A Visit of Charity

“A Visit of Charity” is one of 17 stories in A Curtain of Green, Welty’s first book. These stories are known for their empathy and close attention to detail. In “A Visit of Charity,” Welty invites the reader to consider the meaning of a charitable act. The main character, Marian, is more concerned with earning Campfire Girl points than spending time with two elderly women. Upon arriving at the “Old Ladies’ Home,” she notices the “prickly dark shrubs” (137). These shrubs foreshadow trouble ahead. The home itself is like a block of ice, a cold and inhospitable place. The reader senses more trouble when the nurse who greets Marian shows little concern for her. She later closes her in a room with two quarrelsome older women.

To Marian, Addie looks and sounds like a sheep, and the other woman seems bird-like, with claws for hands. Their room is tiny and dark, crowded with too much furniture. Marian is shocked by the living conditions. When the women ask her name and what she does at school, Marian is so stunned by their situation that she can’t answer. She tells them she can’t stay, but they ignore her.