he figures of father and husband. The daughter avenges the injury to her "pretty red heart" by stabbing the vampire's "fat black heart" (56, 76). By analyzing "Daddy" in terms of the vampire metaphor we see how the poem attacks the speaker's husband on a symbolic level while condemning her father on a literal level. The character of Joy/Hulga in Flannary OConnors Good Country People is generally very negative and pessimistic in outlook. She seems to feel different from other people, and even inferior to them, because of her leg. Her pursuit of a Ph.D. in philosophy was possibly an attempt to compensate for and counteract those feelings. She even overcompensates for those feelings, as evident in her sense of being superior to the "good country people" living around her (including her mother). Her relationship with Mrs. Hopewell may have influenced her feelings of inadequacy and her attempts to compensate for them. Mrs. Hopewell continually speaks of Mrs. Freemans daughters as two of the finest girls she knew and that Mrs. Freeman was a lady and that she was never ashamed to take her anywhere or introduce her to anybody they might meet. This statement describes what Mrs. Hopewell wished that Joy/Hulga would be like. Mrs. Hopewell loves her daughter, but does not like her attitude towards life and others. Mrs. Hopewell, in contrast to her daughter, is very optimistic. Mrs. Hopewell epitomizes traditional southern mentality and the woman's role within this culture. It is possible, however, that Mrs. Hopewell isn't inherently optimistic, but is kind of putting on an act without being aware of it. Her constant efforts to see the best in everything may indicate how she is willfully ignoring the bad things around her and repressing her own negative thoughts. As Joy/Hulga pointed out, Woman! Do you ever look inside? Do you ever look inside and see what you are not? God! Joy/Hulga condemns her mother's convictions and everything they signi...
