The Selfish Giant

The Giant’s path toward redemption is central to the plot of the story. In the beginning, his actions reflect the selfishness the title references. However, the Giant does not consider his actions toward the children wrong, seeing nothing objectionable with keeping his property to himself. His ignorance of his guilt is an impediment to his character growth, not least because in the Christian faith, contrition—acknowledgment of and remorse for the sins one has committed—is the first step toward redemption. Spring’s abandonment of the garden is his first clue that something is wrong; more than mere punishment, the winter that takes hold of the garden is a logical outgrowth of his actions, which create an inhospitable environment. In keeping with Christian thought, the Giant’s “sin” violates the proper order of things (the cycle of seasons) and brings suffering to the sinner himself. However, the Giant does not recognize the source of his suffering until the children return to the garden. Moved by their innate innocence, he declares, “How selfish I have been […] now I know why the Spring would not come here” (63).

The Christian idea of penance—atonement for one’s sins through one’s actions—is especially central to Catholicism, in which it is a sacrament.