12 AP English Literature : A Feminist Approach to “TJGW”

[Ms. Miller, MAED & MA]

How does Katherine Porter use Granny Weatherall’s experiences and memories to critique the societal expectations and limitations placed on women in the early 20th century? In your response, analyze how the story reflects feminist themes, such as the struggle for autonomy, the impact of gender roles, and the significance of Granny’s relationships with the men in her life.

Word Count: 350 minimum for initial response.
Word count 150 for each. Respond to 3-5 of your classmates by expanding on a single idea presented or challenging their stance

www.simplypsychology.org/feminist-theory-sociology.html

[Heena Bista]

Katherine Porter uses Granny Weatherall’s experiences and memories to critique the societal expectations and limitations placed on women in the early 20th century by showcasing the thoughts and emotions Granny processes during her last moments of life. Granny Weatherall has had a religious upbringing which has made her faithful to God, affecting her views on autonomy and her relationships with men. For instance, it is possible that Granny Weather felt guilt for having a premarital pregnancy and being left at the altar as in most religious beliefs, marrying as a virgin is seen as pure and doing otherwise is viewed as a sin. Considering how Granny was so devoted to God, it would not be a surprise if she felt guilt for bearing a child before marriage which interferes with her own autonomy as a woman to have the choice to have children under her own desired conditions due to social expectations placed onto women especially considering religious norms. In addition, we can see how Granny Weatherall depends on God and values him for her own accomplishments rather than valuing and appreciating her own accomplishments almost as if her own faith in God takes away from her independence and value as a woman. We can see how her devotion almost takes away from her autonomy as a person and her independence to have control over her own life as she even turns to God as a last plea which is exhibited towards the end of the story when she is asking God for a sign and Granny wishes for closure by asking God for a sign rather than bring herself her own closure for her own life which is depicts how many women depend on a male figure rather than feminine figures like herself of her daughter Hapsy, who she saw through an out of body experience. In addition, even after being left at the altar while pregnant, at her last breath Granny wishes to be with George once again even though she faced hardships from that man and had to make great efforts to raise children alone as a single mother. We can also view how although Granny Weather is highly independent and accomplished as a single mother, she still wishes to be “saved” by a man as her life begins to come to end even though men were responsible for her both of her major struggles or jiltings as at first George her fiance left her at the altar and left her as a single mother and then Christ left her alone to face death herself.

[Mia R]

Throughout her entire life, as can be seen from the fragmented memories Granny Weatherall reminisces on in her time of death, Granny deals with a lot of built up shame and guilt. She feels guilty about having a child out of wedlock, because George left her at the altar, while she was pregnant. At the time, having a child out of wedlock was seen as an incredibly shameful act. Granny was also very religious, as seen with the reappearing religious themes in the story; so this would just exacerbate her guilt and shame she felt about her pregnancy. Also, she may have felt shame about just being left at the altar, even though it wasn’t her fault. A man seeing you as undesirable, or even just leaving out of fear of marriage or pregnancy, was still seen as something to be ashamed of, and Granny most likely felt that (even though it was clearly not her fault). Granny also felt ashamed that she had even been with more than one man; this is implied when Granny thinks about all of the things she has to do, and putting up the letters from her past partners was top priority. She did not want her children, she said, to know “how silly she had been once”. Society, at the time, had certain expectations for women that they needed to have met, and if they couldn’t achieve that, it would instill pain and guilt within. As previously mentioned, the idea of having a child out of wedlock for a woman was unimaginable, and for a religious catholic woman, it was one of the most blasphemous ideas. The fact that Granny has to worry about all of these things and the guilt and pain they have caused her in her final moments is a critique in itself. The author uses Granny Weatherall and her distress in her moments before passing as a way to portray that women should not have to feel such immense shame and guilt about these things, and that the societal expectations of women to be so perfect are ridiculous and unachievable.

[Alexandra Yin]

Katherine Porter uses Granny Weatherall's experiences to critique societal expectations of the idea of a fulfilling life. However, at the same time feminist roles of Granny’s independence. Throughout the novel, the author changes between Granny’s past and present. During Granny’s memories, it shows how strong and independent she was, mentioning how “she had cooked, and all the clothes she had cut and sewed and all the gardens she had made” and “In her day she had kept a better house and had more work done.” This reveals how she was busy when she was young keeping things cleaned and organized. However, this also hints on societal expectations of how women should be doing the household chores as she describes her duties that were the expectations of what women should do in the family. She also switches to showing how she could manage taking care of her children even without George who was her first jilt emphasizing the feminists roles of being independent and not needing anyone to rely on. However, contrary to how she wants to be presented as an independent woman, it also shows how she cares about societal expectations of what families are like. This is seen when she says to George “I want him to know I had my husband just the same and my children and my house like any other women.” Which highlights the societal norms of having a husband, house, and kids for fulfillment in her life. Not only that, this is also seen in the end when she was about to die she asks God for a sign. This shows how after John, her husband, has died, she needed someone else to rely on turning to God. However, there was no sign from God as it was not supposed to be God giving her a sign, but rather Hapsy. This demonstrates how she needed someone to rely on and believe in, even though she was hurt by most of them. Ultimately, Granny’s memories of what she did in the past illustrates her independence which highlights feminist roles. However, her thoughts hints how she is still stuck in the society's expectations of what is seen to be a happy life, in which she aims for, further explaining that even though she was near her death, she couldn’t experience peace but rather pain as she lets herself down with all these expectations.

[Wanyang(Peter) Xu]

In “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall,” author Katherine Porter connects Granny Weatherall’s experiences and memories to many aspects of feminist theories and societal expectations put on women during the early 1900s in order to critique and criticize them. Early on right from the beginning of the short story, it is established that Granny Weatherall is plagued and troubled by many jiltings throughout her life. Her two most hurtful jiltings, and the main problems she faces throughout the story are her abandonment by her fiance George and the early grave of her loving husband John. This shows that immediately Katherine Porter connects the meaning in this story to that of ideas on feminism she wishes to criticize. Porter also sets up the idea that Granny Weatherall believes a woman can only achieve true happiness in life by submission to a man and being a mother. This is a common expectation of women and a classic idea of gender roles in the early 1900s. Here Katherine reveals this social expectation and looks down upon it as this idea of Granny Weatherall’s is shattered at the end of the story, in her last moments when Granny blindly asks for another sign from God when she should have accepted her imminent death and thought of Hapsy who she’d been waiting for for 20 years. Another way Porter intertwines a social expectation and stereotype of women into the story with the intention to critique it is when Granny Weatherall first recalls her hardships when she gave birth but her husband John was there for her and comparing it to her imagination of Hapsy giving birth to her child and pleading for help, but she had no husband and was left to fight alone. This theme is also shown many ways throughout the story, another example is when she recalled her ruined wedding with George “the day that John came to her rescue.” This shows how Porter criticizes the common belief of a woman needing to rely on a man by using irony and hypobole with the fact that after getting betrayed by one man she relied upon and was greatly hurt by, she immediately started relying on another man.

[Alina Nichols]

In Katherine Anne Porter’s “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall,” Granny Weatherall, becomes a mirror through which we can see the constraints and expectations placed on women in the 1900s. Porter analyzes Granny’s memories and experiences, revealing how these societal pressures shaped, limited, and suffocated her, all while she struggled to maintain her sense of self. Granny Weatherall’s name suggests toughness, someone who has “weathered all” that life has thrown at her. And she has—raising children, running a farm, and holding her family together after her husband’s death. But as she reflects back on her life, we see that her strength wasn’t a choice. Much of it was out of necessity, forced on her by the roles society told her she must play. She was expected to be the perfect wife and mother. There’s an underlying reason for her independence; while she’s proud of what she has accomplished, it also shows how much she had to give up to meet those societal expectations. One of the most important memories Granny showed is the time she was jilted at the altar by George. This event was more than just a personal heartbreak; it was a public humiliation because at the time a woman’s worth was often tied to her ability to get marry. That moment left a deep trauma, not just because of the betrayal by George but because it hurt the societal norms she had been told to follow. Yet, despite the pain, Granny picks herself up and builds a life, but there’s always that what if feeling of what could have been. Where she wasn’t defined by her relationship to a man, but by her own desires and choices. Granny’s relationships with men, particularly George and her husband John, further show the pressures she faced. George’s abandonment was a harsh lesson in how little control she had over her own life, while her marriage to John, though loving, was marked by duty and routine rather than the love she might have once hoped for. Even in her relationships with her children, like her daughter Cornelia, Granny projects some of her own fears. She sees Cornelia living the same dutiful life she did, and while part of her admires it, another part of her can’t help but resent it—resent the cycle of sacrifice and submission that women in her world seem unable to escape. In her final moments, Granny’s thoughts return to the jilting, not just by George, but by life itself. She feels betrayed once again, this time by God, as she faces death. It’s as if all the strength she mustered to “weather all” still wasn’t enough to break free from the roles that confined her. Even at the end, she’s denied the peace and recognition she sought, highlighting the injustices women like her face. Porter’s portrayal of Granny Weatherall is a powerful critique of the limitations placed on women. Through Granny’s life, we see the quiet, often unnoticed, struggles of women who were expected to be strong yet were rarely allowed to live life on their own terms. It’s a story of resilience, but also one of deep, enduring sadness—a reflection on the cost of living in a world that demands so much from women but offers so little in return.

[Kimberly Zúñiga]

Throughout Granny Weatherall's life she has had two men, John and George, affect her life in one way or another. After George leaves her on the altar, pregnant with her first child Hapsy, and John passes away leaving her and her children on their own without any means to move on with their lives, Granny’s perspective on needing a male hero in her life significantly changes. Throughout the story Granny Weatherall has moments where she demonstrates what readers will assume is pride, however, Granny in her last moments of life is reflecting on her self courage and her perseverance throughout her jiltings. Granny makes references to how she continued to provide for her family and how she was able to regain “everything he [George] took away and more”. In her final moments, Granny reviews everything well she has done in her life, by analyzing her “good doings” and struggle on her own, this is her shout for autonomy. Granny aimed to establish the barrier between her husband and prospect, and show that she was more than just an expecting bride left at the altar. Her pride, and at times her vanity, shouldn't be mistaken as characteristics that were inherently built into Ellen Weatherall, instead, they should be portrayed as her affirmative action to become something more than what she had been labeled, and possibly something more than what her religion had labeled. In the same perspective, Porter characterizes Ellen to be a woman of strong ideals and of even stronger morals. These characteristics in their own break the social and gender roles that had been present in the 29th century. By developing a character that refused her assigned gender and societal role, Porter is better able to convey Granny Weatherall's story. By highlighting and emphasizing Granny Weatherall's complexities, Porter is able to bring about the opposition to conforming to gender roles placed upon women. She writes Ellen Weatehrall, a woman left at the altar and left by her husband in a time of death, in a new lens, a lens in which Ellen is a woman proud to speak up, not sensible, and overall capable of doing more than just being a mother. Porter writes Ellen Weatherall as a woman capable of working and up keeping her farm, and taking care of her children, rather than a woman that died without a fight, without a husband, and a woman once left on the altar.

[Chloe Phan]

In "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall" author Katherine Anne Porter delves into the societal expectations and limitations placed on women during that period. With her vivid storytelling technique, she uses Granny's ongoing struggle for autonomy to demonstrate themes of feminism during the confines of traditional gender roles. By analyzing her memories and experiences, readers can see how all these societal expectations impacted her, affecting her ability to find herself. Although we can see that Granny's personality has always been independent, she still goes through struggles of traditional gender expectations. For example, the first jilting when her fiance George leaves her at the altar. His abandonment, which occurred right before the wedding, leaves a deep emotional scar that follows her throughout her life. It's evident towards the end of the story as Granny mentions how she wants to tell George she's forgotten about him and had a good family with a good house and a good husband "like any other woman." Clearly, she has not forgotten about him like she says she has and still seeks his validation. While it does show Granny's independence to not needing this male figure to live her life out, she still hints at the societal expectations of women craving that male validation. It signified how little control Granny had over her life, showing the sacrifices she had to make in order to fulfill the expectations of women. However after the young death of her next husband John, Granny turned into both a mother and a father figure for her children. Though many other women sought a male figure to guide them, Granny took taking care of her family into her own hands. She had the courage to do it herself, again illustrating her independent personality. Granny's interaction with her children (not just the men in her life) also shows her success as a mother. During her last moments, she was surrounded by all her children. Granny must have been a good mother for her children as she tended to them single for the majority of their lives. Although she does have strength and independence, she believes that another male figure, God, is ultimately responsible for everything. But when Granny was approaching death she asked for a sign and never got one. It was as if he abandoned her, just like George did at the altar. So in the last moments of her life she decides to blow out her own light as a way of taking matters into her own hands, gaining some sense of control.

[Carlos Villegas III]

In her short story, “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall” (1930), Katherine Porter uses Granny Weatherall’s life experiences and memories as a way to criticize the societal expectations and limitations placed upon women in the early 20th century through Granny’s struggle with autonomy in her own life, her role in the story and life as a woman, and the significance of the rough relationships she has had with the men in her life. Throughout the story, readers will take notice of the struggles that Granny faces within her mind as she is in a confused mental state as well as slipping into memories of her past and snapping back into the future. Through these memories, we as readers are able to understand Granny more as a character. We learn about her jilting, we learn about a mysterious individual that is favored by Granny named Hapsy, we learn about how Granny attends church and helps the church by creating altar-cloths for them. The item of importance in this listing being the fact that Granny attends church. Granny is said to be a Christian in this story and reaches out to the male figure of Christ to seek out a sign during her final moments of life, a sign that is never given from Christ himself but instead by her deceased daughter Hapsy. Granny reaching out to Christ is an important moment in the story due to Granny’s beliefs from her very rough relationships with the men that have been in her life. Granny has been mentally scarred by her former lover George after he abandoned her at the altar when they were supposed to be wed, and John, her husband, passed away leaving her alone to raise their young ones. Granny learns from these experiences and gains an unhealthy sense of pride that she doesn’t need a man in her life to raise a family and live a happy and normal life, something that is very indeed possible, and yet in her final moments of life, Granny seeks the help of a male figure. She reaches out to him almost like a “the light at the end of the tunnel” moment in most stories, when in reality her sign is provided to her by a female figure earlier on in the story in the form of Hapsy’s arrival. Hapsy arrives to give Granny the sign, the sign to move on, the sign to join them in the great beyond, and yet Granny ignores this message in search of another, one from a man. Her belief of not needing or being reliant on a man is contradicted in this section of the story as Granny is able to live a perfectly normal life without the assistance of a man, and yet her belief of not needing or being reliant on a man is broken as she seeks out a male figure’s guidance during the last moments of her life, believing herself to be jilted one last time as she passes way. Porter in this short story shapes Granny to be a strong and complex woman, someone who sticks strongly to her morals and beliefs, and uses Granny as a character to challenge early 20th century beliefs on the woman’s role in the household and in society. Granny’s character challenges these old beliefs to show to audiences at the time that women had just as much potential as a man did, and didn’t require a man in their lives in order for them to live long and happy lives. However, while Granny is written to be a symbol for women, representing the power and control that women could have on their own lives, Porter shows readers at the end of the story how Granny breaks her beliefs to seek a male figure to aid her in her moment of desperation, possibly being a metaphor for how men and society pressure women into submission by placing them in their most vulnerable position, leaving them desperate for aid from anyone. Granny is a character that represents the struggles of women, being jilted at the altar, being abandoned by her two loves, being left alone to raise a family, and this makes her a very strong character; one that sadly shows that no matter how strong a person may be, no matter how strong their morals and beliefs may be, moments of desperation can completely destroy a person, leaving them to turn on their beliefs for their own survival.

[Kaavya Bollineni]

In her story “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall”, Katherine Porter utilizes Granny Weatherall’s experiences and memories to critique the societal expectations and limitations placed on women in the early 20th century. A deeper analysis of the text reveals to the reader that the deceased child that she is constantly doting on while on her deathbed, Hapsy, may have been born out of wedlock from her first lover George, who had jilted Granny. Women had no autonomy and were expected to follow in their husband’s footsteps during this time, causing them to become entirely dependent on the men in their lives. Granny’s thoughts and emotions being linked to what the men in her life have done to her and tying her self-worth to her ex-lover and deceased husband have made this obvious. Porter subtly alludes to a much older play that has a plot similar to Granny’s situation regarding the misogynistic expectations of women. In Shakespeare's play “Much Ado About Nothing”, the main character Hero is set to marry a prince, Claudio, which reinforced the societal norm that a woman's worth is tied to her marriage to a man. However, her life is essentially torn apart when she is falsely accused of not being a virgin on her wedding day. Although there is little evidence to prove her infidelity, she is immediately shunned by everyone, including her own family, and is met with verbal and physical abuse. Once the truth comes to light, all of the maltreatment inflicted upon Hero by her family and Claudio is essentially forgotten without apology, and she is expected to marry Claudio as if nothing had happened, reverting the story to its original lighthearted nature. Even though it’s not to the same extent as Hero’s experience in Much Ado About Nothing, Granny endures a similar sense of shame and embarrassment about her illegitimate child from the person who left her at the altar. Although Granny exhibits many instances of her independence and resilience as a woman and mother throughout the story, such as when she reminisces about the harsh childhood she had persisted, she is ultimately an unfortunate example of a product of her environment. Had she been born today in a society where women’s rights have made incredible progress since the dawn of civilization -- progress by which no means is perfect -- she may have had the opportunity to live a life where she lived for herself.

[Matthew Lee]

Throughout “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall”, author Katherine Porter utilizes Granny Weatherall’s self reflection on her life experiences as she approaches death as a way to covertly target the unjust gender stereotypes that restricted women in the 20th century. Using Weatherall's inner dialogues, Porter displays firsthand how societal expectations and gender norms have altered and limited Granny Weatherall’s outlook on life and belief in herself. The readers can see through her thoughts and emotions Granny Weatherall sees her self worth and abilities solely through her successes as a mother and as a wife. We can see her struggle for independence and autonomy most prominently through her struggle to forget George, who abandoned her at the altar. The traumatic event followed her through her entire life, and although she was still able to find success and happiness in her life, her inability to let go of the event signifies Porter’s contempt towards how society has made women feel completely dependent on men. Even though she navigated life's troubles alone, powering through milk leg and double pneumonia, Weatherall still isn't able to move on from George because she has been trained to believe that she needs a man to bring stability and happiness to her life. During the story we can see that Granny Weatherall has developed a more defensive, thick-skinned personality over time through her interactions with Doctor Harry and Cornelia, constantly refusing their help regardless of her deteriorating health. She is clearly an able and autonomous individual, and Porter seeks to convey to her audience that women can and should seek to become individuals and separate persons from their families and husbands. As Granny Weatherall reminisces on her past life, we can see how proud she is of her accomplishments. She thinks about how she was able to hold down her life, keep her house in order and raise her children without “hardly los[ing] on to one of them.” Porter urges women to ignore society’s restrictions and inherent obstacles, declaring that anyone can do what Granny Weatherall has done. She also warns against total dependence on men; we can see a healthy relationship between men and women between Granny Weatherall and John, but also a toxic one with George that left her spirit damaged for the rest of her life. Rather than equating one’s self worth to family success and societal stereotypes, Porter petitions for women to create their own unique identities.

[Arlene Pena]

When analyzing the text through a feminist lens, readers unravel a deeper understanding of Granny Weatherall's character and thoughts. They not only envision an old mother fighting for her life on her deathbed, but rather a strong willed woman who fought to get to where she was in her last moments. Throughout the story "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall" by Katherine Porter, the readers are pulled in between past and present moments of Granny's life that were significant to her. Although she takes pride in many aspects of her life, such as her own children, she also faced numerous struggles throughout her adulthood. One of which was learning to live with the loss of the men in her life, whether it was literal or figurative. It became clearer as the readers ventured through the story, that Granny's late ex-fiance, George and ex-husband, John affected her enough to completely mold and shape the way she thinks and views the world. Her lack of autonomy whilst in these relationships is what led her to growing into a stubborn, independent woman. After her husband John died unfortunately young, Granny was forced to face parenthood on her own with no guidance. This is why she is so proud of her children and whom they have grown to become, because she only sees herself in them and not an ounce of their father or anyone else. As she reminisces about her early years of parenthood, she happily adds, "There they were, made out of her, and they couldn't get away from that." Because women in the early 20th century weren't given much individual freedom, it was sensible for Granny to focus on the little things in life she could claim as her own with certainty. Granny’s past and her approach to her inevitable death truly opens the reader’s eyes to what struggles she had to face as, not just a person fighting for her life, but as a woman in this time period. It was clearly evident that Weatherall’s feelings toward her past lovers were constantly juggling between acceptance and hatred for jilting her. But at the end, all she could focus on was the fact that she was finally free of the shackles, free from hiding in the shadows of these men.

[Arlene Pena]

Aug 16, 2024 10:08:55 GMT -8 Heena Bista said:

Katherine Porter uses Granny Weatherall’s experiences and memories to critique the societal expectations and limitations placed on women in the early 20th century by showcasing the thoughts and emotions Granny processes during her last moments of life. Granny Weatherall has had a religious upbringing which has made her faithful to God, affecting her views on autonomy and her relationships with men. For instance, it is possible that Granny Weather felt guilt for having a premarital pregnancy and being left at the altar as in most religious beliefs, marrying as a virgin is seen as pure and doing otherwise is viewed as a sin. Considering how Granny was so devoted to God, it would not be a surprise if she felt guilt for bearing a child before marriage which interferes with her own autonomy as a woman to have the choice to have children under her own desired conditions due to social expectations placed onto women especially considering religious norms. In addition, we can see how Granny Weatherall depends on God and values him for her own accomplishments rather than valuing and appreciating her own accomplishments almost as if her own faith in God takes away from her independence and value as a woman. We can see how her devotion almost takes away from her autonomy as a person and her independence to have control over her own life as she even turns to God as a last plea which is exhibited towards the end of the story when she is asking God for a sign and Granny wishes for closure by asking God for a sign rather than bring herself her own closure for her own life which is depicts how many women depend on a male figure rather than feminine figures like herself of her daughter Hapsy, who she saw through an out of body experience. In addition, even after being left at the altar while pregnant, at her last breath Granny wishes to be with George once again even though she faced hardships from that man and had to make great efforts to raise children alone as a single mother. We can also view how although Granny Weather is highly independent and accomplished as a single mother, she still wishes to be “saved” by a man as her life begins to come to end even though men were responsible for her both of her major struggles or jiltings as at first George her fiance left her at the altar and left her as a single mother and then Christ left her alone to face death herself.

Heena, I was so enthralled by your connection between God and his influence on Granny Weatherall's autonomy. It is such a fascinating way to interpret her relationship with him in the story, one I never even considered. I agree that throughout the story, there are many examples of Granny failing to think and feel for herself. It is as if she was so accustomed to relying on others to think for her, that now that she is on her own, it's like a part of her no longer functions properly. Viewing the religious aspect of Granny Weatherall's life through this lens is sad, yet empowering. We see how her religious beliefs directly clash with her individualism, affecting her drastically as the story progresses. As you mentioned, even in her very last moments, one of her final thoughts did not include her well-being, but George, a man she has nothing but negative things to say about. It's rather depressing knowing that this was the reality for women of her time. A reality in which a woman was not born with individual freedom, but instead had to work and struggle for it.

[Rebecca Kwan]

In "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall", Porter emphasizes the impact of the jilting on Granny to convey how women's independence was closely tied to marriage. In the early 20th century, marriage was key for women to have certain rights, wealth, and social status. Therefore, in Granny's case, the jilting shatters not only her romantic dreams but also her sense of autonomy. Being left at the altar was one of the greatest betrayals of her life, and represents the loss of control over her future and forced her into a path dictated by societal expectations. Back then, a woman's primary role was a wife, thus the jilting left her socially vulnerable and drove her into a marriage with John, which seemed more out of necessity than personal desire. Since then, Granny compensates for the loss of control in her life by becoming fiercely self-reliant and obsessive over order. This is evident though her constant crave for control, whether it is the organization of her pantry or her own death. Throughout the story, she reflects on how she built a life of practicality: getting married, raising children, and managing her household. Her pride in these achievements reflect a deep need to assert her autonomy in response to the loss she suffered in her youth. However, her self-sufficiency is tinged with bitterness, as it was societal expectations that forced her into the roles of a traditional wife and mother that is framed as compensatory, but not fulfilling. This is clear as she felt something was missing in her life, and often recalled her past relationship with George with many unresolved feelings. She feels as though marrying George was the one decision she made for herself, and since the betrayal she had no choice but to marry John to survive in society. This suggests that for women, marriage and domestic life were the only viable options, leaving little room for women to define their own lives. Therefore, the jilting becomes a metaphor for the broader loss of autonomy that women experienced in the early 20th century.

[Carlos Villegas III]

Aug 16, 2024 17:44:40 GMT -8 Kimberly Zúñiga said:

Throughout Granny Weatherall's life she has had two men, John and George, affect her life in one way or another. After George leaves her on the altar, pregnant with her first child Hapsy, and John passes away leaving her and her children on their own without any means to move on with their lives, Granny’s perspective on needing a male hero in her life significantly changes. Throughout the story Granny Weatherall has moments where she demonstrates what readers will assume is pride, however, Granny in her last moments of life is reflecting on her self courage and her perseverance throughout her jiltings. Granny makes references to how she continued to provide for her family and how she was able to regain “everything he [George] took away and more”. In her final moments, Granny reviews everything well she has done in her life, by analyzing her “good doings” and struggle on her own, this is her shout for autonomy. Granny aimed to establish the barrier between her husband and prospect, and show that she was more than just an expecting bride left at the altar. Her pride, and at times her vanity, shouldn't be mistaken as characteristics that were inherently built into Ellen Weatherall, instead, they should be portrayed as her affirmative action to become something more than what she had been labeled, and possibly something more than what her religion had labeled. In the same perspective, Porter characterizes Ellen to be a woman of strong ideals and of even stronger morals. These characteristics in their own break the social and gender roles that had been present in the 29th century. By developing a character that refused her assigned gender and societal role, Porter is better able to convey Granny Weatherall's story. By highlighting and emphasizing Granny Weatherall's complexities, Porter is able to bring about the opposition to conforming to gender roles placed upon women. She writes Ellen Weatehrall, a woman left at the altar and left by her husband in a time of death, in a new lens, a lens in which Ellen is a woman proud to speak up, not sensible, and overall capable of doing more than just being a mother. Porter writes Ellen Weatherall as a woman capable of working and up keeping her farm, and taking care of her children, rather than a woman that died without a fight, without a husband, and a woman once left on the altar.

Kim I am very impressed with what you said regarding Granny Weatherall's pride throughout this story. Granny does seem to gain a massive boost in her pride after her rough experiences with the men in her life, John and George; something that I also touched on in my reply, and I find it very interesting how you've tied in her pride and rough experiences into who she is as a character, with this pride being a part of her morals and beliefs. Granny does seem to be the type of person to stick to her beliefs to a T, never really faltering through a majority of the story when it comes to her beliefs being challenged. Your explanation of Granny and her sticking to her beliefs portrays her as a very strong and powerful woman, exactly what you say she is at the end of your response as she was probably mean't to be a sign for women in the early 1900's that they could be more than what they were already. However, if you delved a bit more into how those challenges and beliefs were challenged at the end of the story, everything would've been wrapped up perfectly. Overall, your response to this discussion board was very well thought out and thorough, but I believe it could've been stronger if you explored more of the ending and how that final jilting ties back to her beliefs and morals that she established after George and John.