaaand now I need to re-read The Brothers K asap
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews