Madsen Hardy has a doctorate in English literature and is a freelance writer and editor. In the following essay, she discusses Laura's alienation through an exploration of the concepts of home and 'homelessness' in "Flowering Judas."

Laura, the troubled young protagonist of "Flowering Judas," is disillusioned with Mexican politics, but her unhappiness goes much further than this. She walks through life feeling anxious and detached, always afraid, though she knows not of what. "She is not at home in the world," Porter writes, summing up Laura's state of mind. This overarching sense of 'homelessness' may be seen as the crux of Laura's problem. Home refers to a physical and geographical place and it also refers to a set of feelings—security, belonging, connectedness, even love. Laura has none of these. The entire story takes place inside Laura's house—her nominal Mexican home—where Braggioni's...