of grace comes when she is whacked by a purse. Amidst these first two short stories (i.e. Greenleaf and Everything that Rises must Converge), the discovery of God's love happens right away, but in the story Revelation, in which Mrs. Turpin is the main character, the soul-shaking truth takes longer to sink in. Ruby Turpin is exposed to a violent and spiritual attack; such ferocity of assault was obviously necessary to unbend her proud spirit. The revelation that comes to her at last is confirmation of her own insignificance in the spiritual order (Walters 128). As Miles Orvell puts it, "the mystery of the flesh crucified is the emotional crux of her writings, for the discovery of the mystery of reality – whether in the shape of grace of exclusion from grace – is always painful for her characters and almost always violent" (64).
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