“The Jilting of Granny Weatherall”
Katherine Anne Porter
[1930]
Part 1 – Before Reading
Think about the word “granny” and freewrite your thoughts and associations as they occur. Write
quickly for about 5 minutes whatever comes to mind without stopping to organize or order your
thoughts.
Part 2 – During Reading
Complete a characterization chart for Granny Weatherall, Doctor Harry, and Cornelia.
Part 3 – After Reading
1. In the very first paragraph, what does the writer tell us about Ellen Weatherall?
2. What does the name of Weatherall have to do with Granny’s nature (or her life story)? What
other traits or qualities do you find in her?
3. “Her bones felt loose, and floated around in her skin, and Doctor Harry floated like a balloon.”
What do you understand from this statement? By what other remarks does the writer indicate
Granny’s condition?
4. Why does Father Connolly tickle Granny’s feet? At what other moments in the story does she
fail to understand what is happening, or confuse the present with the past?
5. Exactly what happened to Ellen Weatherall sixty years earlier? What effects did this have on
her?
6. Who do you guess to be the man who “cursed like sailor’s parrot”? Who do you assume to be the
man driving the cart? Is the fact that these persons are not clearly labeled and identified a failure
on the author’s part? Why or why not?
7. What is stream of consciousness? Would you call this particular story a “stream of
consciousness” story? Make reference to the story in your answer.
8. Sum up the character of the daughter Cornelia. Make reference to the story in your answer.
9. Why doesn’t Granny’s last child Hapsy come to her mother’s deathbed?
10. Would you call the character of Doctor Harry “flat” or “round”? Why is this flatness or
roundness appropriate to the story?
11. How is this the story of another “jilting”? What is similar between that fateful day of sixty years
ago and the moment when Granny is dying? This time, who is the “bridegroom” not in the
house?
12. “This is the story of an eighty-year-old woman lying in bed, getting groggy, and dying. I can’t
see why it would interest anybody.” How would you answer this critic?
Part 4 – After Reading
Use stream of consciousness
Katherine Anne Porter wasn’t the only modernist to experiment with stream of consciousness; T. S.
Eliot, James Joyce, and William Faulkner all used it to explore the intricacies of the human mind. Some
writers use it today. Write a three- or four-paragraph narrative in stream of consciousness, depicting the
thoughts and impressions of a character having a particular experience. You can either write about
yourself or create a fictional character.