23 pages • 46 minutes read
Eudora WeltyA Visit of Charity
Fiction | Short Story | YA | Published in 1941A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Literary Devices
Foreshadowing
The first literary device used in “A Visit of Charity” is foreshadowing (a hint of what to expect in the story). Marian arrives at the Old Ladies’ Home on a bright day. She wears a red coat, and her yellow hair hangs beneath the white cap on her head. She notices the “prickly dark shrubs” outside the home and that the home is like a block of ice (137). Upon entering, she informs the nurse at the front desk that she’s a Campfire Girl. The reader senses more trouble when the nurse replies in a masculine voice. The nurse shows little concern for the young girl, closing her in the room with the two quarrelsome old women.
Imagery
The second literary device employed by Welty is imagery (language that uses the five senses of taste, touch, sight, smell, and sound). The reader can feel the wave-like linoleum floor tiles under Marian’s feet. The scent of the hallway, like the interior of a clock, awakens the reader’s sense of smell. We then learn someone is making sounds in one of the rooms like the bleating of a sheep. When Marian enters the room where the two old women live, one of them snatches the hat off her head. The back of the wicker chair is damp and Marian’s hands grow cold.
Figurative Comparison
The third literary device in this story is figurative comparison (a comparison between two things that are otherwise not alike). One of the old women is like a bird, with hands as “quick as a bird claw” (138). The other makes a sound like a sheep and looks like one. When Marian meets her she sees “a bunch white forehead and red eyes like a sheep” (139). A few minutes later, the woman whimpers like a “little lamb” (142). Later, the unnamed woman resembles a “little crow” (141) when she answers one of her own questions.
Symbolism
Welty uses symbolism (the use of objects to represent ideas or qualities) throughout “A Visit of Charity.” The setting is unwelcoming from the beginning. From the dark shrubs outside the home to the whitewashed brick of the building, the Old Ladies’ Home feels like a cold, ominous place. The nurse, dressed in white, looks cold too. The hallway the nurse leads Marian down smells like the interior of a clock. Before opening the door to the room, the nurse checks her watch. The clock and the watch draw the reader’s attention to time and how it stands stills in this place.
The unnamed woman says Marian’s plant is pretty, while Addie says it’s not. When they take the plant from her, Marian wishes she had it back. She realizes she didn’t look at it before they took it and wonders what it looked like. It symbolizes charity and Marian’s attitude toward giving to others. One of the women places it on top of the wardrobe, where it can “hardly be seen from below” (139). Marian’s effort at charity falters, and her unease increases.
Related Titles
By Eudora Welty
