The Jilting of Granny Weatherall- Katherine Anne Porter

Abstract: Granny Weatherall is dying. Dr. Harry and her daughter Cornelia are looking after her. She does not really know how sick she is. She says how she wants to get rid of some old letters from her husband John and George because she does not want her children to know how silly she was when she was younger. George was a man that jilted Granny Weatherall in her younger years. He left her at the altar. She alters between sleep and being awake and gets very irritated that her daughter is whispering. She thinks that she will live until she is 100 because her father did. She also says how she wants to move back home where she won't be reminded that she is old. She also reflects on her life. She remembers when her children were young and how much she liked it. She also thinks that John won't recognize her when he sees her. She remembers not so good times in her life like when George left her at the altar and when her child died. She wants to see George and tell him that he did not ruin her life, and she had a pretty good life without him. The priest then comes to give Granny her last rites. She does not feel like she needs them. She also then wants to tell her children many different things before she dies. Her children are all there too. She then wants a sign, but she doesn't get one and she is struck with grief. She then dies.

Response: Granny Weatherall seems like a very strong woman. She has had some hard things happen to her in her life like her husband and child dying and also being left at the altar. She also was a very hard-worker. It seems like she hides her emotions though. Even after many years being left at the altar, she still felt angry. She was still upset with George, but she also was able to move on with her life which she wanted to tell George. She also was not expecting to die when she did. She almost died when she was 60, so she thought that this would just be another one of those experiences. She thought that she would live until she was 100 just like her father that's why she said that she would do everything tomorrow. She wasn't expecting to die, and her being on her deathbed surprised her and also made her feel bad because she hadn't got done all that she thought she needed to. Granny has also changed throughout her life. She was probably not as strong as when she was younger, but she was able to overcome her hardships and in the process become stronger. She doesn't look the same anymore and has worked hard like when she put fence by herself. She also seems like a very good mother who loves her children. She said how she would always take care of them when they were younger and sick, and she wished she could go back to the days when they were young. It also seems like her husband John died at a young age, and she was able to care for her children by herself.