Why does Mrs. Freeman get the last word and what does it mean?In "Good Country People," Mrs. Hopewell says, "He was so simple . . . but I guess the...

With a style that hides themes in plain sight, Flannery
O'Connor has Mrs. Freeman of "Good Country People" comment unsuspectingly upon the Bible
salesman, Manley Pointer. This comment expresses a trope of O'Connor's:  Salvation is
often effected through violent experiences. In fact, some critics see Hulga as a Christ
figure while Critic Gilber H. Muller states that this use of the grotesque is not
gratuitous; rather, it is employed  in order "to reveal underlying and essentially
theological concepts."

Without realizing the import of her
words, Mrs. Freeman, a simple woman herself, points to the sins of Hulga:  her high-held
and vain intellectualism.  When she is humbled by Pointer by her gullibility, Hulga has
nothing left to believe in.  Yet, with her nothingness, Hulga is finally open to believe
in something else, even if it is evil, but whether she will be converted
is questionable.  This openness after having nothing is what O'Connor means by the
comments about being simple by Mrs. Hopewell and Mrs. Freeman.