SOURCE: "'A Worn Path': Immortality of Stereotype," in English Journal, Vol. 62, No. 4, April, 1973, pp. 549-50.

In the following essay, Donlan examines "three elements that substantiate the theme of immortality: references to death, references to time, and references to the Phoenix myth from Egyptian mythology."

On the surface Eudora Welty's short story "A Worn Path" is an account of an old black woman's journey from Old Natchez Trace to Natchez. In fact, some readers may perceive Old Phoenix as a negative black stereotype. However, a second level of interpretation indicates a powerful statement of man's immortality. This paper will be concerned with three elements that substantiate the theme of immortality: references to death, references to time, and references to the Phoenix myth from Egyptian mythology. In this way, Old Phoenix is not a stereotype but a symbol of immortality.

Old Phoenix' journey has significance. The title of the story...