Katherine Ann Porter's The Jilting Of Granny Weatherall

Superior Essays
Katherine Ann Porter’s “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall” describes an older woman, Granny Weatherall, in bed suffering from a serious illness being taken care of by Doctor Harry- a man who she believes has no need to be here for she believes she is not sick. Being in denial that she is dying, she meanders in thought of what she wants to do tomorrow and recalls events in her life- including the jilting that took occurred when she was about to marry a man named George. She remembers at sixty she “went around making farewell trips to see her children and grandchildren” to get over idea of dying and not be worried of death, yet the memories of being jilted returned and made her seem unprepared for the last moments in her life. When the Priest …show more content…
In actuality, she is an English schoolteacher who volunteers in her spare time and enjoys taking her fox fur coat to visit the Public Gardens Park every Sunday- to hear the band play and feel the positive ambiance of the on-goers. She also visits the baker’s after each park visit to buy a slice of honey-cake; for it is her Sunday treat. Nevertheless, her private life depicts her character much deeply than what meets the eye. She visualizes the environment and her self as an act in her choreographed theater plays. She observes the folks around her and pretends they are apart of her fictional theatrical world. Her illusory world comes to a despondent end as the “hero and heroine” of Miss Brill’s imaginary play decide to deride her as a “silly old mug” and her fur as a “fried whiting.” She decides to return home and avoids her weekly stop at the bakers to obtain her Sunday treat- a slice of honey cake. She puts away her fur into its box and her ignorance begins, and she states that, “when she put the lid on she thought she heard something crying.” In reality it was her who was crying, but her rejection keeps her from facing the truth of reality- still, even after being humiliated by the couple in the park. Miss Brill tries to disregard her loneliness by producing an alternative world for herself, rationalizing the actual reality. She depicts a deception of existence for her self until she soon learns how unpleasant reality can actually

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