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The Jilting Of Granny Weatherall By Katherine Anne Porter

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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 many 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 Granny Weatherall’s eyes in her last moments of life. Being the independent woman she is, it is hard 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 personality. Granny Weatherall’s complex personality …show more content…

The woman has an intense love for her children and husband, which only adds further to her character depth. Granny Weatherall originally had an intense love for her fiance George, which later shifted to spite, until George jilted young Ellen Weatherall and left her at the alter. Luckily the love of her live, John, was there as Granny Weatherall fell into his arms. The love between John and Granny was apparent even in the beginning of their relationship as John “is, in short, the only man in the story who might have cursed and threatened to kill the faithless groom” due to George’s betrayal of Granny Weatherall (Meyers). Granny had an endless amount of love for John, and after John passed away the love she held for him never faded. She also obtains her revenge for George’s cowardice by living happily, and “Her attitude toward George sixty years later proves that she did not forget the jilting, but that she had led a happy life, with a man and children, in spite of it” (Laman). By displaying how the love for her husband keeps her strong, Granny is able to shift her love from John to her children, in which she only wants the best for. Granny Weatherall’s love for her children is displayed by her drive for her children to be as successful as possible, for example, Granny’s eldest daughter Cornelia. In Granny Weatherall’s final moments, she thought of the woman Cornelia has become and thought to …show more content…

After losing her child Hapsy at a young age, Granny was struck with grief; However, Mrs. Weatherall never let her daughter’s death ruin her. With the help of her family and her religion, Granny was able to survive the tragedy. Unfortunately the loss of her child did continue to haunt her, even while Granny was in her death bed. Granny, in her final moments, imagined Hapsy present in the room. With Granny’s passion for her religion, this could be interpreted as a sign from God, due to the fact that “the conventional Christian notion that Christ’s appearance at the moment of peaceful death will confirm the believer’s life to have been purposeful” (Estes). One thing that Granny always wanted was to see her daughter again, and while her vision of Hapsy was not Christ himself, it could be seen as a sign of Christ rewarding Granny Weatherall for all the good she has done. Not only does Granny Weatherall have the perseverance to get through being left at the altar and having her daughter die, but she is able to survive the death of her husband John. After losing so much that is dear to Mrs. Weatherall, she is able to dust herself off, care for herself and her children, her land, and persevere to strive for success. Granny even tried to move past her death as she stated, “My children have come to see me die. But I can’t, it’s not time. Oh, I always hated surprises. I

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