La mirada atenta de Flannery O'Connor

Me he encontrado en un artículo de Thomas F. Gossett ("Flannery O'Connor's Opinions of Other Writers: Some Unpublished Comments", The Southern Literary Journal, Spring, 1974, Vol. 6, No. 2 (Spring, 1974), pp. 70-82) este retrato de Flannery O'Connor, de su capacidad de mirar con atención a los demás:

Miss O'Connor had the characteristic of turning her complete attention to whoever spoke to her. Probably to some people, especially in a loquacious community and region, it was an unnerving experience to be looked at in that way. It was an entirely friendly way but was nonetheless a penetrating stare, as if she were Henry James's young writer on whom nothing is lost. This characteristic of Miss O'Connor may help to explain something she once said. She told Louise and me that there were people in Milledgeville who wouldn't come to see her because they were "scared" ["scaiahed"] that she would put them in a book.

La señorita O'Connor tenía la característica de prestar toda su atención a quien le hablaba. Probablemente para algunas personas, especialmente en una comunidad y región amantes del parloteo, era una experiencia desconcertante ser mirados de esa manera. Era una mirada enteramente amistosa pero, no obstante, una mirada penetrante, como si fuera el joven escritor de Henry James a quien no se le escapa nada. Esta característica de la señorita O'Connor puede ayudar a explicar algo que dijo una vez. Nos dijo a Louise y a mí que había gente en Milledgeville que no vendría a verla porque tenían "miedo" de que los incluyera en un libro.