Jilting Of Granny Weatherall Character Analysis

In Katherine Anne Porter’s “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall,” Porter writes a story about the life of a dying old woman, who is strong-willed and persistent. She has been through more tragedy than triumph, and it has shown through her character. Porter portrays Granny’s character to the viewer as unkind through her unforgiving nature, she writes in such a way to create interest in the reader, shows symbolistic ideas regarding the way of life of Granny, and gives a hidden meaning of Hapsy’s importance to Granny. Granny Weatherall has been through a great deal of hardship throughout her life. She was widowed at an early age by her second husband, and then left to raise her children all on her own while having to run a farm (Sprich). The greatest

Throughout the story, the audience sees Granny make connections back to her jilting as if she never quite got over it. Perhaps it is the reason why she perceives to be unforgiving; unkind. Her lingering bitterness of being jilted is a known fact to the reader as an inner conflict of Granny’s (Sprich). It is never seen in the story that Granny forgives George, and she defies God at the end of the story for never giving her a sign. “Oh no, there is nothing more cruel than this-I’ll never forgive it” (Porter 82). Although Granny does not mention it, it is mentioned in Katherine Anne Porter’s ‘The Jilting of Granny Weatherall’: A Modern Tragedy? that John’s early death could be seen as yet another jilting. When he died, she had to manage a large farm by herself, which may have never given her the life she wanted. She fenced in a hundred acres once, which she claims to have “changed a woman” (Porter 79). Although, she looks at her life with satisfaction, she sees herself as a dutiful woman who successfully raised all of her children well enough. When she gets sick, it is hard for her to let go of all the things she used to

There are subtle similarities in the two works of literature, as both are traces in a woman’s reaction to death’s arrival. Therefore, Porter alludes to this poem by the sound of Cornelia’s voice being compared to the “rough motion of a cart” (Estes 439). Granny uses the words “staggered” and “bumped” to describe the carts movements. There is a man driving the cart, who she says is recognizable by his hands. This could be a reference to Jesus, since he was crucified and nailed to the cross by his hands. Furthermore, both works use the image of fog to indicate the hanging dreariness of death (Estes 441). In The Jilting of Granny Weatherall, Porter states, “A fog rose over the valley, she saw it marching across the creek swallowing the trees and moving up the hill like an army of ghosts” (79-80). The fog mentioned in this quote is another metaphor for the soon approaching of Granny’s death. The final sentence in the story, when Granny blows out her own light, has caused the reactions of critics to vary widely, according to David C. Estes in Granny Weatherall’s Dying Moment: Katherine Anne Porter’s Allusions to Emily Dickinson. The light mentioned throughout the