Introduction

Graham Greene was a 20th-century English writer known for exploring religious and moral dilemmas in his works and producing commercial thrillers. Throughout his life, Greene wrestled with the tension between his Catholic faith and agnosticism, a struggle that often permeates his writing. He wrote across a variety of genres, including novels, short stories, plays, and screenplays. His most notable works include Brighton Rock (1938), The Power and the Glory(1940), The Quiet American (1955), and Our Man in Havana (1958). Greene’s short story “The Hint of an Explanation,” published in 1948, delves into many of his signature themes: temptation, salvation, and the nature of evil.

Plot Summary

“The Hint of an Explanation” is framed as a story within a story. It begins with two strangers traveling together on a train. As they discuss the problem of understanding God’s will, the unnamed narrator expresses doubt, while the other traveler, David, suggests that sometimes there are “hints” of divine explanation. This prompts David, a Catholic, to recount a deeply personal experience from his childhood.

David recalls growing up as one of the few Catholics in a small town. He served as an altar boy at Mass, though he was often embarrassed by the fear of making mistakes and being ridiculed. One figure in the town, a baker named Blacker, stands out in David’s memory for his open hatred of Catholics, particularly targeting David and his family.

David remembers a day that Blacker invited him into his shop and allowed him to play with an elaborate train set. David would continue visiting the shop and playing with the set. One day, Blacker makes David a sinister offer: if David steals a consecrated communion wafer for him to taste, Blacker will give the train set to the boy. The wafer, central to Catholic belief as the body of Christ, symbolizes purity and faith, and Blacker’s request directly attacks David’s religious conviction.

When Sunday comes, David serves at Mass. He hesitates but sees Blacker watching him from the back of the church, creating a sense of foreboding. When David receives the communion wafer, he hides it under his tongue instead of swallowing it. Leaving the church, he wraps the host in newspaper and places it in his pocket, torn between his desire for the train set and his fear of betraying his faith.

That night, Blacker appears at David’s window, demanding the host. David is paralyzed by fear and torn by temptation, but ultimately, when faced with the physical embodiment of evil in Blacker’s demands, he makes a sudden decision—he swallows the wafer. At that moment, Blacker breaks down in tears, and David recalls feeling as though he had witnessed “the Devil weeping for its inevitable defeat.”

As the story returns to the present, the narrator ponders the meaning of David’s tale. When David rises to retrieve his bag from the overhead rack, the narrator notices that he is wearing a priest’s collar, revealing the significance of this childhood event. David, now a priest, explains that the moment he resisted Blacker’s temptation became a turning point in his spiritual journey, a personal victory over evil that led him toward salvation. David concludes with a quiet contentment, “You see, I am a very happy man.”