A devout Roman Catholic, O'Connor often used religious themes in her work; "A View of the Woods" contains numerous references to the Christian tradition.
The grandfather holds mixed feelings towards his own daughter and harbors a dislike for his son-in-law, Pitts, yet permits them to live on a portion of his land.
As he sells parcels of his property for development, he consistently goes out of his way to provoke Pitts intentionally.
The grandfather is in return frustrated every time Pitts takes Mary Fortune to the woods to beat her with a belt and tells her that she should not be so compliant.
Eventually, Fortune decides to sell a parcel of land where Pitts grazes his calves for a gas station, and, in doing so, would obstruct their view of the woods.