The Jilting of Granny Weatherall

“Well, and what if she was? She still had ears.”

This quote challenges the notion that Granny’s age justifies dismissive or disrespectful treatment. It emphasizes that Granny is still capable of perceiving and hearing what is being said around her, despite her physical state. This statement—and by extension Granny herself—asserts the importance of recognizing her humanity and respecting her.

“[Cornelia] was always being tactful and kind. Cornelia was dutiful; that was the trouble with her. Dutiful and good; ‘So good and dutiful,’ said Granny, ‘that I’d like to spank her.’ She saw herself spanking Cornelia and making a fine job of it.”

The quote provides insight into Granny’s complex emotions toward her daughter Cornelia. It reveals her conflicting feelings of admiration and frustration, as well as her longing for autonomy and a sense of control. The quote adds depth to their relationship dynamic and contributes to the nuanced portrayal of Granny’s character.

“While she was rummaging around she found death in her mind and it felt clammy and unfamiliar. She had spent so much time preparing for death there was no need for bringing it up again. Let it take care of itself for now.”

Granny has a complex relationship with death. While she has mentally prepared herself for its arrival, she still finds it unsettling and unfamiliar when it surfaces in her thoughts. She accepts death as an inevitable part of life but also desires to avoid actively engaging with it. Granny’s attitude reflects a mixture of resignation, readiness, and a desire to live in the present rather than dwell on Contemplation of Mortality.

When she was sixty she had felt very old, finished, and went around making farewell trips to see her children and grandchildren, with a secret in her mind: This is the very last of your mother, children!”

This quote highlights Granny’s longstanding awareness of her mortality and desire to make her departure significant and meaningful to her family. It suggests a sense of acceptance and reflection on the finite nature of life. Granny is aware of the passing of time and the importance of cherishing moments with loved ones while she still can.

“Her father had lived to be one hundred and two years old and had drunk a noggin of strong hot toddy on his last birthday. He told the reporters it was his daily habit, and he owed his long life to that. He had made quite a scandal and was very pleased about it.”

This glimpse of Granny’s father’s character and his unconventional approach to living a long life adds depth to Granny’s reflections on her own aging process, suggesting the influence of her family history on her perspective. Like Granny, her father claimed agency in old age, even causing a “scandal” with his unconventional tips regarding longevity.

“The thing that most annoyed her was that Cornelia thought she was deaf, dumb and blind. Little hasty glances and tiny gestures tossed around her and over her head saying, ‘Don’t cross her, let her have her way, she’s eighty years old,’ and she was sitting there as if she lived in a thin glass cage.”

The quote emphasizes Granny’s annoyance at the way Cornelia treats her. Cornelia assumes, or perhaps reflexively acts like, Granny doesn’t know what is happening around her, cannot comprehend or participate in conversations, and lacks decision-making abilities. These assumptions contribute to Granny’s feeling of being overlooked by her own daughter.

“Granny wished the old days were back again with the children young and everything to be done over. It had been a hard pull, but not too much for her. When she thought of all the food she had cooked, and all the clothes she had cut and sewed, and all the gardens she had made—well, the children showed it. There they were, made out of her, and she couldn’t get away from that.”

This quote highlights Granny’s contemplations on motherhood, legacy, and the passage of time. It underscores Granny’s nostalgia for her role as a caregiver and her pride in the tangible results of her maternal efforts. It also explores the complex emotions and sense of fulfillment that come with being a mother.

“She used to think of [John] as a man, but now all the children were older than their father, and he would be a child beside her if she saw him now. It seemed strange and there was something wrong in the idea.”

Granny’s realization that her husband as she remembers him is now much younger than she is signifies a reversal of roles and power dynamics. Beyond the physical age difference, the passage suggests Granny’s growth, wisdom, and lived experiences, which have placed her in a position of maturity and authority. John’s lack of similar life experiences or the passage of time has rendered him less significant in Granny’s eyes.

“There was the day, the day, but a whirl of dark smoke rose and covered it, crept up and over into her mind. What a heavy black cloud that was, and how quiet and dull it was, and how nothing moved in it, not even a little fuss of wind.”

This quote conveys Granny’s struggle to recall and confront the jilting. The “whirl of dark smoke” symbolizes the intrusion of trauma and the way it obscures and distorts her recollection of the significant day. The heaviness and stillness of the cloud represent the weight and stagnation of Granny’s emotions, which contribute to her difficulty in fully processing and coming to terms with the past.

“For sixty years she had prayed against remembering him and against losing her soul in the deep pit of hell, and now the two things were mingled in one and the thought of him was a smoky cloud from hell that moved and crept in her head when she had just got rid of Doctor Harry and was trying to rest a minute.”

Granny’s association of George with a “smoky cloud from hell” emphasizes the torment and anguish that Granny experiences when memories of her former fiancé resurface. The image suggests that the memory of George is haunting and disturbing, evoking the lingering pain and unresolved emotions associated with her jilting. The cloud “moves and creeps” in her head, indicating its persistence and the difficulty Granny faces in escaping its influence.

“‘This is Doctor Harry, Mrs. Weatherall. I never saw you look so young and happy!’ Ah, I’ll never be young again—but I’d be happy if they’d let me lie in peace and get rested. She thought she spoke up loudly, but no one answered.”

Granny yearns for peace and rest, both physically and emotionally, and this quote underscores her weariness and her desire to find solace and tranquility in her final moments. It reflects the themes of aging, reflection, and the search for inner peace that permeate the story.

“She had to go a long way back through a great many rooms to find Hapsy standing with a baby on her arm. She seemed to herself to be Hapsy also, and the baby on Hapsy’s arm was Hapsy and himself and herself, all at once, and there was no surprise in the meeting. Then Hapsy melted from within and turned flimsy as gray gauze and the baby was a gauzy shadow, and Hapsy came up close and said, ‘I thought you’d never come.’”

This quote encapsulates Granny’s emotional and psychological journey as she confronts her memories and comes to terms with her past. Her search for Hapsy through “a great many rooms” in her mind illustrates the theme of Denial and the Human Tendency to Avoid Painful Truths, as Granny has suppressed the memory of Hapsy’s death. Their moment of connection in this vision transcends the boundaries of time and mortality.

“I want you to find George. Find him and be sure to tell him I forgot him. I want him to know I had my husband just the same and my children and my house like any other woman. A good house too and a good husband that I loved and fine children out of him. Better than I hoped for even. Tell him I was given back everything he took away and more.”

This quote showcases Granny’s resilience, strength, and determination to define her own narrative. She refuses to be defined by the past and desires to make her own mark. It explores themes of self-worth, independence, and the power of personal fulfillment.