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Analysis Of Katherine Anne Porter's The Jilting Of Granny Weatherall

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Katherine Anne Porter, originally Callie Porter, was born in Indian Creek, Texas on May 15, 1890 (Baym). Many events during her childhood were what influenced Porter’s writings. She was introduced to unforgettable hardships at only two years old with the death of her mother (Baym). After this tragedy, Porter and her siblings lived with their grandmother for 9 years, in extreme poverty, until she passed away as well (West). After her grandmother’s death, she attended many convent schools and ran away to get married at the age of sixteen (West). Her marriage failed, and she began “a life of travel, activity, and change of jobs” (Baym 2147). Throughout her struggles and rapidly changing life, writing was her escape from reality. From a young …show more content…

On her deathbed, Granny Weatherall recalls events from her life, unforgettably, her being jilted on her wedding day. In this story, the theme of rejection and loss is extremely prominent. Granny Weatherall is a depiction of the author’s own personal experience of rejection and loneliness (Baym). She is betrayed early in life but responds to her sorrow by taking action. Rejected at her own wedding, Granny Weatherall defies society’s expectations and finds a new husband who she “wouldn’t have exchanged…for anybody” (Porter 7). In this time, a woman is nothing without a man; however, Granny Weatherall perseveres, defies the odds, and makes a healthy and happy life for herself, her new husband, and eventually her children. An important symbol in this story is Granny Weatherall’s lighting of the lamps. As the fog “[swallowed] the trees and [moved] up the hill like an army of ghosts…it was time to go in and light the lamps” (Porter 4). This event is symbolic because the lighting of the lamp signifies the coming of darkness. On her deathbed, the lighting of the lamps, figuratively, paves a path for her children so they “didn’t have to be scared and hang on to mother anymore” (Porter 4). Granny Weatherall leaves a legacy behind for her children, just like Porter’s grandmother herself did for her children. Related to Porter’s own life, her short story uses a reflective style to explain her own experience with rejection and

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