On the Use of Interior Monologue and Narrated Monologue in The Jilting of Granny Weatherall

朱蕾

【Abstract】The Jilting of Granny Weatherall is one of Katherine Anne Porters most famous and successful short stories which shows her use of the stream-of-consciousness techniques substantially. This thesis tries to focus on the use of interior monologue and narrated monologue in this story especially.

【Key words】Katherine anne porter； Interior monologue； Narrated monologue

1 A general introduction of Katherine Anne Porter

Katherine Anne Porter is regarded as one of the most important female writers in the middle 20th century America. She once said that she had spent 15 years to learn how to write. Because she is strict with herself and always keeps improving， she could finally form her own unique writing style. The Norton Anthology of American Literature calls “each story a masterpiece of technical skill and emotional power” and Porter “a stylist of clarity and elegance，” “…while treating the most intense human emotions” （1974）. Robert Penn Warren compares her to Faulkner and maintains that many of her stories are unsurpassed in modern fiction [1]. Graham Green says her stories are the best since early Hemingway [2]. Unrue labels her as “writers writer” for her language and structure， a craftsman， a master of prose and says her characters have a depth usually found only in novels[3].

2 A general introduction of The Jilting of Granny Weatherall

Except for her only novel， Ship of Fools （1962）， which makes her a writer of bestsellers， Katherine Anne Porter is known for a lot of short stories， among which， The Jilting of Granny Weatherall is a distinguished one. The story takes place in a bedroom in the home of Granny Weatheralls daughter Cornelia. Granny Weatherall， who is about eighty years old， is lying in the bed to recall her whole life. She is disoriented because of serious illness. As a commonly agreed stylist， Porter expertly uses various stream of consciousness techniques in this short story. The employment of interior monologue and narrated monologue （direct and indirect） is skillful.

3 The use of interior monologue and narrated monologue

Interior monologue refers to the unspoken psychological language or language consciousness in the characters mind expressed through free direct speech. Opposite to it is the psychological language or language consciousness expressed through free indirect speech， called “indirect interior monologue” or “narrated monologue”. In interior monologue， without the apparent interference of the narrator， the thought is going on in the characters mind flows out freely and faithfully with more obvious directness and vividness. Both indirect interior monologue and direct interior monologue are important ways to reveal the characters inner thoughts and feelings. And the combination of the two often achieves excellent effects.

In The Jilting of Granny Weatherall， the author employs both interior monologue and indirect interior monologue. The major part of the article uses the third singular person “she” to narrate the inner works of Granny. Its obvious indirect interior monologue. The author is conscious to withdraw from the plot and narrate the story faithfully through the presentation of inner works of the characters. Porter doesnt use these phrases such as “she thinks”， “she says” as medium of narration， instead she combines the third person narration and interior monologue naturally. For example， at the very beginning of the story， Porter writes， “She flicked her wrist neatly out of Doctors Harrys pudgy careful fingers and pulled the sheet up to her chin. The brat ought to be in knee breeches. Doctoring around the country with spectacles on the nose！ ‘Get along now， take your schoolbooks and go. Theres nothing wrong with me.”[4] At the first glance of it， people will naturally take the first three sentences as the narration of the third person narrator but later， with the further understanding， they then find that the second and third sentences are the inner thoughts of Granny. So readers unconsciously go into the thoughts of the character. At the same time of description of outside world， this kind of transition into interior monologue of character goes naturally and quietly. But the whole narration is so smooth and unbreakable.

Through the use of interior monologue together with indirect interior monologue， Porter makes the narration unfold itself on the two levels of the external objective world and the internal subjective world， revealing on the one hand the change of Grannys illness on the last day of her life， and on the other hand her rich and complex mental activities， thus manifesting the image of Granny in a three-dimensional way.

【References】

[1]Warren， Robert Penn. Katherine Anne Porter： A Collection of Critical Essays[M]. Englewood Cliffs： Prentice-Hall， 1979：93.

[2][3]Unrue， Darlene Harbour， Ed. Critical Essays on Katherine Anne Porter[M]. New York： G. K. Hall and Co.， 1997：2， 35.

[4]Porter， Katherine Anne. The Collected Stories of Katherine Anne Porter[M]. New York： Harcourt， Brace， & World， 1965.

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