Porter, Katherine Anne: 1890-1980

The Jilting of Granny Weatherall, 1930 - Thematic Parallels: Betrayal

Betrayal is the act of being disloyal or unfaithful to someone who trusts you. It usually involves breaking a promise.
Porter, Katherine Anne: The Jilting of Granny Weatherall, 1930
The main topic is the emotional and psychological impact of betrayal and loss, particularly how past trauma shapes a person’s final moments and perceptions of life and death.
The following books are thematically simliar. They lend themselves well to being read in groups, compared with one another, or used to teach a similar topic over an extended period with a class:
- Chopin, Kate: The Awakening, 1899, ~200pp
  The novel centers on personal dissatisfaction, emotional betrayal within marriage, and a protagonist searching for meaning toward the end of her life.
  - These works are portraits of mental collapse shaped by repressive societies. They use fragmented, unreliable narrators to immerse readers in breakdowns, highlight the crushing power of institutions, and explore how alienation turns into either self-destruction (Esther) or violence toward others (Francie).
- Coetzee, J.M.: Disgrace, 1999, ~220pp
  This novel explores complex human emotions, resilience, and the impact of social betrayal.
  - Both characters experience a moral and existential fall from pride to humiliation. Their disgrace is both social and spiritual. Isolation becomes the final punishment for pride and moral blindness. Both protagonists must confront the collapse of personal authority in a changed world (socially for Lurie, existentially for Granny).
- Hosseini, Khaled: The Kite Runner, 2003, ~340pp
  This novel is about betrayal, the quest for forgiveness, complicated familial relationships, guilt, and the struggle for redemption and closure, paralleling many aspects of Granny Weatherall’s experience.
  - Both novels intersect in their exploration of mental illness, stigma, and the struggle of gifted individuals against both internal demons and societal pressures. Where Nash’s biography emphasizes eventual triumph, Plath’s novel emphasizes ambiguity and the tenuousness of recovery.
- Maugham, W. Somerset: The Moon and Sixpence, 1919, ~210pp
  This novel explores personal betrayal and emotional complexity.
  - Both novels present women who reject conventional roles, endure psychological and physical costs, and struggle to claim selfhood in societies that demand their conformity.
List of general discussion questions on Betrayal (pdf)
List of essay prompts on Betrayal (pdf)