Literature Network » Willa Cather

Marek Shimerda in My Antonia: A Noteworthy Medical Etiology.(Critical Essay)

Content courtesy of

From: ANQ
Date: 20000101
Author:SHAW, PATRICK

The plot of Willa Cather's My Antonia revolves around childhood, and the design of the novel is anchored in scenes depicting children, beginning with Jim Burden's childhood journey from Virginia to Nebraska and ending with the abundance of Kuzak kids bursting forth like prairie wildflowers in springtime. As Frederick J. Hoffman has reminded us, echoing Freud and Jung, the life not only of the individual but of the race is encapsulated in the child, and the artist naturally turns to the child as a symbol of artistic inspiration (19).

Underlying Hoffman's premise, however, is ...

Read the rest of this article with a Free Trial at HighBeam Research.

Other Articles on Willa Cather

About Our Articles: We've partnered with Highbeam Research to provide these article excerpts for your research needs. However, due to copyright laws, we cannot publish the whole article. To view these articles in full length you'll need to use the link above to access the free trial at Highbeam.