University of Kent

Earth Mothers and Femmes Fatales: Willa Cather′s Women

by

 Nina Dietrich

According to Evelyn Helmick Hively, Willa Cather′s novels mirror the author′s ′broad experience with people from all strata of society′ (Hively 171). Consequently, Cather′s characters come from diverse cultural and social backgrounds. It is today regarded as one of the author′s primary literary achievements that her

… novels reveal a different West and [offer] an alternative direction for American literature. They spoke for the Midwestern immigrant and the woman, who had hitherto been silent, and they spoke in the language of an old culture taking root in a new land. (Thomas 64)

In fact, although Willa Cather′s female characters live on the margins of American society, they are strong-willed and in control of their destinies. Cather illustrates that even in the male-dominated, restrictive turn-of-the-century society, women have a large number of choices and can shape their lives in ways that their predecessors could not. Harvey remarks that "gender … proves an asset in their efforts to achieve self-fulfilment, helping them turn inward to explore self in a way that [male characters] never could′ (Harvey 33). Willa Cather′s heroines construct their own identities to varying degrees, taking advantage of the opportunities for personal improvement available in frontier and post-frontier America, often manipulating the established image of womanhood and challenging traditional views.

Even though all of Cather′s heroines are subject to similar social expectations and pressures, their lives differ to a great extent. Cather shows that there is more than one way in which the pioneer woman can seek self-fulfilment. In order to illustrate this, the essay will analyse four heroines, that is, Alexandra Bergson from Cather′s 1913 novel O Pioneers!, Ántonia Shimerda (later Cuzak) and Lena Lingard from My Ántonia and Marian Forrester from A Lost Lady. All of these characters live in rural Nebraska in or, in Marian Forrester′s case, at the end of the pioneer era. Harvey states that at that time, a

woman was supposed to fill a variety of roles, all primarily for the purpose of helping a man achieve his American Dream. She was considered "helpmate, pillar, moral and cultural authority, self-effacing, and self-reliant."′ (Harvey 22)

How do Cather′s heroines cope with the pressure society tries to impose on them? In other words, do the relationships the characters have with friends, home town or family affect their ability to reach individual goals and self-fulfilment? First of all, Alexandra Bergson′s life will be examined with the focus on the tension between her fight for independence and her secret longing to be ′lifted up bodily and carried lightly by some one very strong′ (O Pioneers! 80). Second, the essay will turn to Ántonia Shimerda, the Bohemian ′earth mother′ (Hively 69). It will then analyse a second character from My Ántonia, Lena Lingard, who can be seen as the embodiment of the first-generation New Woman. Finally, Marian Forrester, an adulterous woman, and her way towards self-fulfilment will be considered. The final paragraph of the essay will then analyse the extent to which Cather′s characters challenged literary traditions of the early twentieth century and their effect on later writing.

To begin with, when Alexandra Bergson first enters the scene in O Pioneers!, she is presented as ‘ a strong, tall girl’ who ‘walk[s] rapidly and resolutely as if she knew exactly where she was going and what she was going to do’ (O Pioneers! 2). Alexandra’s powerful entrance is further underlined by the fact that she wears ‘a man’s long ulster […] not as if it were an affliction, but as if it were very comfortable and belonged to her’ (O Pioneers! 2). In fact, Cather states that Alexandra carries herself ‘like a young soldier’ (O Pioneers! 2). All of these descriptions are typically associated with masculinity. Nevertheless, Alexandra also possesses some feminine traits. For example, she is caring and loving towards her younger brother Emil, making him put on her scarf so that he does not feel cold. Moreover, Cather describes Alexandra’s hair – long hair being a traditional symbol of femininity - and its effect on men in great detail:

[...]