My Antonia.
by WILLA CATHER.
Wilella Sibert Cather was born on December 7, 1873, in the small Virginia farming community of Winchester. When she was ten years old, her parents moved the family to the prairies of Nebraska, where her father opened a farm mortgage and insurance business. Home-schooled before enrolling in the local high school, Cather had a mind of her own, changing her given name to Willa and adopting a variation of her grandmother"s maiden name, Seibert, as her middle name. As a young woman she met Annie Sadilek Pavelka, a schoolmate who would later become the main character in her acclaimed novel My Antonia My Antonia (1918). (1918).
During Cather"s studies at the University of Nebraska, she worked as a drama critic to support herself and published her first piece of short fiction, "Peter," in a Boston magazine. After graduation, her love of music and intellectual pursuits inspired her to move to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where she edited the family magazine Home Monthly, Home Monthly, wrote theater criticism for the Pittsburgh wrote theater criticism for the Pittsburgh Daily Leader, Daily Leader, and taught English and Latin in local high schools. Cather published her first short story collection, and taught English and Latin in local high schools. Cather published her first short story collection, The Troll Garden, The Troll Garden, in 1905. She moved to New York City the following year to work for in 1905. She moved to New York City the following year to work for McClure"s Magazine McClure"s Magazine as a writer and eventually the magazine"s managing editor. as a writer and eventually the magazine"s managing editor.
Considered one of the great figures of early-twentieth-century American literature, Willa Cather derived her inspiration from the American Midwest, which she considered her home. Never married, she cherished her many friendships, some of which she had maintained since childhood. Her intimate coterie of women writers and artists motivated Cather to produce some of her best work. Sarah Orne Jewett, a successful author from Maine whom Cather had met during her McClure"s McClure"s years, inspired her to devote herself full-time to creating literature and to write about her childhood, which she did in several novels of the prairies; one of the best known is years, inspired her to devote herself full-time to creating literature and to write about her childhood, which she did in several novels of the prairies; one of the best known is O Pioneers! O Pioneers! (1913), whose t.i.tle comes from a poem by Walt Whitman. A critic of the rise of materialism, Cather addressed the social impact of the developing industrial age in A (1913), whose t.i.tle comes from a poem by Walt Whitman. A critic of the rise of materialism, Cather addressed the social impact of the developing industrial age in A Lost Lady Lost Lady (1923), which was made into a film starring Barbara Stanwyck. For (1923), which was made into a film starring Barbara Stanwyck. For One of Ours One of Ours (1922), a novel about World War I, she was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1923. (1922), a novel about World War I, she was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1923.
In her later years Cather produced some of her most recognized work. For Death Comes for the Archbishop Death Comes for the Archbishop (1927) she won a gold medal from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. In 1933 she received the Prix Femina Americaine for (1927) she won a gold medal from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. In 1933 she received the Prix Femina Americaine for Shadows on the Rock Shadows on the Rock (1931), a collection of short stories. Two years after publishing her last novel, (1931), a collection of short stories. Two years after publishing her last novel, The Best Years The Best Years (1945), Willa Cather died of a cerebral hemorrhage, on April 24, 1947, in New York City. A collection of short fiction, (1945), Willa Cather died of a cerebral hemorrhage, on April 24, 1947, in New York City. A collection of short fiction, The Old Beauty and Others The Old Beauty and Others (1948), and a literary treatise, (1948), and a literary treatise, On Writing On Writing (1949), were published after her death. Among Cather"s other accomplishments were honorary doctorate degrees from Columbia, Princeton, and Yale Universities. (1949), were published after her death. Among Cather"s other accomplishments were honorary doctorate degrees from Columbia, Princeton, and Yale Universities.
THE WORLD OF WILLA CATHER AND MY ANTONIA ANTONIA
1638 Dutch explorer Peter Minuit leads Swedish immigrants to establish the first Swedish colony in Delaware Bay. Dutch explorer Peter Minuit leads Swedish immigrants to establish the first Swedish colony in Delaware Bay.
1848 The California Gold Rush stimulates emigration from Scandinavia to the U.S. Midwest. The California Gold Rush stimulates emigration from Scandinavia to the U.S. Midwest.
1855 Walt Whitman publishes the first edition of Leaves of Gra.s.s, a collection of poems he will expand in several editions before his death in 1892; his poem "Pioneers! O Pioneers!," which will have an impact on Willa Cather, will be published in his collection Drum Taps Drum Taps in 1865 and incorporated into the 1881-1882 edition of in 1865 and incorporated into the 1881-1882 edition of Leaves of Gra.s.s. Leaves of Gra.s.s.
1862 The pa.s.sage of the Homestead Act encourages immigrants to cultivate the U.S. prairies; immigrant settlement in the Midwest increases significantly. The pa.s.sage of the Homestead Act encourages immigrants to cultivate the U.S. prairies; immigrant settlement in the Midwest increases significantly.
1873 On December 7 Wilella Cather is born, the eldest of her parent"s seven children, in Winchester, Virginia, a farming village near the Blue Ridge Mountains. On December 7 Wilella Cather is born, the eldest of her parent"s seven children, in Winchester, Virginia, a farming village near the Blue Ridge Mountains.
1877 Sarah Orne Jewett, who will become one of Cather"s mentors , publishes Sarah Orne Jewett, who will become one of Cather"s mentors , publishes Deephaven, Deephaven, her first collection of stories and sketches, about small-town life in New England. her first collection of stories and sketches, about small-town life in New England.
1883 The Cathers join Wilella"s grandparents and her uncle George in Webster County, Nebraska. The Cathers join Wilella"s grandparents and her uncle George in Webster County, Nebraska.
1884 The Cathers settle in Red Cloud, Nebraska, a railroad town on the prairie, where Cather"s father opens a farm mortgage and insurance business. Most of their neighbors are European immigrants. Cather enrolls in Red Cloud High School and meets Annie Sadilek Pavelka, on whom she will base the t.i.tle character in her novel The Cathers settle in Red Cloud, Nebraska, a railroad town on the prairie, where Cather"s father opens a farm mortgage and insurance business. Most of their neighbors are European immigrants. Cather enrolls in Red Cloud High School and meets Annie Sadilek Pavelka, on whom she will base the t.i.tle character in her novel My Antonia. My Antonia.
1890 Cather graduates from high school and moves to Lincoln to study for the entrance exam for the University of Nebraska. Cather graduates from high school and moves to Lincoln to study for the entrance exam for the University of Nebraska.
To finance her education, she works as a drama critic for the Nebraska State Journal. Nebraska State Journal.
1892 New York City becomes an immigration mecca as Ellis Island opens on February 14. Cather"s short story "Peter," which will later be incorporated into New York City becomes an immigration mecca as Ellis Island opens on February 14. Cather"s short story "Peter," which will later be incorporated into My Antonia, My Antonia, is published in a Boston magazine. is published in a Boston magazine.
1895 Cather graduates from the University of Nebraska and returns to her family in Red Cloud.
1896 She moves to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where she begins work as an editor at the Home Monthly, Home Monthly, a family magazine, and as an editor and drama critic for the Pittsburgh a family magazine, and as an editor and drama critic for the Pittsburgh Daily Leader, Daily Leader, a newspaper. a newspaper.
1901 Cather teaches English and Latin at Central High School in Pittsburgh, then transfers to Allegheny High School, where she becomes head of the English Department. Cather teaches English and Latin at Central High School in Pittsburgh, then transfers to Allegheny High School, where she becomes head of the English Department.
1902 She visits Europe. She visits Europe.
1903 Upon her return from Europe, Cather publishes a collection of verse, Upon her return from Europe, Cather publishes a collection of verse, April Twilights. April Twilights.
1905 She publishes She publishes The Troll Garden, The Troll Garden, her first collection of short stories; it includes "Paul"s Case," a story, set in Pittsburgh, of a young man with tragically frustrated aspirations. her first collection of short stories; it includes "Paul"s Case," a story, set in Pittsburgh, of a young man with tragically frustrated aspirations.
1906 Cather moves to New York City to write for Cather moves to New York City to write for McClure"s Mag azine, McClure"s Mag azine, where she eventually will become the managing editor . She moves in with Edith Lewis, a colleague at where she eventually will become the managing editor . She moves in with Edith Lewis, a colleague at McClure"s. McClure"s.
1908 Cather meets Sarah Orne Jewett, a successful writer from Maine, who encourages her to pursue writing full-time and inspires her to write about her experiences in Nebraska. Cather meets Sarah Orne Jewett, a successful writer from Maine, who encourages her to pursue writing full-time and inspires her to write about her experiences in Nebraska.
1911 She begins to write "Alexandra," which will become part of She begins to write "Alexandra," which will become part of O Pioneers!, O Pioneers!, a semi-autobiographical novel about the early Scandinavian and Bohemian settlers of Nebraska. a semi-autobiographical novel about the early Scandinavian and Bohemian settlers of Nebraska.
1912 Cather"s first novel, Cather"s first novel, Alexander"s Bridge, Alexander"s Bridge, is published, and she works on "The White Mulberry Tree," which will become another part of O is published, and she works on "The White Mulberry Tree," which will become another part of O Pioneers! Pioneers! She visits the Southwest for the first time. She visits the Southwest for the first time.
1913 O Pioneers! O Pioneers! is published, dedicated to Sarah Orne Jewett. is published, dedicated to Sarah Orne Jewett.
1915 Cather visits Mesa Verde in Colorado. Cather visits Mesa Verde in Colorado. The Song of the Lark, The Song of the Lark, a psychological novel that explores the meaning of aesthetics a psychological novel that explores the meaning of aesthetics
and music, is published. Cather returns to the Southwest and visits Wyoming and Nebraska; she meets her childhood friend Annie Pavelka again.
1917 While living in New Hampshire, Cather writes While living in New Hampshire, Cather writes My Antonia, My Antonia, based on Pavelka. based on Pavelka.
1918 My Antonia My Antonia is published to critical acclaim; H. L. Mencken calls it the greatest piece of fiction written by a woman in America. is published to critical acclaim; H. L. Mencken calls it the greatest piece of fiction written by a woman in America.
1920 American women win the right to vote with pa.s.sage of the Nineteenth Amendment. Cather publishes American women win the right to vote with pa.s.sage of the Nineteenth Amendment. Cather publishes Youth and the Bright Medusa, Youth and the Bright Medusa, a collection of eight short stories; a collection of eight short stories; The Nation The Nation hails it as a representation of "the triumph of mind over Nebraska." hails it as a representation of "the triumph of mind over Nebraska."
1922 Cather publishes Cather publishes One of Ours, One of Ours, a novel about World War I. a novel about World War I.
1923 Cather wins the Pulitzer Prize for Cather wins the Pulitzer Prize for One of Ours. One of Ours. She criticizes the developing industrial age in the novel She criticizes the developing industrial age in the novel A Lost Lady. A Lost Lady.
1925 Cather publishes Cather publishes The Professor"s House, The Professor"s House, a novel that juxtaposes a teacher"s middle-aged disillusionment and his memories of the work of a brilliant student. a novel that juxtaposes a teacher"s middle-aged disillusionment and his memories of the work of a brilliant student.
1926 She publishes another novel, She publishes another novel, My Mortal Enemy, My Mortal Enemy, in which the heroine regrets the choices she has made. in which the heroine regrets the choices she has made.
1927 Cather publishes the historical novel Cather publishes the historical novel Death Comes for the Archbishop, Death Comes for the Archbishop, set in the American Southwest. The Hollywood film version of set in the American Southwest. The Hollywood film version of A Lost Lady, A Lost Lady, starring actress Irene Rich, premiers in Red Cloud; a second version, starring Barbara Stanwyck, will be released in 1934. starring actress Irene Rich, premiers in Red Cloud; a second version, starring Barbara Stanwyck, will be released in 1934.
1930 Cather receives the gold medal of the American Academy of Arts and Letters for Cather receives the gold medal of the American Academy of Arts and Letters for Death Comes for the Archbishop. Death Comes for the Archbishop.
1931 She publishes She publishes Shadows on the Rock, Shadows on the Rock, a collection of three short stories for which she is awarded the Prix Femina Americaine in 1933. a collection of three short stories for which she is awarded the Prix Femina Americaine in 1933.
1932 She publishes more short stories in She publishes more short stories in Obscure Destinies. Obscure Destinies.
1935 She publishes She publishes Lucy Gayheart, Lucy Gayheart, a novel that turns on the tension between artistic values and those of hometown life. a novel that turns on the tension between artistic values and those of hometown life.
1936 Cather publishes Cather publishes Not Under Forty, Not Under Forty, a collection of literary critiques. a collection of literary critiques.
1940 She publishes She publishes Sapphira and the Slave Girl. Sapphira and the Slave Girl.
1945 The Best Years, The Best Years, Cather"s last novel, is published. Cather"s last novel, is published.
1947 On April 24 Willa Cather dies of a cerebral hemorrhage in her Madison Avenue apartment in New York City. She is buried in New Hampshire.
1948 The Old Beauty and Others, The Old Beauty and Others, a collection of Cather"s shorter fiction, is published. a collection of Cather"s shorter fiction, is published.
1949 Her literary treatise Her literary treatise On Writing On Writing is published. is published.
1974 Cather is inducted into the Hall of Great Westerners in Oklahoma City. The Nature Conservancy buys a 210-acre plot of gra.s.sland south of Red Cloud and dedicates it as the Willa Cather Memorial Prairie. Cather is inducted into the Hall of Great Westerners in Oklahoma City. The Nature Conservancy buys a 210-acre plot of gra.s.sland south of Red Cloud and dedicates it as the Willa Cather Memorial Prairie.
1988 Cather is inducted into the National Women"s Hall of Fame in Seneca, New York. Cather is inducted into the National Women"s Hall of Fame in Seneca, New York.
INTRODUCTION
IT WAS NOT UNTIL the age of forty-five and the publication of her fourth novel, My Antonia My Antonia (1918), that Willa Cather established herself as a kind of poet laureate of the American prairie. Although she had been publishing poems, short fiction, and essays since the early 1890s as a precocious undergraduate at the University of Nebraska, Cather endured a long apprenticeship of spadework, first in Pittsburgh and then in New York, as a teacher, editor, and journalist. In 1912, after six frenetic years as the managing editor at (1918), that Willa Cather established herself as a kind of poet laureate of the American prairie. Although she had been publishing poems, short fiction, and essays since the early 1890s as a precocious undergraduate at the University of Nebraska, Cather endured a long apprenticeship of spadework, first in Pittsburgh and then in New York, as a teacher, editor, and journalist. In 1912, after six frenetic years as the managing editor at McClure"s Magazine, McClure"s Magazine, Cather resigned in order to launch her career as a novelist. Her first effort, Cather resigned in order to launch her career as a novelist. Her first effort, Alexander"s Bridge, Alexander"s Bridge, was a failure in Cather"s later estimation, but this Jamesian tale of adultery set in Boston and London provided the impetus for three important novels, written in quick succession, that draw heavily upon Cather"s childhood on the Nebraska prairie: was a failure in Cather"s later estimation, but this Jamesian tale of adultery set in Boston and London provided the impetus for three important novels, written in quick succession, that draw heavily upon Cather"s childhood on the Nebraska prairie: O Pioneers! O Pioneers! (1913), (1913), The Song of the Lark The Song of the Lark (1915), and My (1915), and My Antonia. Antonia.
By the time My Antonia My Antonia appeared, the influential H. L. Mencken was already one of Cather"s champions, but he was not alone in his superlative reaction to what he considered not only Cather"s most successful novel yet, but "one of the best that any American has ever done" ("My Antonia," p. 8; see "For Further Reading"). When Cather died in 1947, her published works included twelve novels, three collections of stories, one book of verse, a volume of essays, and a great deal of uncollected prose, much of which engages subject-matter far removed in time and s.p.a.ce from her Nebraska-inspired fiction. appeared, the influential H. L. Mencken was already one of Cather"s champions, but he was not alone in his superlative reaction to what he considered not only Cather"s most successful novel yet, but "one of the best that any American has ever done" ("My Antonia," p. 8; see "For Further Reading"). When Cather died in 1947, her published works included twelve novels, three collections of stories, one book of verse, a volume of essays, and a great deal of uncollected prose, much of which engages subject-matter far removed in time and s.p.a.ce from her Nebraska-inspired fiction. Death Comes for the Archbishop Death Comes for the Archbishop (1927), for instance, is her much-admired historical novel based on the circ.u.mstances of a nineteenth-century Catholic mission in New Mexico, while (1927), for instance, is her much-admired historical novel based on the circ.u.mstances of a nineteenth-century Catholic mission in New Mexico, while Shadows on the Rock Shadows on the Rock (1931), set in seventeenth-century Quebec, is even more remote from the midwestern plains. Yet it is with her prairie trilogy-and (1931), set in seventeenth-century Quebec, is even more remote from the midwestern plains. Yet it is with her prairie trilogy-and My Antonia My Antonia in particular-that Cather defined her literary voice. in particular-that Cather defined her literary voice.
When Cather began working on the stories that would become the nucleus of O Pioneers!, O Pioneers!, writing about farmers in Nebraska amounted to a fairly severe breach of decorum, at least in the eyes of certain members of the literary establishment. As Cather herself put it: writing about farmers in Nebraska amounted to a fairly severe breach of decorum, at least in the eyes of certain members of the literary establishment. As Cather herself put it: The "novel of the soil" had not then come into fashion in this country. The drawing room was considered the proper setting for a novel, and the only characters worth reading about were smart people or clever people (Stories, Poems, and Other Writings, p. 963). p. 963).
Cather was fortunate, however, that a group of iconoclastic young critics were clamoring for American writers to liberate themselves from a "genteel tradition" of high culture ruled by European canons of taste and subject matter. In such works as The Wine of the Puritans The Wine of the Puritans (1908) and (1908) and America"s Coming-of-Age America"s Coming-of-Age (1915), Van Wyck Brooks argued that the United States was suffering from a cultural malaise produced by an unhealthy gulf between these genteel pretensions and the social realities of American life. In his view, this bifurcated condition reflected a longstanding tension between the country"s material achievements and its spiritual ideals, a tension symbolized by two American types often at odds with one another. The practical ethos that transformed the United States into an industrialized nation was embodied by the "Pioneer" type, while the more reflective "Puritan" spoke for the country"s foundational desire to create a utopian community. Brooks and others were impatiently on the lookout for writers who would usher in an era of cultural rejuvenation by following the example of Walt Whitman, who they believed had reconciled these opposing strains of the American character through his transformation of vernacular materials into a radically new kind of poetry imbued with a transcendent vision of the democratic self. (1915), Van Wyck Brooks argued that the United States was suffering from a cultural malaise produced by an unhealthy gulf between these genteel pretensions and the social realities of American life. In his view, this bifurcated condition reflected a longstanding tension between the country"s material achievements and its spiritual ideals, a tension symbolized by two American types often at odds with one another. The practical ethos that transformed the United States into an industrialized nation was embodied by the "Pioneer" type, while the more reflective "Puritan" spoke for the country"s foundational desire to create a utopian community. Brooks and others were impatiently on the lookout for writers who would usher in an era of cultural rejuvenation by following the example of Walt Whitman, who they believed had reconciled these opposing strains of the American character through his transformation of vernacular materials into a radically new kind of poetry imbued with a transcendent vision of the democratic self.
It is not surprising, then, that Cather"s early novels were so well received, since their protagonists tend to fuse the qualities of the pioneer and the puritan. Set in marginal locales far from the centers of genteel culture, these works doc.u.ment the harsh realities of rural life and commemorate the generation of settlers who, in Cather"s words, "subdued the wild land and broke up the virgin prairie" (quoted in Lee, Willa Cather, Willa Cather, p. 8). Part of what makes Cather such an important voice in American literature is that she reproduces the national mythology of the frontier while simultaneously revising it by placing indomitable women at the center of the cultural script. Conquering the land, however, is only the most obvious part of the story. What is probably most distinctive about the representation of the countryside in p. 8). Part of what makes Cather such an important voice in American literature is that she reproduces the national mythology of the frontier while simultaneously revising it by placing indomitable women at the center of the cultural script. Conquering the land, however, is only the most obvious part of the story. What is probably most distinctive about the representation of the countryside in My Antonia My Antonia is the way in which Cather dwells on the more ineffable empowerment of the self as it gives itself up to an overwhelming, sublime landscape. is the way in which Cather dwells on the more ineffable empowerment of the self as it gives itself up to an overwhelming, sublime landscape.
When Jim Burden, the narrator of My Antonia, My Antonia, first arrives on the prairie, he is profoundly shaken by the featureless void into which he feels he has been marooned: first arrives on the prairie, he is profoundly shaken by the featureless void into which he feels he has been marooned: There seemed to be nothing to see; no fences, no creeks or trees, no hills or fields. If there was a road, I could not make it out in the faint starlight. There was nothing but land: not a country at all, but the material out of which countries are made.... I had the feeling that the world was left behind, that we had got over the edge of it, and were outside man"s jurisdiction.... If we never arrived anywhere, it did not matter. Between that earth and that sky I felt erased, blotted out. I did not say my prayers that night: here, I felt, what would be would be (p. 11).
In this early scene, Jim is so disoriented by an unfamiliar landscape of absence that he feels obliterated, not uplifted, by its vastness. Like many other characters of modern literature, he is radically alone: "Outside man"s jurisdiction" and beyond the power of prayer, he has been plunged into a nihilistic world where things "did not matter." Within just a few pages, however, Jim"s alienation modulates into ecstasy. Captivated by the perpetual motion of the "s.h.a.ggy, red gra.s.s," he realizes that the "whole country seemed, somehow, to be running" (p. 16). Rather than being terrified by the sensation that he has traversed some kind of boundary, he becomes exhilarated: "I wanted to walk straight on through the red gra.s.s and over the edge of the world, which could not be very far away" (p. 16). Finally, he gives in completely to the loss of self that is provoked by the formless landscape, within which he feels not like an individual but a mere "something": I was something that lay under the sun and felt it, like the pumpkins, and I did not want to be anything more.... Perhaps we feel like that when we die and become a part of something entire, whether it is sun and air, or goodness and knowledge. At any rate, that is happiness; to be dissolved into something complete and great (p. 17).
Relinquishing oneself to "something complete and great" sounds more like Buddhist enlightenment than the true grit of an American pioneer. Jim"s epiphany, however, is very much in the American grain, since it closely resembles what is arguably the central pa.s.sage in the literature of American Transcendentalism, in which Ralph Waldo Emerson declares, "I become a transparent eyeball; I am nothing; I see all" ( Essays and Lectures, Essays and Lectures, p. 10). p. 10).
It is important to keep in mind that Cather has created Jim as a middle-aged narrator living in New York who is looking back with nostalgia at his youth on the prairie. In some sense, then, the epiphany in this early scene is experienced not only by a ten-year-old boy, but also by an older man coming to terms with his mortality through an act of memory. As the novel progresses, the mood becomes increasingly retrospective, since Jim becomes more and more distant from his original relationship with both the landscape and Antonia, the companion of his youth. An important turning point in Jim"s relation to the past occurs while he is a college student studying the cla.s.sics. Struck by Virgil"s "melancholy reflection" that "the best days are the first to flee" (p. 159), Jim a.s.sociates this sentiment of loss with his own memories of the prairie, which he finds crowding upon him during his studies. Virgil"s phrase, "Optima dies ... prima fugit," which is also the epigraph for My Antonia, Antonia, is taken from the is taken from the Georgics, Georgics, a pastoral depiction of rural life. With this reference to Virgil, Cather places her novel in dialogue with the traditions of pastoral literature, which tend to idealize country life as simple, virtuous, and pure. Some pastoral works are also deeply elegiac, as they lament the gap between the "best days" of their legendary Arcadia and the less n.o.ble, even corrupt present. At the point in the novel when Jim reads the cla.s.sics, childhood, along with the untamed landscape of memory, become his Arcadia, a mythical spot in time to which he yearns to return. As Jim says after an emotional parting from Antonia, "I wished I could be a little boy again, and that my way could end" (p. 192) on the prairie. Whether or not Cather shares her narrator"s nostalgia has been a matter of critical debate, but there is no question that Cather asks readers to ponder how the pastoral idea of a utopian garden has affected American att.i.tudes to the landscape and history of the nation. a pastoral depiction of rural life. With this reference to Virgil, Cather places her novel in dialogue with the traditions of pastoral literature, which tend to idealize country life as simple, virtuous, and pure. Some pastoral works are also deeply elegiac, as they lament the gap between the "best days" of their legendary Arcadia and the less n.o.ble, even corrupt present. At the point in the novel when Jim reads the cla.s.sics, childhood, along with the untamed landscape of memory, become his Arcadia, a mythical spot in time to which he yearns to return. As Jim says after an emotional parting from Antonia, "I wished I could be a little boy again, and that my way could end" (p. 192) on the prairie. Whether or not Cather shares her narrator"s nostalgia has been a matter of critical debate, but there is no question that Cather asks readers to ponder how the pastoral idea of a utopian garden has affected American att.i.tudes to the landscape and history of the nation.
Because the protagonists of Cather"s American pastoral are primarily immigrant farmers, her work also resonates with the important and often contentious debate during the 1910s over immigration to the United States, which surged to record levels between 1880 and World War I. In the opening pages of My Antonia, Antonia, the reader is almost as surprised as Jim to hear a "foreign tongue" (p. 10) upon completing his journey from Virginia deep into the American heartland of Nebraska. Eventually coming into contact with a wide range of immigrants, including transplanted Bohemians (Czechs), Swedes, Norwegians, Danes, and Russians, Jim resists the xenophobia casually expressed by his traveling companion, who believes one is "likely to get diseases from foreigners" (p. 10). This kind of animus against immigrant populations, which became prominent during the 1910s, was voiced by such notorious racist ideologues as Lothrop Stoddard and Madison Grant, who in 1920 claimed that immigrants would "in time drive us out of our own land by mere force of breeding" (quoted in Michaels, the reader is almost as surprised as Jim to hear a "foreign tongue" (p. 10) upon completing his journey from Virginia deep into the American heartland of Nebraska. Eventually coming into contact with a wide range of immigrants, including transplanted Bohemians (Czechs), Swedes, Norwegians, Danes, and Russians, Jim resists the xenophobia casually expressed by his traveling companion, who believes one is "likely to get diseases from foreigners" (p. 10). This kind of animus against immigrant populations, which became prominent during the 1910s, was voiced by such notorious racist ideologues as Lothrop Stoddard and Madison Grant, who in 1920 claimed that immigrants would "in time drive us out of our own land by mere force of breeding" (quoted in Michaels, Our America, Our America, p. 28). Arrayed against such nativist views were figures like Randolph Bourne, who strove to remind his fellow Americans that "the Anglo-Saxon was merely the first immigrant." In his important 1916 essay "Trans-National America," Bourne even went so far as to challenge the widely accepted notion that immigrants should be completely a.s.similated into the "melting pot" of American society: "America is coming to be, not a nationality but a trans-nationality, a weaving back and forth, with the other lands, of many threads of all sizes and colors" (p. 262). In certain respects antic.i.p.ating contemporary notions of a multicultural society, Bourne believed that the United States would be strengthened by immigrant communities that preserved their ethnic autonomy. p. 28). Arrayed against such nativist views were figures like Randolph Bourne, who strove to remind his fellow Americans that "the Anglo-Saxon was merely the first immigrant." In his important 1916 essay "Trans-National America," Bourne even went so far as to challenge the widely accepted notion that immigrants should be completely a.s.similated into the "melting pot" of American society: "America is coming to be, not a nationality but a trans-nationality, a weaving back and forth, with the other lands, of many threads of all sizes and colors" (p. 262). In certain respects antic.i.p.ating contemporary notions of a multicultural society, Bourne believed that the United States would be strengthened by immigrant communities that preserved their ethnic autonomy.
In her prairie novels, Cather echoes this conviction that immigration would enrich the nation, and this may be one reason why Bourne was so enthusiastic when he reviewed My Antonia. O Pioneers! My Antonia. O Pioneers! and My and My Antonia Antonia are set among the immigrant farmers who struggle to cultivate the "Divide," the region near Red Cloud, Nebraska, to which Cather herself relocated with her family in 1883. In both novels, Cather favors the children of immigrants who preserve their parents" way of life. Alexandra Bergson, the Swedish heroine of are set among the immigrant farmers who struggle to cultivate the "Divide," the region near Red Cloud, Nebraska, to which Cather herself relocated with her family in 1883. In both novels, Cather favors the children of immigrants who preserve their parents" way of life. Alexandra Bergson, the Swedish heroine of O Pioneers!, O Pioneers!, endures lean years to become one of the most prosperous farmers in the county, but instead of Americanizing like her unappealing brothers, she holds onto Scandinavian folkways. Her home is furnished with "things her mother brought from Sweden" endures lean years to become one of the most prosperous farmers in the county, but instead of Americanizing like her unappealing brothers, she holds onto Scandinavian folkways. Her home is furnished with "things her mother brought from Sweden" (Early Novels and Stories, (Early Novels and Stories, p. 178), her housekeepers are Swedish girls looking to marry her Swedish farmhands, and she protects Ivar, the old Norwegian man "despised" by a.s.similated members of the family because, as he puts it, "I do not wear shoes, because I do not cut my hair, and because I have visions" (p. 182). p. 178), her housekeepers are Swedish girls looking to marry her Swedish farmhands, and she protects Ivar, the old Norwegian man "despised" by a.s.similated members of the family because, as he puts it, "I do not wear shoes, because I do not cut my hair, and because I have visions" (p. 182).
In some ways this persistence of the "old country" as a cultural force is even more striking in My Antonia. My Antonia. At the end of the novel, Antonia presides over a large family steeped in the culture of her native Bohemia. Like herself, her husband, Anton Cuzak, is a Bohemian immigrant, and since Bohemian is the language spoken at home, their children do not learn English until they go to school. During Jim Burden"s culminating visit to the Cuzak homestead, Antonia"s children boast that "Americans don"t have" delicacies like their spiced plums and At the end of the novel, Antonia presides over a large family steeped in the culture of her native Bohemia. Like herself, her husband, Anton Cuzak, is a Bohemian immigrant, and since Bohemian is the language spoken at home, their children do not learn English until they go to school. During Jim Burden"s culminating visit to the Cuzak homestead, Antonia"s children boast that "Americans don"t have" delicacies like their spiced plums and kolaches kolaches (Czech pastries), and one of her boys plays "Bohemian airs" on the violin that Antonia"s father had brought with him when he emigrated to Nebraska. (Czech pastries), and one of her boys plays "Bohemian airs" on the violin that Antonia"s father had brought with him when he emigrated to Nebraska.
What is most interesting about this portrait of an una.s.similated immigrant household is Cather"s somewhat paradoxical suggestion that these kinds of families will generate an American ident.i.ty still in the process of being born. In fact, Cather raises this idea that the United States remains an unformed nation in the very first chapter of the novel. Recalling his first sight of the uncultivated Nebraska landscape, Jim feels that it is "not a country at all, but the material out of which countries are made" (p. 11). At the end of the novel, when Jim calls his beloved Antonia "a rich mine of life, like the founders of early races" (p. 211), one cannot help thinking that Cather is elevating Antonia into a mythological figure who is both Earth Mother and the progenitor of an inchoate American culture.
During the early decades of the twentieth century, many American writers believed that they could rejuvenate the national self-image by placing such nineteenth-century figures as Walt Whitman, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Herman Melville at the center of a newly configured American literary tradition now taken for granted. In 1925 Cather staked her own claim to a revised national canon, a.s.serting that the "three American books which have the possibility of a long, long life" (quoted in Orvell, "Time, Change, and the Burden of Revision in My Antonia," My Antonia," p. 31) are Nathaniel Hawthorne"s p. 31) are Nathaniel Hawthorne"s The Scarlet Letter, The Scarlet Letter, Mark Twain"s Mark Twain"s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and Sarah Orne Jewett"s and Sarah Orne Jewett"s The Country of the Pointed Firs. The Country of the Pointed Firs. Like Cather"s prairie novels, all of these works are firmly grounded in regional American subject matter, and Cather is implicitly claiming a place for herself in this distinctively American tradition of writing. Including Jewett"s 1896 work in this lineage was provocative, not only because of the tendency to marginalize women writers, but also because Jewett was not at the time considered a major figure. Cather was not uniformly friendly, however, to women writers, many of whom she found too "feminine." She admired those she considered truly great, such as Jane Austen and George Eliot, but she also declared, "I have not much faith in women in fiction. They have a sort of s.e.x consciousness that is abominable" Like Cather"s prairie novels, all of these works are firmly grounded in regional American subject matter, and Cather is implicitly claiming a place for herself in this distinctively American tradition of writing. Including Jewett"s 1896 work in this lineage was provocative, not only because of the tendency to marginalize women writers, but also because Jewett was not at the time considered a major figure. Cather was not uniformly friendly, however, to women writers, many of whom she found too "feminine." She admired those she considered truly great, such as Jane Austen and George Eliot, but she also declared, "I have not much faith in women in fiction. They have a sort of s.e.x consciousness that is abominable" (The World and the Parish, (The World and the Parish, p. 276). Cather was, for instance, quite critical of Kate Chopin, going so far as to attack p. 276). Cather was, for instance, quite critical of Kate Chopin, going so far as to attack The Awakening The Awakening (1899) for its "unbalanced idealism" ( (1899) for its "unbalanced idealism" (Stories, Poems, and Other Writings, p. 912). Although she created strong female characters in her prairie novels, Cather was more interested in a.s.serting her right to partic.i.p.ate in a male literary tradition than in promoting an alternative female canon. p. 912). Although she created strong female characters in her prairie novels, Cather was more interested in a.s.serting her right to partic.i.p.ate in a male literary tradition than in promoting an alternative female canon.
By including Jewett in her very selective pantheon of literary predecessors, Cather was paying tribute to a woman whose literary example and personal friendship played a significant role at an important juncture in Cather"s life. Although Jewett and Cather did not meet until the year before Jewett"s death in 1909, their friendship and correspondence should not be underestimated. For one thing, Jewett was instrumental in persuading Cather to leave McClure"s McClure"s in order to devote herself to what Jewett called "the thing that teases the mind over and over for years, and at last gets itself put down rightly on paper" (quoted in in order to devote herself to what Jewett called "the thing that teases the mind over and over for years, and at last gets itself put down rightly on paper" (quoted in Stories, Poems, and Other Writings, Stories, Poems, and Other Writings, p. 849)-that is, to literature and not to the journalism upon which Cather herself feared her creative energies were being squandered. Crucially, Jewett also encouraged Cather to draw more directly upon her formative years in Nebraska. Like the cultural critics in revolt against the genteel tradition, Jewett was a strong proponent of grounding literature in the local and the ordinary, and her unsentimental depictions of the quietly heroic women of rural Maine in p. 849)-that is, to literature and not to the journalism upon which Cather herself feared her creative energies were being squandered. Crucially, Jewett also encouraged Cather to draw more directly upon her formative years in Nebraska. Like the cultural critics in revolt against the genteel tradition, Jewett was a strong proponent of grounding literature in the local and the ordinary, and her unsentimental depictions of the quietly heroic women of rural Maine in The Country of the Pointed Firs The Country of the Pointed Firs are unmistakable models for the resilient heroines of Cather"s prairie novels. When she met Jewett, Cather was still trying to emulate the "transatlantic" fiction of Henry James. Jewett, however, predicted that "one day you will write about your own country. In the meantime, get all you can. One must know the world so are unmistakable models for the resilient heroines of Cather"s prairie novels. When she met Jewett, Cather was still trying to emulate the "transatlantic" fiction of Henry James. Jewett, however, predicted that "one day you will write about your own country. In the meantime, get all you can. One must know the world so well well before one can know the parish" before one can know the parish" (Stories, Poems, and Other Writings, (Stories, Poems, and Other Writings, p. 942). p. 942).
It took quite some time before Cather returned in her fiction to her childhood "parish," Nebraska"s Webster County. Like the narrator of My Antonia, My Antonia, Cather was displaced from her original Virginia home as a young child and taken to a recently settled region of Nebraska. After about a year, the Cathers moved to nearby Red Cloud, which is the prototype for all the small towns in Cather"s prairie novels: Hanover in Cather was displaced from her original Virginia home as a young child and taken to a recently settled region of Nebraska. After about a year, the Cathers moved to nearby Red Cloud, which is the prototype for all the small towns in Cather"s prairie novels: Hanover in O Pioneers!; O Pioneers!; Black Hawk, to which Jim moves with his grandparents in My Black Hawk, to which Jim moves with his grandparents in My Antonia; Antonia; and Moonstone, the Colorado town where Thea Kronborg begins her life as an artist in and Moonstone, the Colorado town where Thea Kronborg begins her life as an artist in The Song of the Lark. The Song of the Lark. In both town and countryside, Cather was intrigued by the foreign immigrants who play such a central role in these novels. The story of the Shimerdas that dominates the first section of In both town and countryside, Cather was intrigued by the foreign immigrants who play such a central role in these novels. The story of the Shimerdas that dominates the first section of My Antonia My Antonia recapitulates many of the travails faced by the Sadileks, the Czech family who lived near the Cathers on the Divide. Like the forlorn Mr. Shimerda, Frank Sadilek was a violinist who committed suicide during a brutal winter, and his daughter Annie, the source for Antonia, gave birth to a daughter after being abandoned by a manipulative railroad man who had promised to marry her. recapitulates many of the travails faced by the Sadileks, the Czech family who lived near the Cathers on the Divide. Like the forlorn Mr. Shimerda, Frank Sadilek was a violinist who committed suicide during a brutal winter, and his daughter Annie, the source for Antonia, gave birth to a daughter after being abandoned by a manipulative railroad man who had promised to marry her.
My Antonia reproduces these and many other details of Cather"s early life, though it is not as intensely autobiographical as reproduces these and many other details of Cather"s early life, though it is not as intensely autobiographical as The Song of the Lark. The Song of the Lark. For one thing, although Cather and Jim both move in with their grandparents on the Divide, Cather was accompanied by her parents and was not, like Jim, an orphan. On the other hand, Cather remembers that when she was first driven to her grandparents" farm at the age of nine, she felt as if she "had come to the end of everything-it was a kind of erasure of personality" For one thing, although Cather and Jim both move in with their grandparents on the Divide, Cather was accompanied by her parents and was not, like Jim, an orphan. On the other hand, Cather remembers that when she was first driven to her grandparents" farm at the age of nine, she felt as if she "had come to the end of everything-it was a kind of erasure of personality" (The Kingdom of Art, (The Kingdom of Art, p. 448). As we have seen, this feeling of oblivion reappears in fictional form in Jim"s initial encounter with the Divide. Like Cather, he remembers feeling as if he had been "blotted out" beneath an alien sky. "I did not believe," he says, "that my dead father and mother were watching me from up there" (p. 11). Cather does not dwell on Jim"s orphaned condition, but this fictional premise serves as a metaphor for the profound sense of loss that Cather herself experienced upon first encountering the "parish" that would become such an important source for her writing. p. 448). As we have seen, this feeling of oblivion reappears in fictional form in Jim"s initial encounter with the Divide. Like Cather, he remembers feeling as if he had been "blotted out" beneath an alien sky. "I did not believe," he says, "that my dead father and mother were watching me from up there" (p. 11). Cather does not dwell on Jim"s orphaned condition, but this fictional premise serves as a metaphor for the profound sense of loss that Cather herself experienced upon first encountering the "parish" that would become such an important source for her writing.
In one of Jewett"s most important letters to Cather, she addresses the relationship between fiction and its autobiographical sources in words that would resonate deeply with the narrative design of My Antonia. My Antonia. Jewett was concerned that Cather had not yet learned to see her "backgrounds ... from the outside,-you stand right in the middle of each of them when you write, without having the standpoint of the looker-on" (quoted in Lee, p. 22). In Jewett was concerned that Cather had not yet learned to see her "backgrounds ... from the outside,-you stand right in the middle of each of them when you write, without having the standpoint of the looker-on" (quoted in Lee, p. 22). In My Antonia, My Antonia, Cather makes just this kind of effort to see her experience "from the outside" by inventing Jim Burden, the transformed version of herself who serves as the first-person narrator. In addition to giving Jim many of her own experiences, Cather sets him on a journey into his past that echoes the imaginative reconstruction of her own childhood. In the introduction that establishes the narrative framework for Cather makes just this kind of effort to see her experience "from the outside" by inventing Jim Burden, the transformed version of herself who serves as the first-person narrator. In addition to giving Jim many of her own experiences, Cather sets him on a journey into his past that echoes the imaginative reconstruction of her own childhood. In the introduction that establishes the narrative framework for My Antonia, My Antonia, we learn that Jim is a very successful middle-aged man-"legal counsel for one of the great Western railways" (p. 3)-living in New York. Like Cather, who also lived most of her adult life in Manhattan, he is therefore geographically and culturally remote from his small-town origins. As Jewett suggested, Cather"s appreciation for her provincial "parish" would be made possible by her knowledge of the wider world, and Cather places Jim in a similar position. But if Jim represents a fictional alter ego who allows Cather to observe her own return to the past from the "standpoint of the looker-on," Cather begins the novel by very explicitly distinguishing herself from her narrator. we learn that Jim is a very successful middle-aged man-"legal counsel for one of the great Western railways" (p. 3)-living in New York. Like Cather, who also lived most of her adult life in Manhattan, he is therefore geographically and culturally remote from his small-town origins. As Jewett suggested, Cather"s appreciation for her provincial "parish" would be made possible by her knowledge of the wider world, and Cather places Jim in a similar position. But if Jim represents a fictional alter ego who allows Cather to observe her own return to the past from the "standpoint of the looker-on," Cather begins the novel by very explicitly distinguishing herself from her narrator.
Cather revisits her Nebraska childhood in several of her early novels, but it is only in My Antonia My Antonia that she creates an intriguing dialogue between herself and one of her characters, which occurs in a brief introductory section of the novel. Instead of writing from the point of view of Jim, as she does everywhere else in the novel, Cather adopts the voice of a first-person narrator who meets Jim by chance aboard a train. Although she never names this speaker, Cather suggests that it is yet another version of herself, since she very un.o.btrusively reveals that the narrator is both a woman and an experienced writer. (In order to distinguish Cather the author from this female narrator, who never reappears in the novel proper, many critics refer to the narrator as "Cather.") The narrator and Jim are old friends who grew up together in a small Nebraska town, and during their reminiscences they talk fondly of Antonia, who "seemed to mean to us the country, the conditions, the whole adventure of our childhood" (p. 5). that she creates an intriguing dialogue between herself and one of her characters, which occurs in a brief introductory section of the novel. Instead of writing from the point of view of Jim, as she does everywhere else in the novel, Cather adopts the voice of a first-person narrator who meets Jim by chance aboard a train. Although she never names this speaker, Cather suggests that it is yet another version of herself, since she very un.o.btrusively reveals that the narrator is both a woman and an experienced writer. (In order to distinguish Cather the author from this female narrator, who never reappears in the novel proper, many critics refer to the narrator as "Cather.") The narrator and Jim are old friends who grew up together in a small Nebraska town, and during their reminiscences they talk fondly of Antonia, who "seemed to mean to us the country, the conditions, the whole adventure of our childhood" (p. 5).
Although Jim and the narrator agree that Antonia somehow embodies the essence of their childhood, their individual relationships to her differ in several critical ways. Unlike the narrator, who has lost touch with her, Jim has reestablished a close friendship with Antonia. When Jim expresses his surprise that the narrator has "never written anything about Antonia," the narrator confesses that she had never known Antonia as well as he had. The two then agree that they will both try recording their memories of this "central figure" of their past. Jim cautions, however, that he is not a practiced writer (implying that "Cather" is) and will therefore have to write about Antonia "in a direct way, and say a great deal about myself. It"s through myself that I knew and felt her" (p. 5). In response, the narrator draws attention to the distinction between their male and female perspectives: I told him that how he knew her and felt her was exactly what I most wanted to know about Antonia. He had had opportunities that I, as a little girl who watched her come and go, had not (p. 5).
On one level, the narrator is simply trying to rea.s.sure Jim that there is nothing wrong with writing about himself in the process of remembering Antonia, but Cather also seems to be offering an indirect justification for adopting a male persona in her novel. Behind the essentially transparent mask of "Cather" the narrator, Cather the author is a.s.serting that the female perspective of "a little girl" will not do Antonia justice, because it does not allow her to understand Antonia as the object of someone"s desire. Cather thought of Antonia as her heroine, yet she gives the reader very little access to Antonia"s inner life, which is only conveyed secondhand through Jim"s perspective. By allowing Jim to control the narrative, Cather distances the reader from Antonia, but it is precisely because Cather wants to imagine a man"s feelings for Antonia that she wrote the novel from a man"s point of view.
Since Cather herself deliberately blurred the line between autobiography and fiction, her decision to write in a man"s voice raises interesting questions about the connections between My Antonia My Antonia and Cather"s s.e.xuality. For many years Cather"s lesbianism was an open secret treated with decorous euphemisms by her critics and biographers. Although it was well known that all of Cather"s intimate relationships were with women, it was not until the 1970s that critics began to speak frankly about Cather"s s.e.xual orientation and its relevance to her fiction. Cather never hid her attachments with women, though she guarded her privacy carefully and shied away from publicly identifying herself as a lesbian. On the other hand, during her adolescence and early years in college she made quite a spectacle of herself by wearing her hair short, dressing in men"s clothing, and calling herself "William." In addition to flaunting this masculine appearance, she became deeply infatuated with Louise Pound, her fellow student at the University of Nebraska, to whom she wrote what can only be called love letters, several of which survive. Cather"s adult life revolved around two women: Isabelle McClung, the beautiful daughter of a distinguished judge who was Cather"s most intimate companion between 1899 and 1916, and Edith Lewis, a copyeditor at and Cather"s s.e.xuality. For many years Cather"s lesbianism was an open secret treated with decorous euphemisms by her critics and biographers. Although it was well known that all of Cather"s intimate relationships were with women, it was not until the 1970s that critics began to speak frankly about Cather"s s.e.xual orientation and its relevance to her fiction. Cather never hid her attachments with women, though she guarded her privacy carefully and shied away from publicly identifying herself as a lesbian. On the other hand, during her adolescence and early years in college she made quite a spectacle of herself by wearing her hair short, dressing in men"s clothing, and calling herself "William." In addition to flaunting this masculine appearance, she became deeply infatuated with Louise Pound, her fellow student at the University of Nebraska, to whom she wrote what can only be called love letters, several of which survive. Cather"s adult life revolved around two women: Isabelle McClung, the beautiful daughter of a distinguished judge who was Cather"s most intimate companion between 1899 and 1916, and Edith Lewis, a copyeditor at McClure"s McClure"s and fellow Nebraskan with whom Cather lived for forty years in Manhattan. and fellow Nebraskan with whom Cather lived for forty years in Manhattan.
Whether or not Cather ever engaged in s.e.xual relations with a woman remains unclear; in fact, some critics view Cather"s relationships as anachronistic examples of the romantic friendships between women that were quite common and socially accepted during the nineteenth century. Yet even a critic like Joan Acocella, who objects to reading Cather"s fiction strictly through the lens of her s.e.xuality, concedes that Cather was "h.o.m.os.e.xual in her feelings," though she believes she was "celibate in her actions" (Willa Cather and the Politics of Criticism, p. 48). What is not in dispute is that Cather felt shocked and betrayed when Isabelle McClung decided to marry the violinist Jan Hambourg in 1916. Cather eventually restored a friendship with Isabelle, but she considered the marriage "a devastating loss" (Robinson, p. 48). What is not in dispute is that Cather felt shocked and betrayed when Isabelle McClung decided to marry the violinist Jan Hambourg in 1916. Cather eventually restored a friendship with Isabelle, but she considered the marriage "a devastating loss" (Robinson, Willa, Willa, p. 205). Since it was only several months after this personal catastrophe that Cather began writing p. 205). Since it was only several months after this personal catastrophe that Cather began writing My Antonia, My Antonia, it is tempting to read the powerful sense of loss that informs Jim Burden"s recollections as a reflection of Cather"s depressed mood in the wake of Isabelle"s marriage. In the most pa.s.sionate scene between Jim and Antonia, Jim recalls parting from Antonia for what would turn out to be a twenty-year separation: it is tempting to read the powerful sense of loss that informs Jim Burden"s recollections as a reflection of Cather"s depressed mood in the wake of Isabelle"s marriage. In the most pa.s.sionate scene between Jim and Antonia, Jim recalls parting from Antonia for what would turn out to be a twenty-year separation: About us it was growing darker and darker, and I had to look hard to see her face, which I meant always to carry with me; the closest, realest face, under all the shadows of women"s faces, at the very bottom of my memory (p. 193).
Given the knowledge of Cather"s loss of Isabelle, it is hard not to see the resemblance between this loss and Jim"s separation from Antonia, especially because, as we have seen, Jim is in many ways Cather"s fictional surrogate. At a time when Cather felt cut off from her intimate companion, she may have decided to speak through the persona of Jim Burden in order to more openly express her desire for women. Like Jim, preoccupied with "the shadows of women"s faces," she must have felt that life was "growing darker and darker."
On one level, then, Jim"s affections are a fictional echo of Cather"s emotions for women, but it would be a mistake to simplify My Antonia My Antonia into nothing more than a covert confession of h.o.m.os.e.xual desire. By leaving Jim"s inner life only partially exposed, Cather instead invites the reader to interpret his sometimes puzzling behavior in several ways, including the possibility that he is in conflict with his desires. into nothing more than a covert confession of h.o.m.os.e.xual desire. By leaving Jim"s inner life only partially exposed, Cather instead invites the reader to interpret his sometimes puzzling behavior in several ways, including the possibility that he is in conflict with his desires. My Antonia My Antonia is about a romance that never happens, and one of the most interesting things about the novel is that Cather prevents her speaker from disclosing why he never marries Antonia or becomes her lover. In fact, he himself may not know the reason. Even the t.i.tle, which promises an homage to "my Antonia," the narrator"s beloved, raises the expectation of a love affair. Yet in spite of all the conventional signs that Jim is indeed infatuated with his lively Czech neighbor, Cather never lets the incipient romance come to fruition. At the very end of the novel, Jim finally offers his most explicit declaration of love, though instead of telling Antonia, he addresses the children Antonia has had with another man, her husband, Anton Cuzak: "You see I was very much in love with your mother once, and I know there"s n.o.body like her" (p. 207). With this statement, Cather makes overt what Jim"s memoir often implies and thus confirms the reader"s suspicion that Jim has all along been in love with Antonia. Yet because this statement comes after a twenty-year separation, and because it is not spoken to Antonia, it only serves to underscore the unconsummated state of their romance. is about a romance that never happens, and one of the most interesting things about the novel is that Cather prevents her speaker from disclosing why he never marries Antonia or becomes her lover. In fact, he himself may not know the reason. Even the t.i.tle, which promises an homage to "my Antonia," the narrator"s beloved, raises the expectation of a love affair. Yet in spite of all the conventional signs that Jim is indeed infatuated with his lively Czech neighbor, Cather never lets the incipient romance come to fruition. At the very end of the novel, Jim finally offers his most explicit declaration of love, though instead of telling Antonia, he addresses the children Antonia has had with another man, her husband, Anton Cuzak: "You see I was very much in love with your mother once, and I know there"s n.o.body like her" (p. 207). With this statement, Cather makes overt what Jim"s memoir often implies and thus confirms the reader"s suspicion that Jim has all along been in love with Antonia. Yet because this statement comes after a twenty-year separation, and because it is not spoken to Antonia, it only serves to underscore the unconsummated state of their romance.
An intimacy quickly springs up between Jim and Antonia shortly after they arrive in the farming region outside Black Hawk. Antonia plays the immigrant eager to succeed in her adopted country and, in the first scene between them, she impatiently asks Jim to teach her English. Jim, all but ten, readily complies; after all, he is completely captivated by her brown eyes, which are "big and warm and full of light, like the sun shining on brown pools in the wood" (p. 20). As the months pa.s.s, their bond intensifies as they learn to love the wild landscape so new to both of them, but Jim also grows irritated with the fourteen-year-old girl"s "superior tone" and longs to prove his nascent manhood. Jim gets his chance to show her that he "was a boy and she was a girl" (p. 31) when they are surprised one day by an immense rattlesnake. Thinking quickly, Jim kills the snake, and Antonia is indeed very impressed, calling Jim, in her imperfect English, "just like big mans" (p. 33). Thus are the seeds sown, thinks the reader, for the romance promised by the t.i.tle as the two characters mature into young adults. Most readers will also see that Cather has transposed to her American Eden the biblical scene in which the serpent introduces s.e.xuality into the lives of Adam and Eve. In Cather"s version, Jim kills off the serpent before it has the chance to tempt Antonia, which perhaps means that our protagonists will be more fortunate than their ancient forebears-or is it less?-and not be expelled from their prairie garden, their innocent pastoral romance. Yet Cather"s understated reenactment of the Fall also suggests that the emotional bond between Jim and Antonia will never be consummated by physical pa.s.sion, which is, of course, exactly how things turn out.
As the story shifts away from the Divide to Black Hawk, Cather continues to tantalize readers with the prospect of a love affair as her two protagonists emerge into adulthood. Like the other daughters of immigrant farmers working to