The Jilting of Granny Weatherall

Every time you recollect a moment that occurred in your life a ball of furry rises urgently in your skull. When you hear the name your bones tremble in madness and you feel as though you got cheated out of life. This is what Granny Weatherall goes through in the simply perfect short story “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall by Katherine Anne Porter. When gazing into Katherine Anne Porter’s tremendous tragedy, the reader is flooded with meaningful symbolism.

When lurking into the depths of Katherine Anne Porter’s text it becomes known that a clear-cut tragedy is lying in front of your eyes. Starting this masterpiece the conflict becomes immediately apparent to the mind that Granny Weatheral has become afflicted with illness. She does not actually listen to the doctor and even denies his suggestions, which would be offensive to most. Everything seems to be going picture perfect when all those younger than her obey her command. Every time she tells someone to do something, they do it like when she wants them to “Pick all the fruit this year and see that nothing is wasted.” In power there is flaws, like the government of the U.S. and this hold true to Granny Weatherall because she can’t stop remembering the horrifying day that she was abandoned like a homeless child at the altar. The thoughts going threw her mind are gruesome and ones that children could not bear. To blame a few events on someone else is one aspect, but blaming everything is another. With a flaw there is a fall and Granny Weatherall goes insane like a mom getting ready for special guests; everything has to be perfect. She plummets like a free-faller off the Empire State Building when she is venting to herself about all her horrible happenings. Finally death occurs at the end when Granny Weatherall descends into the sky and will never step foot on earth’s beautiful surface again; death.

Symbolism seems to seep out of the pages in Katherine Anne Porter’s tragedy like water out of a cracked glass in this astonishing short story. When Granny Weatherall walks between the wall of the church it symbolizes as a sanctuary of her sins. This is because when opening her heart and mind in church she realizes all the sinful acts she has brought upon herself. In blaming everyone else for getting left at the altar she realizes that it was her fault because it was her flaws, not others. To get away from life and blaming others Granny Weatherall lays her head into the powerful pillow. As the pillow rises she ventures further and further from the outside world and its devil like flaws. She lays her head down whenever she just needs to break away from everything else. When “Lighting the lamps” Granny Weatherall realizes all the beautiful joy that exists in the atmosphere, like a bookworm in a library. Realizing this occurs because she realizes all the children and the joy that they can bring to the world and everything in it.

Porter’s tragedy flooded with symbolism may seem pointless at first pass by an adequate reader, but when reading into the depths of the symbolism Porter’s work a lesson becomes present in the mind of all. Which is, enjoy life while you can and cherish every moment . As an un-know author once said “Watch your thoughts, for they become words. Watch your words, for they become actions. Watch your actions, for they become habits. Watch your habits, for they become character. Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”