Rachel Matheson

In this article I explore the central motif of vision in Annie Dillard's short poetic narrative, Holy the Firm. Attention to the book's tripartite structure reveals a movement through an aesthetic appreciation of creation, to an intellectual contemplation of the Fall, finally culminating in a mystical vision of wholeness in the redemptive descent of Christ. I turn to Julian of Norwich's parable of the Lord and Servant in order to illuminate their shared attunement to the workings of divine love in the face of human suffering. For Dillard, Christ's kenotic love is continually revealed in the Christian sacraments of baptism and communion. Finally, I suggest that through the artist, the thinker, and the nun, Dillard leads her reader toward a sacramental vision of the world, which locates the holy in the everyday.