Greenleaf; and third, she does not appear to believe in heaven but wishes to control earthly matters even after her demise.

             Mrs. May is a woman who wants to do for herself whenever possible. Even though she hires a handyman, Mr. Greenleaf, she convinces herself that she must oversee his every movement and that nothing would be done right if it weren't for her influence. She even considers adding to her will that her sons cannot employ Mr. Greenleaf after her death because she doesn't think they will be able to manage him. Nor is this the only area in her life over which Mrs. May wants complete control. For instance, she never eats breakfast with her adult sons, but sits with them "to see that they had what they wanted." Mrs. May cannot even seek help in matters of the spirit. "She was a good Christian woman, with a large respect for religion," O'Connor tells the reader, "though she did not of course believe any of it was true.".

             Mrs. May's approach to life delineates a sharp difference between the do-it-oneself Protestant ethic and the Catholic belief that all must be done through God and his church. Critic Karen Bernardo states, "According to O'Connor, God does not help those who help themselves, but those who depend on his grace" (Paragraph 4).

             Mrs. May not only rejects true religious belief for herself, she finds it horrifying in other people as well. This is the reason for her deeply strained relationship with Mrs. Greenleaf, who engages in "prayer healing." Every day, Mrs. Greenleaf cuts the stories of people who have been injured or harmed out of newspapers, takes them to the woods, buries them in a hole, and then sobs and prays over them. When Mrs. May accidentally comes across Mrs. Greenleaf one day, she finds this behavior not only shocking but disgusting as well. "Jesus," she admonishes her neighbor, "would be ashamed of you!" But to O'Connor's God, this violent, unusual method of prayer would be pleasing.