Discussion Topic
Point of view in "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall"
Summary:
The point of view in "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall" is third-person limited omniscient. The narrative closely follows Granny Weatherall's thoughts and perceptions, offering insight into her memories, feelings, and experiences while maintaining an external perspective. This technique allows readers to understand her internal struggles and the impact of her jilting.
What is the point of view in "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall"?
This story is written from the third person point of view. A key indicator that the narration is third person is the usage of pronouns like "she." More specifically, the story is written in the third person limited point of view. We do get narration about other characters; however, the majority of the narration is focused on Granny. We get a lot of information on what Granny is thinking, feeling, and doing, and this is actually where the narration starts to throw curve balls at the reader. There are a few parts of the narrative that seem to blend into a first person narration. Near the end of the story we get the following lines:
She was so amazed her thoughts ran round and round. So, my dear Lord, this is my death and I wasn’t even thinking about it. My children have come to see me die. But I...
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can’t, it’s not time. Oh, I always hated surprises.
Notice how the narrative shifts from "she" to "I." There is no usage of quotes or italics to indicate that these are Granny's thoughts, which gives readers the impression that the point of view is slipping into first person. It's a really cool section of the story because it really lets readers into Granny's mind, but if you have to pick one point of view, then the choice has to be third person based on the rest of the story.
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 perspective."
"The story is told through stream-of-consciousness. Granny's thoughts are presented in a spontaneous fashion, as if readers had access to her thoughts at the moment each one occurs to her."
The narrator of this story is a third-person omniscient narrator who can see into the mind of Granny Weatherall. The reader is privy to her innermost thoughts as she is on her deathbed. Because Granny is reflecting on her life, we see her thoughts shift from her children to her jilting at the altar to the pesky doctor who examines her and more. The reader is allowed in to a world of stream of consciousness through a narrator, really. This gives the narrator a certain amount of control; however, Granny ultimately has control over her own thoughts and as she is dying, we are exposed to a bevy of thoughts she has and the sense of bitterness she has at not having a sign before she dies.
Analyze the point of view in "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall".
"The Jilting of Granny Weatherall" has a fairly interesting narrative point of view. The story is told from the third-person perspective. Readers get plenty of third-person pronouns, like "she," to help identify the third-person perspective. The narrator exists as a silent observer who tells us what is happening; however, there are times when the narrative feels like it is almost slipping into a first-person perspective. This slight shift in the perspective takes time to develop. As the story progresses, we get more and more looks into what Granny is thinking and feeling, but we don't get to read about those thoughts in a standard third-person perspective. Italics aren't used. Quotes followed by "she thought" aren't used either. All of a sudden, readers are inside Granny's mind, and the narrative switches over to first-person words like "I" and "me."
She was so amazed her thoughts ran round and round. So, my dear Lord, this is my death and I wasn’t even thinking about it. My children have come to see me die. But I can’t, it’s not time. Oh, I always hated surprises.