“The Jilting of Granny Weatherall”by Katherine Anne Porter – pp. 834-843

Introduction:• In this story, Granny Weatherall remembers

key moments from her life as it comes to a close.

• Consider the judgments Granny makes about the life she has lived.

“The Jilting of Granny Weatherall”by Katherine Anne Porter – pp. 834-843

Stream of Consciousness:• Present sequences of thought as if they were

coming directly from a character’s mind• Leave out transitional words and phrases

found in ordinary prose;• Connect details only through a character’s

associations

“The Jilting of Granny Weatherall”by Katherine Anne Porter – pp. 834-843

Vocabulary:• Tactful: concerned about upsetting or

offending others; diplomatic• Piety: devotion to religion• Dyspepsia: indigestion

“The Jilting of Granny Weatherall”by Katherine Anne Porter – pp. 834-843

Summary:• On her deathbed, Granny Weatherall thinks back on

her life.• She recalls George, who left her at the altar and

John, who married her but died when their children were young.

• Unable to come to terms with the pain of the jilting and haunted by the death of her daughter Hapsy, Granny realizes that death has come for her, and she suffers one last jilting.

“The Jilting of Granny Weatherall”by Katherine Anne Porter – pp. 834-843

Stream of Consciousness; p. 835• While granny is rebuking the doctor, what is

really happening in the room?• The doctor is examining the elderly woman by

checking the pulse in her wrist and the warmth of her forehead.

• Where is Granny Weatherall as she speaks to the doctor? In her bed

“The Jilting of Granny Weatherall”by Katherine Anne Porter – pp. 834-843

Reread the passage on p. 836 beginning with “Tomorrow was far away and there was nothing to trouble about.”• Are the images of household items memories of the

past or pictures of the present?• The images that begin the passage are memories of

the past. The discussion of the boxes of letters could indicate the past, present, or both as Granny experiences a passing moment of lucidity in which she realizes that she is dying.

“The Jilting of Granny Weatherall”by Katherine Anne Porter – pp. 834-843

Stream of Consciousness• Reread the passage on p. 836 that begins with “While

she was rummaging around she found death in her mind and it felt clammy and unfamiliar.”

• What are some topics she touches on, and how are they linked in her mind?

• Her thoughts run back to a time twenty years earlier when she had originally faced her mortality. Then she thinks of her long-lived father, a hot toddy, and the annoyance of having to live with her daughter.

“The Jilting of Granny Weatherall”by Katherine Anne Porter – pp. 834-843

• What journey did Granny Weatherall take when she was sixty years old? Why?

• Because she thought she was dying, Granny made farewell trips to each of her children.

“The Jilting of Granny Weatherall”by Katherine Anne Porter – pp. 834-843

What do you learn from the flashback on p. 838 when her children were small?• You learn that she was deeply religious, that

her children trusted her, and that they lived in simple surroundings without electricity.

“The Jilting of Granny Weatherall”by Katherine Anne Porter – pp. 834-843

Stream of Consciousness; p. 838• Reread the passage that begins with “The pillow

rose about her shoulders and pressed against heart and the memory was being squeezed out of it…”

• What memory does Granny try to keep from surfacing? Why?

• She does not want to remember bin jilted at the altar. The experience was deeply painful to her.

“The Jilting of Granny Weatherall”by Katherine Anne Porter – pp. 834-843

• What happened to Granny sixty years ago?• She was jilted at the altar by George.

“The Jilting of Granny Weatherall”by Katherine Anne Porter – pp. 834-843

Stream of Consciousness:• Re-read the dialogue on the top of p. 840.• What actual events are taking place in the room,

and in what ways do they affect Granny’s thoughts?

• Granny’s daughter Cornelia is weeping and talking to her mother. Doctor Harry also returns and examines Granny. Granny’s thoughts reflect her physical environment but in distorted ways.

“The Jilting of Granny Weatherall”by Katherine Anne Porter – pp. 834-843

Critical Thinking:• Re-read the passage at the bottom of p. 840, “Yes, she

had changed her mind…”• What do you make of Granny’s wanting George to think

she forgot him? What might Granny mean when she says, “Something not given back”?

• Human nature sometimes causes us to hide from others how much they have hurt us. Perhaps “something not given back” means that Granny never again had faith in a man or in the future that she had had before George jilted her.

“The Jilting of Granny Weatherall”by Katherine Anne Porter – pp. 834-843

What does Granny want George to know? (p. 841)• That she did fine without him. She still feels a

loss, but it is not clear if she wants George to know about that lingering feeling.

“The Jilting of Granny Weatherall”by Katherine Anne Porter – pp. 834-843

Stream of Consciousnessp. 842: Re-read the passage where her “thoughts ran round and round.”• What is the connecting link between Granny’s

thoughts about her amethyst set, the forty acres, and the altar cloth?

• Granny is thinking of all the tasks she intended to accomplish before her death and the items she had intended to give away.

“The Jilting of Granny Weatherall”by Katherine Anne Porter – pp. 834-843

Critical Reading p. 843#1 a) Who sits with granny during her final hours? b) What is Granny’s attitude toward this person?• a) Her daughter Cornelia sits with her• b) She is annoyed at her

“The Jilting of Granny Weatherall”by Katherine Anne Porter – pp. 834-843

Critical Reading p. 843#2 a) What are the names of Granny’s children? b) Which of her children does Granny long to see? Why is she unable to see this child?• a) Her children are named Hapsy, Lydia,

Jimmy, and Cornelia.• b) She longs to see Hapsy.• c) Hapsy is dead.

“The Jilting of Granny Weatherall”by Katherine Anne Porter – pp. 834-843

Critical Reading p. 843#3 a) As she drifts in and out of consciousness, what memory is “squeezed out” of Granny’s heart? b) How does Granny try to talk herself out of the pain of this memory?• a) Granny remembers being jilted at the altar.• b) She tells herself that he meant no harm and

that jilting happens to many girls.

“The Jilting of Granny Weatherall”by Katherine Anne Porter – pp. 834-843

Critical Reading p. 843#4 a) What memories and details suggest granny’s physical and emotional strength as a young woman? b) Why might the author have chosen “Weatherall” as an appropriate surname for Granny?• a) Granny’s memories of caring for her children and

farm, of helping neighbors, and of enduring both the jilting and her husband’s early death suggest her strengths. b) Granny has weathered many difficult situations in her life.

“The Jilting of Granny Weatherall”by Katherine Anne Porter – pp. 834-843

Critical Reading p. 843#5 a) As she nears death, why does Granny say she “can’t go”? b) What is the connection between her experience of having been jilted and her experiences in the final paragraph?• a) She does not feel ready to go because she is

waiting for a sign.• b) As she faces death, she sees no welcoming sign

from God. She feels as jilted by her faith as she once felt jilted by George.

“The Jilting of Granny Weatherall”by Katherine Anne Porter – pp. 834-843

Critical Reading p. 843#6 In what ways might this story have been different if Granny had confronted George after he jilted her?• A confrontation may have prevented Granny’s

festering regrets.

“The Jilting of Granny Weatherall”by Katherine Anne Porter – pp. 834-843

Critical Reading p. 843#7 Whose criteria do you think Granny uses to judge her life? Is her assessment of her life accurate or fair?• In making a judgment about whether she led a

productive life, Granny accepts society’s views about the role of women in her day. She finds fulfillment in her family, home, and faith, but also feels a little cheated at the end.