Katherine Anne Porter's The Jilting Of Granny Weatherall

Words: 1016
Pages: 5
Open Document
In Katherine Anne Porter’s “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall,” Granny is as tough as they come. She has survived being jilted at the alter by her first love, outlived her first husband, managed her estate and raised her children, all by herself. One recurring theme is that Granny uses denial as a means to shield herself from certain truths that she otherwise wouldn’t have the courage to face. Even when she is on her deathbed, she tells the attending physician that she is fine, “get along now… there’s nothing wrong with me” (732). Through her use of characterization, Porter shows what truths Granny is unwilling to face and how she is able to cope with these truths by means of denial.
Porter begins the scene with an irate Granny in refusal of …show more content…
The letters are from her first love, George, who jilts her at the altar. George is a loose end for her, she does not want her children to discover these letters and the truth about him. In his article about Porter, “To Tell a Straight Story”, George Hendrick says “Granny tried to delude herself into believing that there was nothing wrong with her, just as she had deluded herself about being able to forget her jilting” (180). Denial has been a source of strength for Granny. In his article “The Emerging Pattern in Katherine Anne Porter & the Art of Rejection” William Nance states “The emphasis in Granny’s characterization is upon her strength- the positive structure she has built up on a negative basis” (Nance 139). In spite of her strength, being jilted by George has profound implications for Granny, she names her first son George and her last daughter Hapsy, a name that symbolizes her abating happiness, “a diminutive of Happiness” (Henrick, 180). The everlasting effects of the impact that George has on Granny when he jilts her is
Show More

Related Documents: Katherine Anne Porter's The Jilting Of Granny Weatherall

Symbolism In The Jilting Of Granny Weatherall

least expect it. "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall" by Katherine Anne Porter is about a sick, eighty year old woman named Ellen Weatherall. She is in denial of her actions and past until she realizes her life is ending. Ellen Weatherall's traits of childlike behavior, remembrance, denial, and dying affect her situation because they all connect to Granny's acceptance of her sickness. Granny Weatherall is introduced with Doctor Henry checking up on her. Porter describes Granny as a childish, old woman…

Words 512 - Pages 3

A Tiny Point of Light Essay

A Tiny Point of Light Katherine Anne Porter, the author of “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall, uses a lot of symbolism to convey the theme of life and death. For example, her hallucinations seem to foreshadow her ultimate demise while reflecting on her past, and the protagonist’s very last name hints at the weathered life she’s lived and how she may be ready for her death. But none of these uses of symbolism are as pertinent or as subtle as Porter’s use of light and darkness in this story. The…

Words 1869 - Pages 8

Comparing Jilting Of Granny Weatherall And The Storm

After reading the two different stories, in my opinion the characters of Ellen Weatherall (Granny) in Katherine Anne Porter’s “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall” and Calixta in “The Storm” are actually both believable for me. “Believable” to me means realistic. They both have the characteristics of being a good mother even though they have their different ways on how to be a good mother. There are many attributes of Granny Weatherall’s personality that she’s not aware of—some endearing, some frustrating…

Words 465 - Pages 2

FD Essay 1 1118

together the similarities both Ellen Weatherall (Granny) in Katherine Anne Porter’s “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall” and Emily in William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” felt within their own love lives. Both characters in these short stories were extremely stubborn women, but what ties them together is how a man plays an extremely negative role in their lives to alter it forever. The mental state of mind Emily possesses does exist in people even today, but with Granny having a more convincing, realistic…

Words 1004 - Pages 5