The Jilting of Granny Weatherall | Themes

The Jilting of Granny Weatherall Themes

A portrait of an eighty-year-old woman on her deathbed, "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall" is an exploration of the human mind as it struggles to come to terms with loss and mortality. Porter offers no clear resolution to these fundamental issues, but instead interweaves themes of betrayal, religion, death, and memory in a moving and poetic character study.

Betrayal

The titles of both the story and the anthology (Flowering Judas) in which it first appeared suggest the idea of betrayal, a central theme underlying many of Porter's stories. Judas was the disciple who betrayed Christ with a kiss. At the heart of "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall" are Granny's memories of her betrayal by George, the fiance who abandoned her at the altar some sixty years earlier. This is just one of a series of betrayals experienced by Granny, who also feels "jilted" by her daughter Hapsy for whom she...
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