The Jilting Of Granny Weatherall Summary

Three decades into the 20th century, a writer named Katherine Anne Porter created a story named “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall.” The narrative follows the last moments of the life of Ellen Weatherall. Written in a stream of consciousness, Weatherall remembers moments from her past including memories with her children and being jilted at her first wedding. While on her deathbed with a priest reading her the last rites, she sees and reminisces about all her children, both the living ones and the dead. Weatherall has lived a full life and when the final time comes feels like there is still so much for her to do on Earth. She looks to God for a sign but when no sign comes, she feels betrayed as if she was jilting again. This text from Porter brings a couple of different arguments when looking at the story from three different areas of study. The areas of thanatology, theology, and gerontology, all bring a different explanation and argument to the text. Each study represents deep analysis of death, religiosity, and the psychology of …show more content…
Through the lens of “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall”, Katherine Anne Porter wanted to supply the reader with an argument that death limits humans. With thanatology, Porter’s story meant that death is perceived differently to all people. With theology, she conveyed that the fear of dying and passing itself trumps one’s faith. Last with gerontology, she presented that the story is merely narrative and thought of a woman’s last day on Earth. With each of these arguments, Porter explained that human life is always altered by fear of dying. We do certain things to stay safe and keep our well-being intact because we all suffer an anxiety of death. Katherine Ann Porter’s story is ultimately a reflection of human nature with life’s end told from the point of view of an elderly woman named Ellen “Granny”