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

[Michelle To]

In "Jilting of Granny Weatherall", she lives a life of trying to right her wrongs and to fix her feelings about the past even if it wasn't in her power that those events happened. When George left her at that altar or when John died young, she had no control over either of those events yet she still feels hurt and determined to control as many things she can about her life. She lives a neat and organized life, making sure she knows where everything is and how everything should be. During the initial interpretation of the story, people would refer to her as a snob, but upon further analysis, she has a reason for what she does and how she sees the world. We, as the reader, get a full view on her last thoughts, how although she was desperately fighting against death, she still thinks about all the people in her lives and how they would feel if she died since she wasn’t done fulfilling something for them. She wasn’t ready to die because she remembers that she still has to give something to a Sister, she wasn’t ready to die because she still hadn’t written her will, she wasn’t ready to die because she hadn’t organized which child gets which property of hers. During the time the book was published, society still heavily judged women and set heavy standards that lowered them to below animals which I think Katherine Porter portrays well in a nuanced way. While it doesn’t explicitly say how oppressed the women of the story were, with some simple digging, you can feel how disappointed, regretful and resentful she feels about some events in the story. When she speaks of Hapsy, she wishes that Hapsy hadn’t died giving birth because she was “the daughter she’s always wanted” and how she wished Hapsy had been born first despite Cornelia the eldest child of hers and the first to visit her on her deathbed. When Granny pleaded for God to give her a sign that she would not die, that she would live past this to see her promises to others through, she instead gets a vision of Hapsy that she dismisses as it didn’t look like the common portrayal of God.

[Tahlia Clark]

Katherine porter uses Granny Weatherall's experiences and memories to critique the societal expectations and limitations placed on women in the 20th century to express women's liberation and right to determine their own life. throughout the story Granny Weatherall refuses to accept the reality of dying and claims that she is still able bodied, these claims show her attempting to hold on to the little control she has left of her life. especially at the time where women didn't have the most control over matters regarding their health and life decisions in general. Granny Weatherall's stream of consciousness throughout the story highlights her mind decaying along with the body, and shows how she is not willing to let go of the little life that she has left. The societal expectations are that women are supposed to be able to control their choices, so there is more of an improvement of self awareness. But Granny weatherall's deterioration is highlighting the fact that they are stripped of that choice in a sense and told that there out of line or their mind is leaving them.