The Jilting Of Granny Weatherall Archetypal Analysis

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Nathaniel Green Prof English 1102 18 July 2011 Literary Works Many literary works reflect similar characters, symbols, and/or settings despite that they regard different cultures and/or diverse time periods. These analogous literary elements are referred to as literary archetypes. An archetype has been defined as, “A universally recognizable element . . . that recurs across all literature and life (Latrobe 13). When viewing the short story “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall,” the reader immediately recognizes two palpable archetypes: the unhealable wound and death/rebirth. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to analyze Katherine Ann Porter’s, “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall,” and to signify the archetypes, unhealable wound and death/rebirth,…show more content…
The unhealable wound is often categorized as a situational archetype within a hero’s journey—in this case, the hero, Granny Weatherall, is journeying towards death. Ruxton explains, “The hero suffers an unhealable wound, sometimes an emotional or spiritual wound from which the hero never completely recovers” (5). Ruxton continues, “This wound, physical or psychological, cannot be healed fully. This would also indicate a loss of innocence or purity. Often the wounds’ pain drives the sufferer to desperate measures of madness” (6). Granny Weathall’s unhealable wound is her being jilted by a man whom she considered to be a love of her…show more content…
She wants to prove to George, and possibly reaffirm to herself, that his jilting did not ruin her nor did it stop her from pursuing familial happiness. He did, however, affect her life and produce a change in her—she became adamant with life management and order. This change explains why Granny tries to control her time of death (for the second time). Becker contends that “despite the fact that her external life is so carefully ordered, her internal life is not redeemed” (1168). In “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall,” Granny’s journey towards death grants the reader an understanding of two archetypes: the unhealable wound—George jilting Granny which induces her overwhelming independent nature—and journeying towards death/rebirth—which is Granny’s time spent on her death bed, reflecting on George jilting her. Ultimately, the reader assumes that Granny does, indeed, die at the end of the story, but even in her last moment, she does so independently; “She stretched herself with a deep breath and blew out the light” (Porter
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