Jerry Moynihan
Jerry is the narrator of the story “Judas” but he is an important character he is representative of a recurring a type of character that pops up frequently in the stories of O’Connor. Like those other characters, Jerry is something of an innocent; a bit naïve in the ways of the world and usually a step or two behind others. Many of the other “Jerry” types that pop up in these stories are actually children, but Jerry is an important configuration to this character type precisely because he is an adult while also somewhat childlike.
Henry Conran
Conran is the titular figure of the story “The Late Henry Conran” and is notable because of the irony of that title. In fact, it seems that Henry Conran is capable of earning ironic titles all around. Early on, the reader learns that the nickname of this truly prodigious consumer of alcohol is “Prosperity.” Soon thereafter, the reader learns that Prosperity Conran has been somewhat officially declared dead as a result of a notice in the paper from his wife announcing the marriage of their son. But Henry is as much dead as he is prosperous.
Larry Delaney
Larry Delaney is one of O’Connor’s recurring characters. Sometimes he is known as Larry Delaney, sometimes just as Larry and sometimes he is an unnamed narrator. O’Connor’s novels are populated with child characters, but Larry is the quintessential semi-autobiographical figure who more than any other represents the author. Among the stories in this collection which feature Larry are “The Drunkard,” “My Oedipus Complex,” and “The Study of History.”
Father Fogarty
Father Fogarty is another character who pops up more than once. He appears in “The Frying-Pan,” “The Old Faith,” and “The Wreath” as well as a few others. Fogarty is the prelate in Crislough who is described as having a heart as big as a house, a fiery Republican and a man incapable of understanding the concept of something being irreversible.
Winifred Jackson
Winifred is the title character in the story “My First Protestant.” Winifred is an important figure in the collection not so much because her story is so different from the others or that she is so memorably drawn. Rather her importance to the reader is the same as her importance to the narrator. O’Connor’s world is one profoundly centered within the milieu of Irish Catholicism. And so Protestants stick out among these people like an African-American in the stories of John Cheever or a Southerner in the stories of Stephen King.
