The Jilting Of Granny Weatherall Summary

Moments before death : An insight to “The Jilting
Of Granny Weatherall.”

The narrative, ' The Jilting of Granny Weatherall' by Katherine Ann Porter revolves around an elderly woman: Granny Weatherall. The opening scene is orchestrated parallel to the beginning of a day and culminates into the usual night by the end of the plot. The author however just describes the whole scenario through Granny's eyes and the events she perceives. The acts of other characters are also portrayed by what Miss Weatherall observes. In essence, the plot is unveiled through a non-participant, selective omniscient point of view to convey the message a person sends moments from death.
The original title of the story, ' The Jilting of Granny Weatherall'
clearly sends the message pertaining to the rejections and disappointments a character might have faced; in this case it is Granny Weatherall. Throughout the length of the narrative she undergoes a variety of emotions: stubbornness, independence and denial. The narrator thus, has to have a window into the character's conscience to create a portrait from her thoughts. From flashbacks to the present, Granny dwells on a few incidents in her life which moulds her reactions to them. To either relate the memory of Miss Weatherall '... fencing a hundred acres...' (pg 85), which shows her independence or the incident where she denies the doctor's professional judgment on her health with contempt, the narrator has to view the world through the lead character's eyes. Furthermore, since the story revolves around an elderly, sickly lady’s last moments, another character would have not been able to realistically describe the ineffectiveness of the body over the mind in the last stages of the life cycle. To dramatically divulge the helplessness, regret and the struggle to survive in the plot, justice could only be done choosing the character who would meet the requirements. Granny's aging health has the predicted affects on her wellbeing which ranged from drowsiness to disillusionment.
Throughout the length of the narrative, her surroundings and its inhabitants seemed to '... float around ...' (pg 84). Along with this she finds a delight '... to snatch a minute now and then.' (pg 84) to take a quick nap. Granny’s mind aimlessly and unconsciously wanders through her labyrinth of memories; it is unable to stay focused on a single thought for comparatively long period. A direct narration would have left blank periods and hanging thoughts through the course of the plot. To ensure that the readers entirely indulge into the story, a continuous chain of thought had to be present. This would ensure the transfer of the entire experiences and relating emotions from paper to imagination. It also has to be kept in mind that the deliberate and continuous switching between the past and the present gives an additional insight of the obstacles an old mind has to overcome; in fact, it helps the readers to relate better with the main character. Furthermore, the ability to switch between the characters also makes Granny’s actual condition more obvious which provides easier interpretation of all the situations. On a logical platform, it would be considered a paradox for a feeble and aged mind to enlighten the reader with one’s thoughts when in reality it cannot even keep track of the activities in the surrounding. To avoid this conflict, the narrator had to
possess infinite knowledge of the plot and of all the concerned characters. Towards the end of the story it becomes apparent that Granny Weatherall’s dying moments had begun. If the narration were done by the lead character, the story would have come to an abrupt end, possibly even signifying absurdity in the climax of the plot. It is not possible for any being to reincarnate and disclose one’s past life. To overcome this hurdle, the third person, or an outsider, narrator had to be used as the story-teller. A question of using a participating character might arise again. It must be kept in mind that this phenomenon would destroy the foundations set by the preceding arguments. Furthermore, the point of view also fulfills the purpose of the story, a part of which in this case is to draw the readers level with Ellen Weatherall’s stream of thoughts. On a different forum, the story could have been narrated in the first person however, the narrator would have to speak as death itself which would produce a whole different fiction altogether. The layout of the plot of this narrative is commendable. Miss Porter articulately conveys the story to the readers. Her tools of using a sideline narrator and Weatherall’s fragmented memories undeniably create a sense of sympathy for the dying lady regardless of its extent. The point of view used almost gives the readers a chance to live the story as their own which would not have been present through another perspective. The gradual shifting in time presented the readers to reflect themselves in the same situation which only increases the readers’ passion for the character. In another setting however, this narrative could also have been conveyed through participating point of view if the narrator would have been relating the events after their death.