Jilting Of Granny Weatherall Essay -- essays research papers

The Jilting of Granny Weatherall In Katherine Ann Porter’s "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall," there are two prevalant themes. The first is self-pity. The second theme is the acceptance of her immenent demise. Both deal with the way people perceive their deaths and mortality in general. Granny Weatherall’s behavior is Porter’s tool for making these themes visible to the reader. The theme of self-pity is obvious and throughly explored early on. As a young lady, Granny Weatherall left at the alter on her wedding day . As a result, the pathetic woman feels sorry for herself for the rest of her life. She becomes a bitter old woman who is suspicious of everyone around her. This point is shown early in the story when the doctor is speaking to Cornelia in the hallway outside of Granny’s room. Granny exclaims "First off, go away and don’t whisper!" (p.1487) Granny was apparently under the impression that the two of them were speaking ill of her behind her back. Thoughts like these resulted from the trauma she suffered when the man she loved failed to show up on their wedding day. Granny Weatherall’s self-pity gives the reader a negative initial impression of a woman the author eventually expects us to miss. The ailing octogenarian is so incredibly annoying at the beginning of the story that one almost welcomes the idea of her passing. The second theme is the acceptance of immenint death. At first, Granny Weatherall could not accept the fact that ...