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Discovering Porter

I first came across the work of Katherine Anne Porter in the spring of 2003. At that time, I was enrolled in Dr. Welford Taylor’s class “American Literature between the Wars” at the University of Richmond, and although Porter’s stories were not required reading for the course, Dr. Taylor thought that I would enjoy writing a paper on “Flowering Judas.” On the first read, I was instantly captivated by Porter’s crafted style: like Hemingway, she had mastered the literary virtue of simplicity. But even more so than her unique style was her subject matter. What immediately caught my eye was her emphasis on religion and sex – two subjects that were taboo for women of her time to discuss at all, let alone together.

The more I read Porter’s work, the more I noticed her ambivalence regarding spiritual and sexual love, which she addresses through her memorable female characters Violeta and Laura. I was immediately intrigued by this woman who wrote like a cradle-Catholic but actually converted to Catholicism in the midst of a troubled marriage and who, nearing the end of her life, claimed to have been as devout a Catholic as one who has had three divorces can be.

Thinking that I had stumbled on something new, I grew disappointed when I turned to the criticism on KAP and realized that scholars had noticed the same thing. In fact, many critics responded to Porter’s 20-page “Flowering Judas” with novel-length commentary, most of which touched on the religious and sexual aspects. However, the commentary shied away from addressing Porter’s conflicted religious and sexual stance. So when it came time to write my Master’s thesis, I felt compelled to write about Katherine Anne Porter’s notorious virgins – female sexuality and Catholicism in her works. I set out to prove that although Porter seemed especially interested in the Catholic beliefs held by young girls like herself, she was never consistent in either rejecting or embracing her religion. Although I focused on the female characters in “Virgin Violeta,” “Flowering Judas,” and “Old Mortality,” I soon found myself making parallels to Porter’s own life.

I hesitate to make any statement with conviction when discussing Porter’s life for she oftentimes contradicted herself: as many critics have said “one must regard Porter with almost the same caution with which one regards Faulkner.” Admittedly, this was frustrating at first, but I soon started to enjoy reading one account about how Porter reveled in the aesthetics of the Catholic Church and another about how she cursed St. Jerome for his statements about Eve. In addition to her statements about religion, Porter’s views on sex were just as varied. In an interview with Enrique Hank Lopez, she claimed she had no desire for sex, being frigid as a cucumber after her first failed marriage and not remarrying for twenty-six years. However suspicion was placed on her self-proclaimed celibacy after I read in Joan Givner’s biography that she had four husbands and thirty-seven lovers.

Well, to do justice to my paper and to get a better sense of the real Porter, I went to the source itself: I visited the University of Maryland and toured the KAP Room and the Porter library. Fortunately, Dr. Beth Alvarez readily welcomed me and encouraged my research. As the late Thomas Walsh rightly noted, Dr. Alvarez “knows her way around Porter’s papers better than anyone,” and I really couldn’t have asked for a better “tour guide.” It was during those visits that I got a taste of who Katherine Anne Porter really was. From the glamour shot hung on the wall to the brightly-colored coffin in the corner of the KAP Room, I discovered that Katherine Anne Porter, the woman, was just as unique as Katherine Anne Porter, the writer.

Needless to say, devoting months to one paper is an exhausting yet exhilarating experience. This past semester has been spent writing and rewriting my thesis. Although I had a clear focus when I began my paper, the more I learned about Porter, the more tangents I went off on. But I think those “tangents” were all too familiar to Porter. One of my favorite Porter quotes says that she would have been able to do much more if she wasn’t distracted by any man who managed to jimmy his way into her life!

Although far from finished and even further from perfect, my thesis is defended and turned in. Just when I thought I had read every story about Porter, Dr. Taylor shared a couple more during the defense. He had the pleasure of hearing her speak, and he attested to her mesmerizing presence, enchanting beauty, and social grace. All in all, I can honestly say that I could not have chosen a better writer to study these past few months. It is true that Katherine Anne Porter’s life was just as fascinating as her works of art. Discovering this talented woman was the capstone to my Master’s work. And even though I never met Porter, for she died the same year that I was born, I am confident that she shined as brightly as that emerald ring she bought after the publication of Ship of Fools, which became a symbol of not only her literary success but also her personal fulfillment.