Hypocrisy: A Theme in Frank O'Connor's First Confession

Hypocrites can be the hardest people to deal with. They claim to be good people, but their actions portray them to be something else. They are obnoxious because they go around proclaiming their piety, while those around them know otherwise. The perfect example of such a person is Nora in "First Confession" by Frank O'Connor. Nora's hypocrisy is shown in her actions, her speech, and in the way her brother Jackie thinks of her.

A prime example of Nora's actions proclaiming her hypocrisy is a series of events surrounding her and Jackie's trip to the church for confession. Jackie tells of Nora "hurling me through the church door." Then, when she enters the church, Nora acts very good at first:

"Nora's turn came, and I heard the sound of something slamming, and then her voice as if butter wouldn't melt in her mouth, and then another slam, and out she came...Her eyes were lowered, her head was bowed, and her hands were joined very low down on her stomach, and she walked up the aisle to the side altar looking like a saint. You never saw such and exhibition of devotion."

Only a few minutes after this exhibition, when Jackie falls out of the confessional, Nora loses all semblance of piety. Jackie explains it this way: "Then Nora came scampering down the aisle...Before I could even get to my feet to defend myself she bent down and gave me a clip across the ear." She also began yelling at him and making the already bad scene even worse. Shortly after this, she sticks her tongue out at Jackie, in an attempt to cause Jackie to become upset again. This time, though, she fails. Nora goes from being the good, pious person she claims to be to the mean, overbearing sister she really is. She is, in fact, betrayed by her actions.