Willa Cather

Paper Summary:

This paper summarizes the life of one of America's greatest authors, Willa Cather. It explains how a move to the prairie as a child and her subsequent period of growing to adulthood on the prairie were extremely influential in her later life and writing. The paper then discusses two of Cather's most famous novels, both which tell of life on the prairie - "O, Pioneer!" and "My Antonia." The paper examines how Cather's lesbianism might have influenced her work, as well as the central part 'place' plays in her novels.

From the Paper:

"Indeed, however, Cather also often spoke of the importance of the ability of the artist to place herself in a supportive community, and it would be easy to see that, while by living in New York she was divorced from the golden memories of her childhood, she was nonetheless able to find a creative environment in which people were more open and accepting of her creative endeavors. Regardless, place is the prime factor in these novels, which very much established Cather's reputation as one of America's greatest writers of all time, and, whether or not it is fair, since she wrote so many novels on other subjects as well, it is for these novels about the Nebraska prairie that she is most well-regarded. Perhaps this is because these prairie novels seem the most uniquely American since they describe a specific time in place in the development of America as it moved from an expanding country that constantly pushed its own frontiers outward into one of the most powerful and impressive nations upon earth. In this way, Cather's novels are now of profound historical interest, because they act as a sort of historical document, capturing one of the most interesting areas in America at a crucial time in its historical development."

More papers on Willa Cather:

• Book Review # 120269 : "Myths Perpetuated in Willa Cather's "My Antonia"
• Analytical Essay # 60473 : "Willa Cather's "O Pioneers!"
• Analytical Essay # 9192 : "O Pioneers" by Willa Cather"
• Book Review # 93899 : "Paul's Case" by Willa Cather"

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