The Jilting Of Granny Weatherall Loss Of Hapsy

Katherine Ann Porter’s short story, “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall,” is entirely about death and longing. Throughout the story, it is evident that Granny Weatherall longs for both of her lost lovers as she is nearing her death. But there is someone else who Granny wants to see: her favorite daughter, Hapsy. Unfortunately for Granny, Hapsy is dead and has been for a long time. The tragic loss of her beloved Hapsy has a tremendous impact on Granny’s death, both socially and psychologically.
Although she is mentioned earlier, Hapsy first appears when Granny Weatherall dreams of seeing her with a baby in her arms. Granny remarks that she has to “go a long way back through a great many rooms” to reach the vision of Hapsy. These “rooms” are memories

One reason why she did this is that she is somewhat eager to die and see Hapsy in the afterlife. She knows that she has fulfilled her duty on earth and wants to be with her beloved daughter again, therefore she has no qualms about dying. The only concern that has Granny now is whether she will again unite with Hapsy. Although the dream of Hapsy is the only time that Granny actually sees her in the story, there are several other instances where Granny is searching for Hapsy. Even as Granny is nearing her end, she continues “looking for Hapsy” because she expects to see her beyond the grave (Porter, 539). Granny’s expectations of finding Hapsy in the afterlife prove that Hapsy is dead. Her constant search for Hapsy is caused by her longing to be reunited with her long lost

If Hapsy meant as much to Granny as it appears, then it would be reasonable to assume that Granny would be proud that her favorite child had sought out her help. Granny would have brought this up as she does with her other children. Since she doesn’t, Hapsy must never have asked for Granny’s help due to the fact that she wasn’t alive to do so. Surely Granny thought about this very fact and wished that she was able to help her daughter in any way. Knowing that she couldn’t do so only made her longing for Hapsy worse, which in turn affected her mental health. Throughout this story readers are reminded that Hapsy is Granny’s favorite child. Granny had so little time with her, therefore she cherishes Hapsy the most because she feels that she didn’t love her enough when she was alive. Since Hapsy died at a young age, Granny was afraid that she would forget Hapsy and consequently idolized her in order to compensate for the lost memories she could have made with Hapsy if she was alive. Granny even goes as far to push away her other children when they assist her because she wishes that Hapsy was the one who was helping her. By doing this, Granny isolates herself from the world and refuses any comfort as she is dying. Although she is surrounded by loved ones, she obviously feels incredibly alone when she “lay curled down within