Abstract：The character analysis of Ellen Weatherall，associating the personal experiences of Katherine Anne Porter and Porter’s grandmother, the prototype of the protagonist in the story，unfolds on the basis of literary review around the following three aspects: the relationship between Granny and her beloved George, her sense of duty for her family and her religious faith and doubt. The protagonist’s experience of being jilted is an important transition in her life. Her character has undergone significant changes since then. The first two parts of this paper deal with the positive impact of the jilting to the heroine’ character: the jilting further highlights Granny’s original traditional feminine virtues, such as diligence, kindness, intelligence and sense of responsibility, and develops and hardens her character to a greater degree, that is, she becomes more independent, tolerant, acts bravely and tenaciously as a man and presents her composure towards loneliness. The third part discusses the negative influence of the jilting on the heroine’s character: Granny never really gets rid of the painful memories and instead turns to the unreliable religion for comfort. In the end, she is jilted for the second time by God and blows out the light of her life in great anger. Finally, the author expounds the heroine’s initial revolutionary qualities and her final self-realization based on the interpretation of the theme of the short story and puts forward the proposition that women should take the initiative and become the masters of their own destiny.
【Key Words】The Jilting of Granny Weatherall; Katherine Anne Porter; character analysis
中文摘要：本文将联系小说作者凯瑟琳·安·波特的个人经历和小说主人公的原型波特的祖母，在文献综述的基础上，从老奶奶和恋人的关系，老奶奶对家庭的责任心，以及老奶奶对宗教的信仰与怀疑等三个方面来分析女主人公多方面复杂的性格特点。女主人公被遗弃的经历是其生命中的重要转折点，其性格在其之后发生了重大的转变。本文前两部分主要探讨此经历对女主人公性格的积极影响：此经历不仅更加突显了老奶奶身上原有的女性传统美德，如勤劳、善良、智慧、有责任心等，而且还进一步发展强化了其性格，使其变得更加独立、宽容，遇到困难像男人一样勇敢坚忍，面对孤独也安之若素；第三部分主要讨论此经历对女主人公性格的消极影响：自那之后，老奶奶始终未从这段痛苦记忆中解脱出来，而是依托不可靠的宗教以寻找慰藉，最终再次被上帝抛弃，愤怒地吹灭了自己的生命之光。最后，本文作者结合小说主题阐述了女主人公初步的反抗精神和最终的自我觉醒，提出了“女性应该掌握主动权，成为自己命运的主人”的观点。
【关键词】《被遗弃的韦瑟罗尔奶奶》；凯瑟琳·安·波特；性格分析
