Granny Weatherall: A Deeper Analysis In “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall” by Katherine Anne Porter the character Granny Weatherall has an interesting past that molds her personality. Granny Weatherall has a multitude of layers to her character, ranging from a loving mother to an independent woman who refuses help when she needs it most. Her life is constantly changing, and with it her personality and view on life shifts as well. The short story is told through the eyes of Granny Weatherall in her last moments of life. Being the independent woman she is, it is difficult for her to grasp the fact she is dying and there is nothing she can do to stop it, so she recollects on the parts of her life that developed her characteristics. Granny Weatherall’s complex persona and character depth cause her to become such an amazing individual that has multiple different levels of positive and negative personality traits to be discovered and enjoyed. The loss of Granny Weatherall’s husband forced her to become an independent woman. Her independence made her stronger and she displayed her stubbornness to strive any time she could. Although she was a woman who was not extraordinarily strong, she tended to the land by herself, such as when “She had fenced in a hundred acres once, digging the post holes herself and clamping the wires” to upkeep her land (Porter 79). Even without a husband, she was able to do many difficult tasks by herself. Mrs. Weatherall did not need help from others and
A vampire is defined as “a prenatural being of a malignant nature, supposed to seek nourishment, or do harm, by sucking the blood of sleeping persons;” (1). Whereas a parasite is defined as “a person who lives at the expense of another, or society in general;” (2). A sleeping persons can be interpreted as an innocent person, this is due to countless stories and lore depicting vampires stealing the blood of conscious innocent persons. Therefore, by doing harm to the innocent, a vampire is living at the expense of the humans whose blood it steals, making vampires a form of parasite. In The Good Lady Ducayne, by Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Lady Ducayne is genetically a human, but her mind has become fixated on life. By exploiting technology, her moral and ethical standards change, allowing for her personal relationships to become meaningless in her search for an elongated life. She goes so far as to steal the blood of young girls; this act of stealing innocent girls blood at their own expense, makes her a special parasite, human vampire.
Porter's "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall" depicts the story of a dying woman's life. Throughout her eighty years of life Mrs. Weatherall has had her fair share of disappointments, heartaches, and unfavorable outcomes. This short story is written in a manner that allows the reader to get an outside view looking in; similar to looking at the story through a window as if being acted out in front of you in the theater. The story is eloquently written and leaves the reader with a sense of familiarity towards the family. The populations of readers who have had the pleasure of experiencing this pathetic story have come to relate their own experiences and disappointments towards the story and have empathetic feelings towards the main
The two housewives have a passionate love for gardening and bestow their love and appreciation towards their gardens. In the twentieth century, gardening was advocated as beneficial to one’s life and family. In the New England Quarterly, the journal, “Gardening as ‘Women’s Culture’ in Mary E. Wilkins Freeman’s Short Fiction,” states,“The time women spent in
The reader is almost forced to look at the actions of the grandmother as being similar to that of a young child. There's not a quiet moment with her around and she never sits still. The reader tends to have a negative perception of the grandmother due to these personality traits. However, these traits are expressed in a comical way causing the reader to be annoyed by the grandmother, but also entertained.
Ann Marie Low’s diary opens in 1927 when she is a teenager living with her family on a stock farm in southeastern North Dakota. Low’s diary tells the story of her family's struggle to maintain a way of life, keeping their farm, and educate their children. She discusses her family and friends, descendants of homesteaders, through the next ten years, a time when entire communities lost their homes to mortgages and to government recovery programs. Low’s faces economic hardship, unfortunate family circumstances, and the restrictions that society had placed on women. Low's diary is about life in during the Dust Bowl, and Great Depression.
Women helped with the load of the work that men did. They helped with clearing the land in addition to watching over the chores of the house. The women didn’t expect the cold as the old country as said from the interview of Mary Prokop,”That first winter was the very hardest mother had ever experienced and, as she later told us children, at least in the old country, through the food was scarce, they had been been warm. He they were cold and isolated in the unfinished house for the entire severe winter.”(Interview #4)”
The character grandmother in O’Connor’s story has grounds the reality of the events and drives the family into tragedy. She is a central character in O’Connor’s story and is depicted to be a dynamic character stuck in the old ways. Through her actions and the idea of being stuck in the old ways of thinking, she leads her family into tragedy. Being the main character in the story, Grandmother significantly adds to the development of the plot. The author manages to win the attention of the reader from this character owing to the manner in which she shapes the storyline. Grandmother’s reminiscing of the old ways claims a distinctive curiosity from the reader and helps in
In the short story, 'A Good Man is Hard to Find', the main character is the grandmother. Flannery O'Connor, the author, lets the reader find out who the grandmother is by her conversations and reactions to the other characters in the story. The grandmother is the most important character in the story because she has a main role in the stories principal action. This little old lady is the protagonist in this piece. We learn more about her from her direct conversation with the son, Bailey, her grandchildren, June Star and John Wesley, and the Misfit killer. Through these conversations, we know that she is a lady raised from a traditional background. In the story, her attitude changes
A Worn Path by Eudora Welty and The Jilting of Granny Weatherall by Katherine Anne Porter are short stories written in the twentieth century. The main characters in both stories were motivated by love and perseverance to keep going and never give up. Phoenix Jackson is likened to the Mythological Phoenix bird that dies at an old age and is then reborn in ashes. Phoenix Jackson is an elderly woman who is travels a lot just to accomplish one goal. She overcame a lot of obstacles and she never gave up and she always stood up for herself. Katherine’s The Jilting of Granny Weatherall also has Granny Weatherall as the main character who is portrayed to be in denial and also very sick on her deathbed.
“The Jilting of Granny Weatherall” is a short story written by Katherine Anne Portier about an elderly woman on her deathbed. Granny Weatherall is a very interesting character and the story describes her last thoughts and memories as she lies there taking her last breaths. Granny Weatherall is perceived as an independent and strong-willed character that has lived a full life. As she lies on her deathbed, she drifts in and out of consciousness and seems to not have a full grasp on reality. As she nears the end of her life, the reader is able to understand her thoughts and feelings, and feels how the elderly woman is struggling with coming to terms with dying. The themes in this
As hardworking women living of the prairie, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters can relate to Mrs. Wright’s situation. They know personally that long days of doing laundry, cooking, and cleaning can become very tiresome (Hedges 91). They realize that living on the prairie can force a woman to be confined to her own house for weeks at a time, and because Mrs. Wright never had children, the grueling loneliness that she suffered must have been excruciating. Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters both experience the constant patronization and sexual discrimination that most women in the early twentieth century lived with. They empathize with the difficulties of Mrs. Wright’s life and almost immediately a bond is formed with a woman they do not even know.
The following passage is an excerpt from Katherine Anne Porter’s short story “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall.” Read the passage carefully. Then write an essay in which you analyze how such choices as figurative language, imagery, and dialogue develop the complex emotions the character is feeling.
The short stories, “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall” by Catherine Anne Porter and “A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty, have many similarities as well as differences. Both stories have a simple plot with a theme that is symbolic of their lives. These stories include great characterization, description of elements in the stories, and the point of view.
She thrived in an industry which was predominantly male-operated, challenging the limits of what a women could pursue. With her knowledge of the family business, Frances was considered “as good a judge of credits as any banker in the country.” (74) Frances Harling proved herself to be just as capable as any male banker, much admired for her capabilities by both old and new generations of the time. Among the women of Black Hawk, Mrs. Gardener also challenges gender norms by running a business. She runs a hotel, with primarily male visitors, with the help of her husband. Although it was common at this time for men to be in charge of their family’s business, Mrs. Gardener took this position in her family’s dynamic. It was in fact “Mrs. Gardener who ran the business and looked after everything. [...] [Her husband] was a popular fellow, but no manager.” (89) Although men were usually the breadwinners of their families during this time period, Mrs. Gardener showed that women could be breadwinners as well. Her skills and ambition provided her with a successful business opportunity that she took pride in. Additionally, her husband appeared grateful for her skills as Mr. Gardener realized “that without [Mrs. Gardener] he would hardly be more than a clerk in some other man’s hotel.” (93) Mrs.
The sorrowful and unpredictable realization of denial and loss can slowly tear down even the strongest willed individuals. In the twisting tales of “A Rose for Emily” and “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall” the recurring theme of denial continuously reminds the reader that life is precious and to never take anything for granted. William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” focuses on the life and death of Emily Grierson. Although the story begins with her death, the details of her life are revealed through several elements. Emily is ultimately “jilted” by the man she falls in love with, Homer Barron, and poisons him to ensure a lifelong commitment. A similar theme appears within Katherine Anne Porter’s “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall” Ellen Weatherall, is on her deathbed as the story begins. The narrator discusses Granny’s life and the struggles she faced in the past. As Granny lays upon her deathbed, she recalls all the things she has to do and all the chores she has left undone. She also remarks the element of surprise at the fact that death has come upon her. Not only do these two stories repeatedly use elements such as symbolism and foreshadowing the authors create a relatively similar theme that not only delivers a powerful message but is a timeless classic.