Ellen At The Alter On Her Wedding Day Analysis

Ellen is the mother of 3 living children and 1 deceased child. While on her death bed, she is constantly talking to herself in her head. Her name throughout the story is Granny Weatherall even though her real name is Ellen. However, while on her death bed, she is constantly communicating inside her head. She is unforgiving and ultimately will pay the price on her death bed; she is so controlling that she believes that she can control when she will die, and last but not least, she is bitter about her first love leaving her at the alter on their wedding day.
Ellen is incapable of forgiving her first love and unfortunately, will pay for it on her deathbed. Throughout the story she mentions how George jilting her at the alter on her wedding day affected her tremendously. She often compares the pain she felt because of George abandoning her at the alter to hell. According to Ellen, “that [George abandoning Ellen at the alter] was hell, she knew hell when she saw it” (Porter 275). Although her …show more content…
As stated above, Ellen basically causes her own fate in the end simply because she is adamant on not forgiving George. She is not only incapable of forgiving john, but she is incapable of forgetting him as well. As shown above, the course of Ellen’s life causes her to become the angry bitter woman she is on her deathbed. Ultimately, she must decide between accompanying her husband and daughter or being alone in the darkness. Unfortunately, she chooses to spend her life alone in the darkness. In conclusion, instead of enjoying her family on her deathbed, Ellen could only think about the pain and darkness her soul felt for over 60 years. Ultimately, her soul will spend eternity in the agonizing darkness