The Jilting of Granny Weatherall

779 Words2 Pages

In this short story of "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall" by Katherine Anne Porter, there is a powerful symbolic meaning through out the entire narrative. Although the symbols are not obvious in some paragraphs, they are in hidden text in others, which has to be, examined thoroughly by the reader. Granny is an eighty-year-old woman on her deathbed. She is in a state of confusion drifting in and out of consciences; she is reminiscing and blurring the past with the present. Although she comes to her senses every now and then, she is still perplexing some important details of her life. Through this story, all the symbols help define Granny's character, provide greater understanding of her life, and reinforces the important parts of the story.

There is a great focal point through out the entire story, which is her last name, Weatherall. Granny prevailed in everything that was, bestowed upon her. George jilted her at a young age, but she went on and married a man named John, which was her children's father. Granny and John had four children Hapsy, which was one of her daughters died young. Granny had to go back several rooms in her mind to find her and recapture her memory (page 98-99). While she was drifting in and out of mindfulness, she found Hapsy and talked with her. Losing a child has to be the hardest thing a mother can go through. Later on John died, leaving Granny to raise the children. She kept the household running by cooking, cleaning, and sewing the clothes. She also tended to the land all by herself. She wished than she could see John and tell him that she did not do so badly with the children (page 97). Granny overcame several illnesses in her life and she did not want Doctor Harry to take care o...

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... see how well their children turned out. Granny really wants to see her baby girl, Hapsy again but she knows she will have to die for that to come true. She finally sub comes to the thought that she will not receive a sign from God, so she takes one last breath and blows out the light of life, and dies. She finally lets go of all the misfortunes and fortunes in her life to go and rest in peace.

WORKS CITED

Einstein, Albert. The definition of "Perfection" under "Quotations." The New American Roget's College Thesaurus in Dictionary Form. Prepared by Philip D. Morehead. Third Revised Edition. New York: Penguin, 2002. 586

Porter, Katherine Anne. "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall." Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, and Drama. Ed. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. Ninth Edition (Interactive Edition). New York: Longman, 2005. 94-101

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The Jilting of Granny Weatherall

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