What is the modernist theme found in The Flowering Judas?

The startling complexity of "Flowering Judas" attracted much critical commentary. Much of the early scholarship unraveled the meanings of the story's symbolism. The figure of the flowering Judas was resonant with modernist themes of alienation and lost faith and thus appealed to modern critics. Furthermore, Porter's dense prose lent itself well to New Criticism, the dominant school of literary scholarship in the mid-twentieth century. New Criticism is a language-based approach to literary criticism, where symbols are decoded through close reading. Ray B. West, in a chapter of his 1949 The Art of Modern Fiction, offered an extensive New Critical explication of the symbolism in "Flowering Judas," that served as a point of departure for many later critics. West focused on religious symbolism, arguing that Braggioni is capable of redemption, while Laura, who is unable to love, is not.