Isabel
Lim |
Miramar
College |
1
November 2007 |
“The
Jilting of Granny Weatherall” |
| As a child, the scariest part of learning how to ride a bike was falling down. I can still recall how angry I was at my father, who had let go of the bike so that I could learn how to ride alone without the help of his hand. I had felt betrayed because he was supposed to protect me from injury, and I had ended up with a scraped knee. Although I was upset at that moment, I knew that I had ridden alone, if only for a few seconds. It was that hope that encouraged me to keep on trying and forgive my father. By falling down, I had learned how to get up, balance and maneuver my bike. Similarly, by facing the obstacles of life we are able to overcome them in unique ways. In the short story, “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall,” author Katherine Anne Porter utilizes various stylistic devices to explore the themes of betrayal, religion, and death. |
| After 80 years of her life, upon her deathbed, Ellen thinks of George, the fiancé who left her at the altar. She tells Cornelia, to “find him and be sure to tell him I forgot him.” The tone sounds bitter, almost as if she wants to prove to him that the jilting did not affect her. However, that proves that she still cares about what happened to her, since she wants someone to go out of their way to find George and tell him such. When she attempts to remember what he took away, “her breath crowded down under her ribs and grew into a monstrous frightening shape with cutting edges.” There is an obvious pain associated with the memory of her first jilting. Despite the fact that she was able to remarry, bear through sickness and the deaths of both her second husband, John, and favorite child, Hapsy, she still feels the agony of being left at the altar. It is an emotional wound that has never quite healed, and her heart, despite her fierce work ethic, cleanliness, and inner strength as a single mother, still bears the scars. She ruminates, “it was good to be strong enough for everything, even if all you made melted and changed and slipped under your hands, so that by the time you finished you almost forgot what you were working for.” As death approaches, Ellen evaluates her life in almost a self-pitying like way, justifying her actions. Her jilting at the altar does not prove to be her last. |
| The author explores the themes of death and religion as a second jilting for Granny Weatherall. She states that she had prepared for death at 60, but now “it felt clammy and unfamiliar.” Although she remembers her past accomplishments in a proud way, there is also a tinge of regret, especially when she tells Cornelia that she is not ready to go yet. She asks God for a sign and does not receive one, stating that “again no bridegroom and the priest in the house.” This is an almost second jilting by God, who has not come to meet her despite her religiosity of attending church and partaking in weekly communion. Perhaps God has not met her because of her lack of faith in him. When they are placing the rosary back in her hands she reflected that “beads wouldn’t do, it must be something alive.” In her final death, she had not received a sign and had to extinguish her own light as she had done almost her entire life – alone. |
| What is in a name? In this story, Granny Weatherall is a true survivor. She has endured all the harsh weathers of life. She is proud of her survival, but also isolated and sad, her memories tinged with regretful questions. Although she tried to move on and have a good life without George, her masked bitterness of her hard life flashes before her eyes as she recollects her first wedding day, losing Hapsy, and the death of her husband John. |
| Katherine Porter pushes the reader to reflect on the positive things in one’s one life as a contrast to the sad tale of Granny Weatherall. Porter’s unique approach towards a narrative short story and the themes of death, betrayal, and religion impels the reader to contemplate such themes in their own life. |