Welcome to the LitCharts study guide on Frank O’Connor's First Confession. Created by the original team behind SparkNotes, LitCharts are the world's best literature guides.
First Confession: Introduction
First Confession: Plot Summary
First Confession: Detailed Summary & Analysis
First Confession: Themes
First Confession: Quotes
First Confession: Characters
First Confession: Terms
First Confession: Symbols
First Confession: Theme Wheel
Brief Biography of Frank O’Connor
Historical Context of First Confession
Other Books Related to First Confession
- Full Title: First Confession
- When Written: early 1930s
- Where Written: Ireland
- When Published: O’Connor’s first version of the story was published as “Repentance” in Lovat Dickson’s Magazine in 1935. In 1939, it appeared with some changes under the title “First Confession” in Harper’s Bazaar, and then in its final form in the book Traveller’s Samples in 1951.
- Literary Period: 20th Century Irish Realism
- Genre: Literary short story
- Setting: A city in Ireland
- Climax: Jackie confesses to attacking his sister and plotting his grandmother’s death
- Antagonist: Nora and Gran
- Point of View: First person
Extra Credit for First Confession
Famous Feud. O’Connor disliked the work of famed Irish novelist James Joyce, feeling that the writer’s interest in his own literary voice took the place of showing the world accurately. O’Connor himself aspired to reflect what he observed with as little bias as possible.
What’s in a Name. While he was named Michael Francis O’Donovan after his father, the author published under the name “Frank O’Connor” using his middle name and his mother’s maiden name. Georgiana Yeats, wife of the poet William Butler Yeats, nicknamed O’Connor “Michael Frank,” uniting his two identities.