In Southern Gothic literature, the dynamic takes a darker turn. Flannery O’Connor’s short story "Everything That Rises Must Converge" portrays a son, Julian, who is intellectually superior to his mother but emotionally tethered to her. His resentment battles with his dependence, culminating in a moment of crisis that exposes the hollowness of his perceived independence. Here, the mother represents an Old South the son wishes to reject, yet she is the only world he truly knows.