In the following essay, Barnes and Barnes theorize that Granny Weatherall's strong lament of the past is due to the fact that she became pregnant out of wedlock before she was jilted.

As one of {Catherine Anne Porter's most brilliant technical accomplishments, "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall" has evoked a number of critical responses in recent years. Most commentators admit to a certain ambiguity in the story, brought about largely by Miss Porter's skilful exploitation of the stream-of-consciousness—almost to its ultimate limits of complexity; none, so far as we have been able to discover, has adequately treated the matter of Granny's "sin" and its importance to an understanding of the story. Indeed, most are inclined to dismiss it as at best a venial violation, a natural occasion for concern on one's deathbed, but of little moral relevance otherwise.

There is in the story, however, evidence to...