The Jilting of Granny Weatherall

The Jilting of Granny Weatherall Summary | Detailed Summary

Granny Weatherall lies in her bed as Doctor Harry examines her. She considers him far too young to be a real doctor. Granny Weatherall scornfully tells him to take his schoolbooks and leave because there is nothing wrong with her. He feels her forehead and tells her that if she is a good girl she will be on her feet again soon. Granny Weatherall takes offense at being called a girl and tells the doctor that it is wrong to speak to an eighty year old woman that way. She reminds him to respect his elders. He responds by calling her "Missy" and warns her to stay in bed until she is well. Granny again claims that she is fine. Her bones feel loose and Doctor Harry appears to be floating around the bed, but she refuses to admit that she is ill. Instead, she tells him that he should not let her daughter, Cornelia, lead him on about the condition of her health. She says that she pays her own bills and refuses to spend her money on nonsense.

As the doctor leaves her room, Granny Weatherall feels too weak to wave goodbye. It irritates her to hear him discuss her condition with Cornelia. In her anger, she wishes that she could still spank her daughter. A moment later, Cornelia enters the room and asks Granny if she wants anything, but the older woman tells her to go away. Granny feels very tired after the examination. She decides that she will rest now, but she will have a lot of work to do tomorrow. Her thoughts drift to a box in the attic that contains letters from George and John, and her letters to them both. Tomorrow she will take care of the letters. She does not want her children to find them and see how silly she acted after she dies.

As Granny lies in bed, she ponders her imminent death. The idea of death feels unfamiliar, despite all the time she has spent preparing for it. Twenty years ago, when she was sixty years old, she had thought she was going to die. She felt old and finished, so she made a series of trips to see her children for the last time. When she didn't die, she stopped focusing on her mortality for a while. She doesn't believe she will die this time either. Contemplating death makes her remember her father. He had lived to be 102 years old and drank a hot toddy on his last birthday. She calls for her daughter and asks for a hot toddy to irritate her. Cornelia is kind, but does not get the drink. It infuriates Granny to hear Cornelia tell her husband that she is getting childish and they have to humor her. She is tempted to go to her own home where no one can call her old.

Granny's thoughts drift to her life. She thinks that she was a better housekeeper and did more work than Cornelia when she was younger. Her children always asked for her advice. She wishes she could return to the days when the children were young. It was a hard life, but she did a good job cooking, cleaning and sewing for them. She fantasizes about seeing her deceased husband, John, again and showing him how well she has done for herself. Yet, John may not want her if he were still alive. All of life's trials have made her a different woman. She recalls sitting up nights with sick horses, sick farm hands and sick children. Granny wants him to know that she lost few of those that she cared for. He would have understood her life in those terms. Reflecting on her life makes her want to get to work again, but she suddenly forgets what she was working on and begins to hallucinate. She sees a fog moving toward her house. Her mind floats into the past, making old memories seem as if they are happening right now. She calls the children inside for the night. She tells the children not to waste fruit this year. It is wasting life to waste good food. Granny returns to the present, feeling very tired.

Later, Granny's mind drifts to the day she had put on a white veil and set out a white cake, but her groom did not come. It was hell. For sixty years she had tried to forget him and the pain of being jilted at the altar. Ellen had told her that plenty of girls get jilted. She shouldn't let her wounded vanity get the best of her. Lying in bed, Granny tries to keep the light out of her eyes. The old woman does not realize that Cornelia has entered the room until she feels a cold washcloth on her face. Cornelia's face looks swollen and Granny tries to tell her to go wash her own face, but Cornelia doesn't seem to hear her. The younger woman's mouth seems to be making strange movements. Doctor Harry has returned. Granny is confused, thinking that he just left five minutes ago, but Cornelia tells her that he hasn't been there since this morning. Doctor Harry compliments Mrs. Weatherall, saying that he has never seen her look so young and happy. Granny responds that she will never be young again, but she would be happy if everyone would just let her die in peace. The doctor and Cornelia don't answer her, though she thinks she has spoken loudly. The doctor gives her a shot. Granny nonsensically asks Cornelia about sugar ants in her bed.

Granny Weatherall wants to see Hapsy. In her mind, she travels through rooms until she finds the child. Hapsy melts and becomes a shadow. The child asks where Granny has been and tells her that she hasn't changed at all. Just as she is about to kiss Hapsy, Cornelia interrupts to ask if she can get her mother anything. Granny's thoughts continue to wander. She thinks that she would like to see George, the groom who left her at the altar. She wants him to know that she did find a husband and had a good house and children. She got back everything he took away from her and more. Suddenly, she becomes confused and her breathing starts to frighten her. Agony fills her body. She knows that the time has come.

The priest has arrived. Granny feels good about her soul. She knows that a few saints will clear a path to God for her. She has felt this way since the day George jilted her. The bottom of her world had collapsed, but God kept her from falling. The room around her looks like a picture. She thinks the priest is Doctor Harry. She tries to speak to him, but they don't understand her. Suddenly, Granny is in a horse cart with a man that she recognizes by his hands. She is aware that Father Connolly is murmuring in Latin and tickling her feet. Faces drift above her. Her other children have arrived. Granny knows that this her death, and she is surprised by it. There are so many things she wanted to do first. Cornelia should get her jewelry, and she needs to discuss her land. Cornelia begins to sob. Granny tells her, "I'm not going, Cornelia. I'm taken by surprise. I can't go."

She feels her heart sinking, as if there is no bottom to death. Cornelia's lampshade is like a flicker of light in the center of her brain. Granny is amazed as her body becomes a deep shadow in endless darkness. She wants God to give her a sign, but there isn't one. Again, she has no bridegroom. This new grief consumes her, and all of her other sorrows disappear. Granny thinks there is nothing crueler and she will never forget it. She stretches herself out with a breath and blows out the light.