Innocence (Masterplots II: Short Story Series, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: John Francis Whelan
- First Published: 1946
- Type of Plot: Wit and humor
- Time of Work: About 1915
- Setting: Dublin, Ireland
- Principal Characters: The narrator, The old Augustinian priest
- Genres: Psychological fiction, Short fiction
- Subjects: Maturation or coming of age, Parents and children, Sin or Original sin, Religion, Fear, Fathers, Rites or ceremonies, Church or churches
- Locales: Dublin, Ireland
The Story
A father reminisces about what happened to him forty years earlier when, after confession, for “the first time I knew that I had committed sin.” The occasion for this recollection is the sight of his seven-year-old son being prepared by nuns for his first confession: The father knows that his son does not really believe in the practice—it is “a kind of game” between the nuns and the priest. The father recognizes that his boy, who often calls his father “A Pig,” is “a terrible liar,” given to tantrums. However, the father's love allows him to...
[The entire page is 1669 words long]
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