You have asked a really interesting question as there is a
certain ambiguity about the character of Hapsy in this excellent short story. Hapsy is
an ambiguous character because her identity and whereabouts are open to interpretation.
Her name suggests that she had or has a sunny disposition and that she made or makes
Granny Weatherall happy. Note how Hapsy is referred to in the last
paragraph:
You'll never see Hapsy again. What about her? "I
thought you'd never come." Granny made a long journey outward, looking for Hapsy. What
if I don't find her? What then? Her heart sank down and down, there was no bottom to
death, she couldn't come to the end of
it.
Of course, it is vital to
recognise that the stream of consciousness narration means that everything is very
confused as Granny Weatherall moves closer and closer to death and makes more and more
random connections between her scattered thoughts. And yet it is possible to suggest
that Hapsy could be her favourite daughter that she longs to see one more time, or
perhaps that Hapsy is a character or a dear friend who is going to welcome Granny
Weatherall into the afterlife.
Either way, Hapsy does not
appear, and perhaps this is another sign of the rejection of the jilting that Granny
Weatherall so courageously faces at the end of the story as she yields herself up to
death at the very end.
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