Eudora Welty's A Visit Of Charity

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A visit of charity Welty, Eudora. “A Visit of Charity.” Arguing about Literature: A Guide and Reader, edited by John Schilb and John Clifford, 2nd ed., Bedford/St.Martin’s, 2017, pp. 150-154 Many people who have read Eudora Welty’s “A Visit of Charity” seem to come to the conclusion that it was written as a coming of age story, about how we all must face the realites of death and aging. They claim that being exposed to some of the harsh realities of life changed Marian, the protagonist. They point to various parts of the narrative, particularly one line where Marian is said to have “wondered about her…as though there was nothing else in the world to wonder about. It was the first time such a thing had happened to Marian” (153). They also point …show more content…

This discomfort causes her to flee from what is in front of her, rather than face the realities of death and aging she encounters during her visit. From the start, Marian makes no effort to hide the fact that she is only at the Ladies’ Home because she, in her own words, “had to pay a visit to some old lady,” and that she was only there to earn points for her Campfire Girl program (150) As the story progresses, Marian’s feelings shift from mere reluctance to become more wary, uncomfortable, and even frightened. After being led by the nurse to the old ladies’ room, Marian compared being there to “being caught in a robbers’ cave, just before one was murdered” (151). Her impressions of the room and its inhabitants only go downhill from there, and she begins feeling very disoriented. Her feelings and experiences stem from the fact that she is being confronted with a situation she is completely unfamiliar with, and she has no idea how to respond. Everything about the old folk’s home and these two old ladies is so far outside of her experience that she is literally at one point “trembling” in fright

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