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The Jilting of Granny Weatherall by Katherine Porter Katherine Anne Porters story The Jilting of Granny Weatherall is a good example of introducing readers to a very wide emotional spectrum, despite the fact that this story is quite short. This is done through the excessive use of symbolism as a writing method. Basically, it is a tale of an old womans pre-death meditation. Having masterfully incorporated grandmas recollections from the past, and the anxieties of the present moment, the author enables the reader to have a powerful emotional experience. The hospital surroundings here play the role of her companion, in a symbolic way, as it conveys her different messages: Her eyes opened very wide and the room stood out like a picture she had seen somewhere. Dark colors with the shadows rising towards the ceiling in long angles.
The tall black dresser gleamed with nothing on it but Johns picture, enlarged from a little one, with Johns eyes very black when they should have been blue. From very beginning, the reader gets the feeling that the conclusion of the story is going to be illusive. Therefore, one reads about grandmas meditations with great attention, in order not to miss the authors original message. This is because the greatest pleasure from reading works of literature where an author applies symbolism, comes as result of ones ability to decipher the original meaning of such work. It is like a puzzle, there are many ways to assemble it so that the pieces will fit.
However, there is only one way to assemble it properly, so that the actual picture will make sense. The characterization in The Jilting of Granny Weatherall is defined by the authors writing method and, therefore, is highly allegorical. Very often throughout the story, the reader gets to be puzzled, because the uncertainty about whether grandmas visions can be thought of in terms of a metaphor or not: It was Happy she really wanted. Then Happy melted from within and turned flimsy as gray gauze and the baby was a gauzy shadow There is no doubt that the authors perception of the world has affected her narrative style in the story of Granny Weatherall. Porter indulges in subjective observation; therefore her line of thought is hard to follow. Still, it adds authenticity to the story itself, as it would be very hard for us to imagine a senile person on her deathbed being in a clear state of mind.
Dont cross her, let her have her way, shes eighty years old says grandmas daughter Cornelia, implying that her mother is not completely sane in the classical sense of this word. The main theme of Porters story is the inseparable nature of love and death. Living is associated with love, yet, as the story slowly unravels, we realize that ultimate love on grandmas part can be only expressed through her death. Continuing to live would be nothing but an act of transgression against the laws of nature. The fact that Porter has managed to give the reader a certain moral lesson, without engaging in boring Christian judge mentalism, only proves that she is really a superior writer. Her concept of love is not based on the principle of reward, but on the notion of absurd.
This makes her story especially appealing to the intelligent reader, as she properly describes the true nature of this phenomenon. Throughout the story, Grandma appears as quite a pragmatic person. We are told that she had written her will a long time ago. It is not that she only made reservation for her death, but also for her afterlife: She had her secret understanding with a few favorite saints who cleared a straight road to God for her.
Nevertheless, we can be sure that its not her own fate that worries her the most, but the well being of her children: My children have come to see me die. But I cant, its not time. Oh, I always hated surprises. I wanted to give Cornelia the amethyst set Cornelia, youre to have the amethyst set. These words only dont make sense if we analyze them from a rational point of view. But this is exactly the authors point, that illogical notions can be fully justified as long as there are people who are willing to pursue them actively.
Bibliography: Porter, Katherine Anne The Jilting of Granny Weatherall. (2002). Literature Web Site. April 13, 2005. web
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