Song of Herself： An Analysis of Southern Women’s Consciousness in“The Jilting of Granny Weatherall”

Hengyang Normal University/TANG Xu

【Abstract】“The Jilting of Granny Weatherall” is a short story by Katherine Anne Porter representing her views of southern womens self-consciousness in the male-dominated world.On the one hand， Granny Weatherall stands for a typical southern woman who cherishes the conventional values in southern partriarchal society.On the other， the sense of selfhood obtained from suffering many mishaps in her lifetime， in return， however， strengthens the subjective consciousness constructed through the stream-of-consciousness narrative technique， thus drawing an intimate portrait of a strong， independent woman.

【Key words】sense of selfhood； conventional southern values； stream of consciousness

I.Introduction

Katherine Anne Porter was a woman writer.She was born in Indian Greek in 1890， and was educated in private schools in Texas and Louisiana.She never attended college.In 1918-1919 she was a reporter in Denver， and later， she earned a living by doing “hack writing of all kinds”.K.A.Porter is regarded as one of the leading stylists of 20th century American fiction.She is best known for the novel Ship of Fools.In 1965， she published “The Collected Stories”， which won both the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award.Few authors have established such a respected critical reputation for so small a body of work as Porter.This has been attributed to her meticulous craftsmanship——purity of prose， disciplined narrative， and vivid characterization.

“The Jilting of Granny Weatherall” is Porters one of short stories which records the actions and minds of an eighty year old dying woman in the chronological order.The name of the heroine， “Weatherall”， is significant.It indicates that she has experienced a lot， and survived and overcome all the agonies and difficulties in her life.Since the narrative unfolds largely through stream-of-consciousness of the heroine and her minds jump from time present to time past， we must understand it through analyzing the heroines psychological activities as well as her emotional involvement with her native values.

II.Physical Struggles in Male-Dominated World

Granny Weatherall， the heroine is a common woman who has special life experiences.Her unfortunate lot occurred on the wedding day.When everything was ready， George， the bridegroom did not appear.Granny was jilted publicly and hurt badly.Even though it wounded her vanity and scratched a scar in her spritual world， she depended on her inner strength to stand up to it.Then she married John， with whom they had four children： Hapsy， Cornelia， Lydia and Jimmy.Grannys matrimonial life was satisfactory at the beginning， however， the catastrophe happened to her once more.Her husband died young and left her four children to be cared.The life burden fell on her shoulder.Granny alone endures difficulties and succeeded in managing the whole family well.Granny weathered all in her life.“As memories are dredged up from the past， we learn how suitable her name is to her experiences”.①

Granny Weatherall is always being jilted in the realistic world.Like every woman， the heroine had ever expected her cherished dreams.But the dreams were broken cruelly： George jilted her and pushed her into the dark hell.Although John came to Grannys life and lit a lamp for her， destiny took him away and laughed at her ironically.Whether deliberately or naturally， the heroine was jilted twice.In some respects， she was deserted by the male-dominated world.Unlike the traditional southern woman， the heroine must not weep about the lot in life， but take an active part in creating and determining her own life and her own future.She alone makes her life meaningful.

In the selection， Granny Weatherall is lying on the death bed with her heart leaping slightly.Death is approaching upon her.She does not await for death and would not like to be cared like an inferior patient or a dying person.She also rejects help from Cornelia and Doctor Harry.From the manners and ations， it isnt difficult to infer that Granny Weatheralls character is so strong， independent that at her eighty years old she is still willing to do battle not only with external world but also with death itself.

Obviously， Granny Weatherall stands for a typical southern woman who strives for self-asserting， self-emancipation and sense of selfhood in the conventional male-dominated world.However， her love for George and John demonstrates how weak it can be to overlook the heroines emotional involvement with her native values.She did not sentimentalize the past， yet she made it clear that there is no escape from it.If sef-knowledge is a goal worth pursuing， it is one that Granny fails to achieve before her death.She seems to know little about herself and how she lived her life.In addition， Grannys state of denial imposes hardships on those round her.It seems clear that her children have suffered at her hands.Because Granny wont admit even to herself that she has been hard on them， they never get the satisfaction of an apology or at least an acknowledgement of her failings from her.At the same time， however， Grannys deep-seated denail is what has enabled her to continue living， thriving， raising healthy children， and even saving the lives of sick people and animals.She is not an inward-looking woman by nature， and its possible that any slip into self-analysis would plunge Granny into despair.By simply refusing to acknowledge the persistence of her pain and ignoring the fact that she is permanently broken-hearted， Granny has managed to put her head down and soldier through her life.

III.Spiritual Fights in the Traditional Southern World

Male plays a significant role in the understanding of Granny Weatherall.John， her husband whom Granny has always loved deeply is the real motive power which helps her survive in the adversity.It seems that John was dead long ago， but as an imaginative power， he is still alive in Grannys heart and dominates her life.“She used to think of him as a man.” The heroine would rather live in the male-dominated world.She fears to recognize that she has changed with time， and especially she does not realize that the traditional elements of hers has gradually lost.“Digging post holes changed a woman.” In her views， she is unwilling to lessen the feminine virtue that is expected of women in the South.

Hapsy， her favorite child， is actually the image of the traditional southern woman.Granny regards Haspy as the evidence of their love for traditional values.“She seems to herself to be Hapsy also， and the baby on Hapsys arm was Hapsy and himself and herself， all at once， and there was no surprise in the meeting.” ① It is a dramatic picture.She fancies herself as Hapsy.Hapsy is still a baby and John is beside her.The satisfactory illusion is her cherished dreams.It is a fact that Hapsy， as a human being， has also died； but as a traditional force， she still exists and influences Granny Weatherall deeply.To some extent， Granny Weatherall is still enslaved to social convention or her husband.She belongs to and depends on the past to support her family.

In the spiritual domain， Granny is fragile.Her earlier jilted experiences， often chaotic and sometimes traumatic， have left their mark upon her.George and John， the two men in Grannys life， respectively represents two kinds of totally different power which represses Granny Weatherall： One is from the outside world and the other is from the inner world.There is a conflict between them.People usually can not control the disaster from the outside world， like war， adversity， famine， calamity and misfortune.Though it is unexpected， people can resist them and survive from the without.Nevertheless， it is extremely hard for common people to defeat trauma from the inner world.“I swear he never harmed me but in that.” ① It is true that George is like a shapeless ghost which has always tortured her for sixty years.She tries every means to free herself from “the deep pit of hell” which is the image of the depth and darkness of human experiences.Even on her last day when the bad feeling almost smothers her， Father Connolly， the priest， comes to survive her soul.Ironically， the priest himself still struggles between native piety and original sin.“He had cursed like a sailors parrot.” ① When the heroine realized Father Connolly is only a hypocritical priest， she shows contempt for him.People had thought that John was the person who did do that.But Granny consciously knows that John is not the real spiritual power which can help her resist the mental suffering from the inner world.“For a picture， Yes， but its not my husband.” ① Neither John nor Father Connolly can sweep the dark shadow away.Then Granny fancies Doctor Harry as the real angel who can save her and help her escape form death.She was disappointed again.Jesus whom she has been waiting for never appears.“Oh， no， there is nothing more cruel than this—Ill never forgive it.” ① The sentence bears the stamp of “despair”.The southern women can no longer pursue meaning and order in the midst of the ironic complexities of mans lot.Granny asks God for a sign of assurance that she is loved and accepted， but there is no sign.Feeling as if God has rejeted her just as George once did， Granny feels immense grief.Life seems to be a fantasy.The world is senseless.“She stretched herself with a deep breath and blew out the light.” ①The final sign implies that she alone is responsible for giving order and purpose to her existence.“Her recognition of this in the last moments of life surely heightens rather than lessens its value and impact.” ①Finally， she finds the sense of seflhood and completes her whole life perfectly.

References：

[1]Porter， Katherine Anne.The Collected Stories of Katherine Anne Porter.New York： Harcourt， Brace， & World，1965.

[2]寧靜.失約的上帝，悲憤的人——從圣經(jīng)原型看《被遺棄的韋瑟羅爾奶奶》的宗教哲學主題[J].江西教育學院學報（綜合）， 2006（4）：91-94.

[3]張瑩波.波特小說中的《圣經(jīng)》原型[J].哈爾濱學院學報， 2011（11）：62-68.