The Jilting of Granny Weatherall Questions and Answers
by Katherine Anne Porter

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• The Jilting of Granny Weatherall
  How is "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall" a stream of consciousness story?
  Not all of "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall" is told in stream of consciousness, but much of it is. And that part of the story which is told using this literary technique is arguably the most...

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• The Jilting of Granny Weatherall
  What does it mean when one of the children "jumped the track" in "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall"?
  Granny Ellen Weatherall is on her deathbed, being tended to by the young village doctor and one of her daughters, Cornelia. She thinks back on her life and everything she has accomplished—much of...

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• The Jilting of Granny Weatherall
  What realization does Granny come to after her children arrive?
  After all of her children begin to arrive, understanding that her death is fast approaching, Granny Ellen Weatherall realizes that "she had changed her mind after sixty years and she would like to...

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• The Jilting of Granny Weatherall
  What does the name Weatherall have to do with Granny's nature (or her life story)? What other traits or qualities do you find in her?
  Granny’s last name, Weatherall, suggests that she is resilient and able to overcome obstacles and hardships in her life. She has the ability to weather whatever comes her way. For example, when...

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• The Jilting of Granny Weatherall
  One theme of the story is the perseverance of eighty-year-old Ellen Weatherall. Trace the theme of perseverance throughout the story and give examples.
  Yes, Ellen Weatherall has persevered through a great many difficult times. When she is sending Doctor Harry away at the beginning of the story, she talks about "pull[ing] through milk-leg and...

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• The Jilting of Granny Weatherall
  What is the significance of Hapsy in paragraph 41 of "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall"? What religious symbolism is attached to the vision of her and her infant son?
  Hapsy is the youngest, and apparently favorite, daughter of Granny Weatherall. She has two other daughters, Lydia and Cornelia. Hapsy, though, also seems to be the biggest disappointment to...

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• The Jilting of Granny Weatherall
  What are Granny's circumstances in the story "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall"?   
  Granny Weatherall is eighty years old and is on her deathbed in her daughter Cornelia's house. She is in and out of consciousness, losing hours here and there in sleep. When she is conscious, she...

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• The Jilting of Granny Weatherall
  How does Granny's vision of Hapsy foreshadow the end of the story?
  When Granny sees Hapsy, Hapsy "melted from within and turned flimsy as gray gauze and the baby was a gauzy shadow." Granny is dying—her life force is essentially melting away from within. Likewise,...

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• The Jilting of Granny Weatherall
  How would you characterize Granny Weatherall in "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall"?
  Of course, the stream of consciousness narrative adopted by the author gives us a real insight into Granny Weatherall's character. Clearly, if you read this story, hopefully you cannot fail to...

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• The Jilting of Granny Weatherall
  Would you call the character of Doctor Harry flat or round? Why is his flatness or roundness appropriate to the story?
  I would say that Doctor Harry is a flat character, and that his flatness is appropriate to the story. He's flat because he's just a set of tics and external characteristics, described from the...

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• The Jilting of Granny Weatherall
  Why does Granny not clearly identify the man pushing the cart (Death) and the man "cursing like a sailor" in "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall"?
  As Granny fades in and out of consciousness, the lines between the present and the past, reality and memory are blurred. For this reason, Granny's recognition of the presence of the priest, Father...

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• The Jilting of Granny Weatherall
  In "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall" how does the function/symbolism of light relate to Granny's life?
  You have asked an excellent question that relates to the ending of the story, the symbolism of the light that Granny Weatherall blows out and also the importance of her jilting to her life and how...

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• The Jilting of Granny Weatherall
  How is Granny Weatherall's outlook on life influenced by her actions in "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall"?
  I think one element about Granny Weatherall's character that comes across incredibly strongly is her independence and inner-strength. Part of the reason why she is so cantankerous in her near-death...

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• The Jilting of Granny Weatherall
  In "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall," which characters mentioned in the story are mainly figures from Granny's past?
  Granny Weatherall recalls Hapsy, her favorite (and youngest) daughter. Granny begins to conflate remembrances of the past and the present. At one point, she even thinks she is Hapsy. She seems to...

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• The Jilting of Granny Weatherall
  What is the point of view in "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall"?
  The story is written in the third person point of view. "One of the most striking stylistic aspects of ' 'The Jilting of Granny Weatherall'' is its unusual narrative...

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• The Jilting of Granny Weatherall
  What are the 2 major examples of "irony of situation" in "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall"?
  Since "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall" involves stream-of-consciousness there is a great deal that goes on in Granny's mind that does not find itself in reality; as a result, the outcome is very...

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• The Jilting of Granny Weatherall
  In The Jilting of Granny Weatherall by Katherine Anne Porter, why is Granny so hostile to Cornelia?  
  Granny might have a few different reasons for treating her daughter, Cornelia, with hostility. The main one seems to be that Cornelia is taking care of Granny when the old woman would rather be...

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• The Jilting of Granny Weatherall
  Does Granny Weatherall have a sound religious understanding of her spiritual condition in "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall"?
  No, she doesn't. She feels jilted by God right up until the end of the story when she dies and the symbolic light goes out. She is still angry that once again, in death, she is jilted. She still...

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• The Jilting of Granny Weatherall
  Why might the author have chosen "Weatherall" as an appropriate surname for Granny?
  As she lies on her deathbed, Ellen "Granny" Weatherall reflects on her life. She is a woman around eighty who has faced many challenges. She remembers her daughter Lidia coming to her for parenting...

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• The Jilting of Granny Weatherall
  In "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall," who are John and George? They are mentioned but it does not explain who they are.
  George was the man to whom Granny was engaged when she was twenty. He jilted her at the altar on their wedding day, and sixty years later, the memory of the pain of his abandonment still has the...

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• The Jilting of Granny Weatherall
  In "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall," what type of advice did Granny give to her family?
  Granny regards herself as superior to her children in most matters. As a widow, she has supported her family single handedly, caring for the house as well as doing difficult farm labor and working...

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• The Jilting of Granny Weatherall
  What revelations does the reader find as he reads "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall" by Katherine Anne Porter?
  Katherine Anne Porter allows the reader to share a dying woman’s thoughts in “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall.” Most of the story is told using the literary device of stream of consciousness. This...

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• The Jilting of Granny Weatherall
  What painful memory is "squeezed out" of Granny's heart in "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall"?
  It is her memory of being jilted by the boy named George that is "squeezed out" of Granny's heart. As she drifts in and out of consciousness, Granny is remembering her children, and the...

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• The Jilting of Granny Weatherall
  What are the conflicts in "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall"?
  There are several conflicts in "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall." The story opens with an obvious conflict between Granny and Doctor Harry: " She flicked her wrist neatly out of...

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• The Jilting of Granny Weatherall
  In the story, Granny said, "What was it? Something not given back...." What wasn't given back?
  As Granny is dying, she remembers the time she was jilted by the man she loved, George. He left her standing at the alter fruitlessly waiting for him to show up. She was extremely humiliated and...

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• The Jilting of Granny Weatherall
  In "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall", is there humour in the text?
  You asked two questions in your original question, and enotes specifies that you are only able to ask one, so I have edited it to focus on the humour in the text. Clearly, if you read this story,...

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• The Jilting of Granny Weatherall
  Hi, Is Granny Weatherall a static character? "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall" by Katherine Anne Porter
  Katherine Anne Porter's short story "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall" is the tale of a woman who suffers a terrible situation in her youth: She is jilted at the altar on the day of her wedding day...

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• The Jilting of Granny Weatherall
  grannywhat excatly happened to her 60 years eairlier.what effect did this event have on her.
  See my answer to your question in the Question and Answer section. I think the author intentionally left some things vague. My grandmother was a Cherokee who left that culture to marry my white...

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• The Jilting of Granny Weatherall
  In the first paragraph of The jilting of Granny Weatherall what does the writer tell about Ellen Weatherall?  
  In the first paragraph, we only hear from Ellen and the doctor. The author doesn't really tell us anything, but we can infer a great deal. This is a story of the feisty 80-year pioneer woman who...

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• The Jilting of Granny Weatherall
  Why is stream-of-consciousness appropriate in "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall"? What about Ellen Weatherall's condition does this narrative technique represent? How effectively does it reveal events of the past? How clearly does it reflect the...
  Granny Weatherall is dying. She is not thinking clearly so by using the stream of consciousness, the author gives a spontaneous feeling to her thoughts, and to the confusion Granny experiences....

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• The Jilting of Granny Weatherall
  What is the reason that Granny wants to see George after sixty years in "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall" by Katherine Anne Porter?
  Granny Weatherall does not want to die. She tells her doctor to leave her alone and go tend to the sick people. Her life is slipping away as she drifts in and out of consciousness. Granny’s...

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• The Jilting of Granny Weatherall
  Why doesn't Hapsy come to her death bed in "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall"?
  You have asked a really interesting question as there is a certain ambiguity about the character of Hapsy in this excellent short story. Hapsy is an ambiguous character because her identity and...

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• The Jilting of Granny Weatherall
  In "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall," why does Granny feel that she is not ready to die?
  Granny Weatherall isn't ready to die yet, or so she thinks, because she has not experienced the stereotypical "seeing the light, the tunnel, Jesus holding out his hands" type of...

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• The Jilting of Granny Weatherall
  Why did Granny keep letters from both John and George in "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall"?
  It is clear that Granny's possession of love letters to both George, the man who jilted her, and John, the man she eventually married and had children with, reflects her continued romantic feelings...

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• The Jilting of Granny Weatherall
  In "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall", why did Father Connolly tickle Granny Weatherall's feet?
  The arrival of Father Connolly heralds another moment of bitter-sweet humour as he begins to perform the Last Rites on Granny Weatherall. Crucial to understanding the story is the point of view...

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• The Jilting of Granny Weatherall
  What effect does the use of stream of consciousness have on the narration in "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall"?
  You have asked lots of questions, so I have edited it down to one question focussing on the general narrative method adopted and how it affects the story. The stream of consciousness narrative...

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• The Jilting of Granny Weatherall
  Who is John?  That is, what is the history here?   How does Granny Weatherall feel about him?  
  John is the man Granny eventually married and had children with after she was jilted by George. She speaks of him fondly, and they must have shared a deep closeness, because as she is thinking...

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• The Jilting of Granny Weatherall
  Who is Cornelia and how does Granny feel towards her?
  Cornelia is Granny's daughter who is caring for Granny. Granny seems mostly annoyed by Cornelia. She says that Cornelia is too good and dutiful and she needs a spanking. When Cornelia is crying...

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• The Jilting of Granny Weatherall
  Which event does Granny recall with particular anger and sadness? What message does she have for the person involved?
  The title of the story is the answer to your question: the day she was stood up at her wedding. The message she would like to send George, her runaway groom, is that she went on with her life...

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• The Jilting of Granny Weatherall
  What is the symbolism in "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall"?
  There are several symbols in Katherine Anne Porter's "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall." Symbols of Christianity A candle, a crucifix, and a rosary are on a table covered with linen (as is an...

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• The Jilting of Granny Weatherall
  What memories and details suggest Granny's physical and emotional strength?
  Granny has memories of when she cared for her children and took care of her farm. She also helped her neighbors by caring for their sick children and their animals. She also was able to make it...

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• The Jilting of Granny Weatherall
  What incident in Granny Weatherall's life troubles her deeply?
  The clue's in the title. Many years ago, Granny Weatherall was jilted at the altar by her fiance, George. This was a deeply traumatic event and has haunted her ever since. As she lies upon her...

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• The Jilting of Granny Weatherall
  What is Granny's reaction to Dr. Harry's presence?
  Granny Weatherall is irritated by Doctor Harry's presence. She feels that Doctor Harry patronizes her, so she does not enjoy his visits. More than anything, she is upset that a doctor half her age...

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• The Jilting of Granny Weatherall
  What does Granny Weatherall have in common with J. Alfred Prufrock?
  Granny Weatherall and J. Alfred Prufrock are two titular characters in Porter's short story and Eliot's poem, respectively. In both of these works of literature, the narration takes us very close...

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• The Jilting of Granny Weatherall
  What is the function of the narrative gap or gaps that create uncertainty about Hapsy in "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall"? Consider the function of the narrative gaps both in the plot and in the development of themes that the story explores.
  This story is told from the point of view of a third-person narrator who sees into the mind of Granny Weatherall as she in engaged in what is know as stream of consciousness. Naturally as the dying...

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• The Jilting of Granny Weatherall
  What does the blue light represent? "The Gilting of Granny Weatherall"
  Traditionally, blue is the color of stability, calm, and order; however, it also respresents other feelings such as depression. As the color of the sky, blue has an expansiveness to it, too. In...

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• The Jilting of Granny Weatherall
  What does Granny's name mean in the story? What would her character analysis be like?
  To think about the meaning of a name, start first with the literal meaning, and then second with the associated or metaphorical meaning. To "weather" something is to make it through; the expression...

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• The Jilting of Granny Weatherall
  What does Granny mean when she thinks, “That was hell, she knew hell when she saw it”  and how does she feel about heaven?
  As Granny is dying, memories that she'd tried to suppress come into her mind. The memory that she tried hardest to put out of her head was the one memory of the day she was stood up and left at...

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• The Jilting of Granny Weatherall
  In "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall," how is Granny Weatherall jilted for a second time?
  Although Granny feels jilted by George, the fiance who left her at the alter some sixty years ealier, many believe the jilting that bothered her most was the jilting by God. Near the age of 20,...

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• The Jilting of Granny Weatherall
  How many children does Granny Weatherall have? How do we know? I've heard that she has a child named George, after her first husband. But I haven't heard the defense for that interpretation.
  As the tenacious eighty-year-old Granny Weatherall lies in her deathbed she experiences a stream of thoughts and memories, especially as she recalls her being jilted at the altar of her marriage....

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