My Antonia by Willa Cather

[The Comedian]

I love this novel; I've read it a lot, and every time I need to re-read it, I see that time as a gift.

My Antonia is a romantic look back on the pioneering experiences of the early European immigrants to the Nebraska prairie of 19th century US. In this novel, Cather uses the voice of a male narrator, Jim Burden, to depict the transformation of the beautiful, but naturalistic prairie, into an American small town. The novel also addresses those "universal" ( ;) )themes of growing up, sexuality, living in a landscape, making one's way in the world, of leaving home, and of returning.

While many will read this book for its perspectives on human relationships, American identity, and a few others, I gleefully return to this novel so that I can indulge myself in Cather's description of an extinct landscape: the tall-grass prairies of middle American (pre-1900). The grass was taller than the average person, and colored red-purple like a bruise below the eye, and as long and wide as forever.

Here's a picture of what I mean:

http://friendsofpnm.org/yahoo_site_admin/assets/images/prairie.144125710_std.jpg

Today, these grasses exist here and there in spots across the US and Canada. But what Cather describes in My Antonia will never be again, which gives the beryl, Romantic lens through which the story is told a finish as memorable and nameless as the last swallow of a fine wine.

My rating?: 9.5/10 threshing machines

[Janine]

Today, these grasses exist here and there in spots across the US and Canada. But what Cather describes in My Antonia will never be again, which gives the beryl, Romantic lens through which the story is told a finish as memorable and nameless as the last swallow of a fine wine.

The Comedian, Well put! I loved the book, too. I agree about the descriptive writing and the fact, that it takes us back into a world that no longer exists; yet this book is timeless in our minds due to Cather's amazing writing. Have you read any other of her books? I read My Antonia second; before that, O' Pioneers, and lastly, Death Comes to the Archbishop (I highly recommend the last one; that one snuck up on me and surprised me - it's wonderful!). Not too long ago I read her novella Alexander's Bridge and I plan a reading of The Song of the Lark. I very much like her style of writing and enjoyed each book I did finish so far.

[The Comedian]

Have you read any other of her books? I read My Antonia second; before that, O' Pioneers, and lastly, Death Comes to the Archbishop (I highly recommend the last one; that one snuck up on me and surprised me - it's wonderful!). Not too long ago I read her novella Alexander's Bridge and I plan a reading of The Song of the Lark. I very much like her style of writing and enjoyed each book I did finish so far.

I've read most of her other books -- O' Pioneers, Song of the Lark, and one other one that I'm forgetting right now. The one that I haven't read is Death Comes for the Archbishop, so I'll have to pick that one up and give it a go.

[Scheherazade]

I am yet to read a novel by Cather (never too late, right? ;)).

She won the Pulitzer Prize with One of Ours so I will be reading that one sometime soon but I would also like to read My Antonia because the title is so beautiful.

[JBI]

I love this novel too, to me, it seems what one would call "The Great American novel" in terms of the way it captures the mentality and dynamics of the country - from women's issues to innocence, to failed dreams - it's all there somewhere.

It's also interesting to contrast this text with Canadian prairie fiction, I particularly think of Sinclair Ross' As for me and My House, which offers a very different angle - because of what I suspect is the lack of dream and optimism of the narrators (in short the lack of the American dream).

It's strange though, I don't think anyone can really not fall in love with Antonia, in the sense that Jim seems so powerful a narrator, that one absorbs his obsession with Antonia into oneself. Really a remarkable work, as is O Pioneers which you should all run out and get :).


I've read most of her other books -- O' Pioneers, Song of the Lark, and one other one that I'm forgetting right now. The one that I haven't read is Death Comes for the Archbishop, so I'll have to pick that one up and give it a go.

Must've read Paul's Case somewhere along the lines as well - her essays on aesthetics and writing are also noteworthy.

[Janine]

I am yet to read a novel by Cather (never too late, right? ;)).

She won the Pulitzer Prize with One of Ours so I will be reading that one sometime soon but I would also like to read My Antonia because the title is so beautiful.

Scheherazade, Definitely never too late! I read them about 4 yrs ago. I loved all of them! She was a very fine author. I think you would like her writing. I have One of Ours on my to read list. I hope to pick up a copy from Dover or Amazon. I have seen it offered at a pretty good price.

JBI, you are being waaaayyyy too agreeable! :lol:

[The Comedian]

It's also interesting to contrast this text with Canadian prairie fiction, I particularly think of Sinclair Ross' As for me and My House, which offers a very different angle - because of what I suspect is the lack of dream and optimism of the narrators (in short the lack of the American dream).

Thanks for the recommendations. I'll be on my way to Amazon to check those title out in a few minutes. I love writing that centers around landscape.

Oh, and on a different note, I remembered the other Cather novels that I've read: O' Pioneers, A Lost Lady, The Professor's House, Song of the Lark. All of these are good, but My Antonia is my favorite.

Song of the Lark was my least favorite, but I suspect that feeling was due to heavily feminist context in which it was taught. (I had much of my English education in the early 1990s, when over-riding motto was "Women = perfect, victims; Men = evil, usurpers". I grew soooo tired of this).

[Rahil]

Hi,

I joined this site primarily to post in this topic :)

I've always had a love for all things summer, the smell, the freshly cut grass etc.. theres nothing like it, i love the countryside in general. Living in Nottingham, UK we dont get any of that! But this book was so well written i felt like i could look outside and see the great prairie..

Can anybody recommend any books similar to this? In its setting, and style? I have yet to read through the copy of "o'pioneers" with a bunch of exams coming up i dont have too much time!

thanks!

[Janine]

I love this novel too, to me, it seems what one would call "The Great American novel" in terms of the way it captures the mentality and dynamics of the country - from women's issues to innocence, to failed dreams - it's all there somewhere.

It's also interesting to contrast this text with Canadian prairie fiction, I particularly think of Sinclair Ross' As for me and My House, which offers a very different angle - because of what I suspect is the lack of dream and optimism of the narrators (in short the lack of the American dream).

It's strange though, I don't think anyone can really not fall in love with Antonia, in the sense that Jim seems so powerful a narrator, that one absorbs his obsession with Antonia into oneself. Really a remarkable work, as is O Pioneers which you should all run out and get :).

Must've read Paul's Case somewhere along the lines as well - her essays on aesthetics and writing are also noteworthy.



Absolutely, agree with everything you said, JBI...I loved the scenes when she and Paul went out to the cave dwellings...such vivid descriptions, that one felt one had been there...I have fond memories of those passages...wonderful writing!

And I have read "Paul's Case"...it's in my collection of "Short Stories by American Women." The story is so well crafted and heart-breaking.

[Dinkleberry2010]

Excellent review. Although I've read a few short stories by Willa Cather, I have yet to read a novel by her. This makes me want to run out and get one by her.

[gomari]

nice book and a good review

[PabloQ]

From what I've learned, O' Pioneers, The Song of the Lark, and My Antonia are considered Cather's Nebraska trilogy. Apparently, Song of the Lark was less favorably reviewed by the critics as the other two. I haven't read it. I haven't found it in any of my favorite used book stores, but I'll admit to not looking too hard.
The other two I thought were fabulous. The portrait of Alexandra Bergson is one of the strongest female characters in this, or any, era of the American novel. I found the themes to strongly feminist without feeling like I was being beaten with ahammer.
My Antonia is the story of an immigrant family in the US that novels like The Jungle are not. Antonia was more a celebration of a life and I agree with everyone here that it's top notch.
My love of Cather's writing in these two novels is her ability to build strong female characters along side her textual landscapes of prairie life that she paints. I love her work a lot.

[Janine]

From what I've learned, O' Pioneers, The Song of the Lark, and My Antonia are considered Cather's Nebraska trilogy. Apparently, Song of the Lark was less favorably reviewed by the critics as the other two. I haven't read it. I haven't found it in any of my favorite used book stores, but I'll admit to not looking too hard.
The other two I thought were fabulous. The portrait of Alexandra Bergson is one of the strongest female characters in this, or any, era of the American novel. I found the themes to strongly feminist without feeling like I was being beaten with ahammer.

You are right - it is a trilogy of sorts. I recall looking up which book she wrote first and proceeding from there. My good friend found all three books curbside and they were in perfect condition - proves my point, some people throw out the best stuff. I was lucky to come by them, all three hardbound with original dust covers! I so enjoyed them, I can't begin to tell everyone. I think my cousin read them and told me about them years ago. She loves stories set in that time period and on the prairie.

The "Song of the Lark" I aquired somewhat later; I found it quite cheap on Dover Publishing's website. I haven't gotten around to reading it. I also got "Alexander's Bridge" from the same place; it's a thin book; the other is quite thick.


My Antonia is the story of an immigrant family in the US that novels like The Jungle are not. Antonia was more a celebration of a life and I agree with everyone here that it's top notch.

I agree; it's quite unlike other American immigrant stories I had read.


My love of Cather's writing in these two novels is her ability to build strong female characters along side her textual landscapes of prairie life that she paints. I love her work a lot.

Exactly! I love her writing and artistry, too...very visual and wonderfully crafted novels.

[Scheherazade]

OK, OK, OK!!!!

I cannot take it anymore; stop teasing and tempting me, please!

I will start reading this tomorrow (it came free from Adobe when I installed their software for my ereader. :D

[Janine]

OK, OK, OK!!!!

I cannot take it anymore; stop teasing and tempting me, please!

I will start reading this tomorrow (it came free from Adobe when I installed their software for my ereader. :D

:lol: calm down, Scher....we didn't mean to torment you.....
Well now, everyone does have individual taste in novels/authors; so I hope we didn't overstate our case. I do think you will like the author. Which one will you start with - "My Antonia"...?

How cool, you have an ereader...eh....nice to get the book free!

[Scheherazade]

Which one will you start with - "My Antonia"...? Well, yes. Started with My Antonia and finished it couple of days ago. :D I think I will read One of Ours next (Pulitzer winner).

Loved every single page of it; Cather reminded me of Wharton a little and the book itself of Ethan Frome, somehow; not sure why... ( as well as of "The Little House on Prairie" :p).

This book has introduced me to a side of America I have not read much in the books: Those immigrants who were not from Italy etc and who did not live in the cities and I love the stories of the Eastern/Northen Europeans.

Who do you think the narrator in the first chapter of the book? The one who travels with Jim and agrees to write her side of the Antonia's story as well? Nina?

[Janine]

Well, yes. Started with My Antonia and finished it couple of days ago. :D I think I will read One of Ours next (Pulitzer winner).

Scher, I am delighted you read it and loved it. In that case, I can guarantee you that you will love the other two in the trilogy: O'Pioneers and Death Comes To The Archbishop, the last title is a bit deceiving and many people seem to be put off by it. Lynne, my friend, called me recently and said she read it and loved it, too. I think I recall that it takes place in New Mexico. Of course, if we win the vote for "One of Ours" we both probably will be reading it. I did find my copy and should read it soon. I really like her writing and that's correct, this one did win the Pultizer.


Loved every single page of it; Cather reminded me of Wharton a little and the book itself of Ethan Frome, somehow; not sure why... ( as well as of "The Little House on Prairie" :p). Yes, I thought that, too and yet she is still a little distinct and I can't really point to why.


This book has introduced me to a side of America I have not read much in the books: Those immigrants who were not from Italy etc and who did not live in the cities and I love the stories of the Eastern/Northen Europeans.Exactly; I think that is why I felt she was so different and distinct. She also seems to know the realistic side of human nature. Her novels are not sugar-coated but more realistic I think. Many of the characters were just slightly quirky enough to be interesting.


Who do you think the narrator in the first chapter of the book? The one who travels with Jim and agrees to write her side of the Antonia's story as well? Nina?

I wish I could answer that. It has been such a long time now since I read the book that it's indistinct in my mind. I only recall vividly the night they spend in the cave dwellings. I thought that was really well described and I felt as though, I was actually there with them. I think those dwellings are amazing anyway, so this really caught my interest.

[Katy North]

I read this book in ninth grade, and remember thinking it was as dry as... well, something very dry. I remember my English teacher that year was somewhat uninspired.

Of course, that was the year before I really started to love the classics... so it looks as though I need to make another attempt at it!

[Sancho]

Hi guys,

I read this book for the first time last week and absolutely loved it. The plain, direct language tricked me at first but I soon realized I was reading a sophisticated and nuanced literary work. As I attempted to peel back the layers, I kept thinking what a great book-o-the-month selection My Ántonia would be for this club.



Who do you think the narrator in the first chapter of the book? The one who travels with Jim and agrees to write her side of the Antonia's story as well? Nina?

Not sure, but I assumed she was speaking as herself there and used this technique as a device to allow her to use Jim as her first-person narrator.

[Scheherazade]

Not sure, but I assumed she was speaking as herself there and used this technique as a device to allow her to use Jim as her first-person narrator.How does this work? Could you elaborate a little more on this, please?

Why don't you nominate it for our Summer Read? This summer's theme is "family" and I think it fits the bill.

:)

[Sancho]

Hi Sher,

Well…I think it’s a good example of my fuzzy-headed thinking versus your clear headedness. Here’s how I came around to my opinion:

I read this book cold – without doing any background work or reading any criticism – and when I read the introduction, I initially thought it was an author’s preface. So the idea that the narrator was really Willa Cather was already firmly ensconced in my fuzzy little noggin. In fact I remember thinking, Holy cow! Willa Cather really hates Jim Burden’s wife .If she trash-talked someone like that nowadays, she’d get sued. Then I kept waiting for a young Willa Cather to make a cameo appearance in the book, like the little John Steinbeck peering from behind his mother’s skirt in East of Eden.

Anyway, I slowly came around to idea that, by and large, Jim Burden was a stand-in for Willa Cather. Much of My Ántonia was drawn from the real-life experiences of Willa Cather, making the novel somewhat autobiographical. Ántonia herself was based on a childhood acquaintance of Cather’s. Jim’s life (Virginia-Nebraska-NYC) closely paralleled Willa’s life. On one level, My Ántonia is a great love story and even though neither Jim nor Ántonia acted on their love, none the less, it seemed to me they were truly in love with each other. So the story wouldn’t really work if Jim were a little girl. At least it wouldn’t work for that time and place. So, when the unnamed narrator has the middle-aged Jim write down his memories of Ántonia, it allows Cather to maintain a feminine authorship while telling the story from a masculine point of view.

And that, is Sancho’s fuzzy-headed thinking on this subject.

Optima dies…prima fugit (Virgil’s Georgics: “The best days are the first to flee”)

[Scheherazade]

Hi Sher,

Well…I think it’s a good example of my fuzzy-headed thinking versus your clear headedness.Very funny :goof:


I read this book cold – without doing any background work or reading any criticism – and when I read the introduction, I initially thought it was an author’s preface.Have to admit that I don't know much about Cather's background either but I felt the same way about the introduction; ie, it was penned by Cather herself as the author of the book. So much so that I had to go over it couple of time to make sure that I had not skipped any parts.
Anyway, I slowly came around to idea that, by and large, Jim Burden was a stand-in for Willa Cather.I agree with this; however, I am not sure how authorship can be "feminine" when it is made clear that it was what Jim had written.

I find myself thinking about this book quite often; I don't think I am happy how things turned out even though I am very aware of the fact that there would not be a way for them to end up together. However, I also do think that Antonia should have had a better chance.

[Sancho]

I find myself thinking about this book quite often; I don't think I am happy how things turned out even though I am very aware of the fact that there would not be a way for them to end up together. However, I also do think that Antonia should have had a better chance.

I’ve found myself thinking about it a lot too. Good books hold that sway over me.

There’s a lot going on in this book but mostly, I think, it’s about the tenacity and spirit of pioneer women in the middle-west. I admired the way Willa Cather challenged the norms of day. She made the movers and shakers dirt-poor, immigrant women and completely ignored the Western Cowboy ethos (or mythos). I also admired the way she challenged us, the readers, in our expectations. Jim didn’t save Ántonia when she returned with her illegitimate child; Nena didn’t wind up on skid row; etc.

I loved the way she created a deeply spiritual yet unconsummated relationship between Ántonia and Jim. And as for Ántonia herself, I felt an impending sense of doom upon beginning the last chapter. Tiny Sonderball met Jim in Salt Lake City and told him Ántonia had “not done very well,” and “she had had a hard life.” So I expected a haggard, beaten-down, old woman when we met Ántonia for the last time. But the woman we met was strong, vibrant and exuded good-health and well-being. As Jim approaches Ántonia’s farm in the final chapter, there is a tender scene of two little boys bent over their dead dog. That scene gave me a sense of the values that had been imparted to them from their mother – it told me what a good mother Ántonia had been to her children. And later, as Ántonia showed Jim around her place, she seemed to have a spiritual attachment to every tree and plant on the land (she’d planted and nurtured most of them). And that gave me a sense of Ántonia as Mother Earth herself.

Anyway, I guess that’s what I had in mind by “feminine authorship.” It’d probably be better to say the book was written with a feminine POV but narrated by a masculine surrogate.

[ktm5124]

I wasn't crazy about The Professor's House. I liked it a good deal in retrospect, but not so much while reading it. Any chance I'll think differently about this?

[Scheherazade]

I admired the way Willa Cather challenged the norms of day. She made the movers and shakers dirt-poor, immigrant women and completely ignored the Western Cowboy ethos (or mythos). I also admired the way she challenged us, the readers, in our expectations.I think my problem lies here. I am looking at the book and the characters from the point of view of a 21st century reader. I would have been much happier if Antonia somehow got educated and became a teacher or something... However, like you said, Cather simply does not want this to happen; she has another agenda, which is far superior to mine, no doubt. So, she makes Antonia overcome her difficulties in her own way while still leading a "worthwhile" life.

Thanks for taking the time to post, Sancho (you should do so more often :)).
I wasn't crazy about The Professor's House. I liked it a good deal in retrospect, but not so much while reading it. Any chance I'll think differently about this?I really enjoyed this book so, I say, give it a try.

[Three Sparrows]

Oh I love My Antonia! I really should read it again, its been so long...I have also read O Pioneers!, a little depressing, but who says that's bad? And Paul's Case-incredible.

[Sancho]

Thanks for taking the time to post, Sancho (you should do so more often :)).

Thanks for the prod Sher. And you’re right, I should post more, but as both my wife and my supervisor at work keep telling me, I am notoriously unreliable. Yuk-yuk-yuk

Also ktm5142, I agree with Sher, give it a try… Take a chance – General Custer did.

[kelby_lake]

I thought My Antonia was quite good. It wasn't very eventful but its slow pace was interesting. I agree with everyone about it being a reminder of a lost time, and think it works well on that level.

[Insane4Twain]

The first book I read by Cather was A Lost Lady. I was not impressed, but then I was in the middle of pursuing an undergraduate degree and I guess it got pushed under a pile of other obligations so I rushed through it.

Many years later my wife picked up My Antonia for herself. I fancied the book cover (Yes, sometimes you just do judge a book by its cover). I LOVED it. In fact, I went on to read more of her works because of it.

[prendrelemick]

Ok, having read all the comments above I think I need to read this book again. I finished it acouple of months ago, and recommended it to my book club - but never realised it was held in such high regard. Perhaps this is the kind of past that America wants now.

[Scheherazade]

I have to admit that I prefer this to the late 20th century American literature produced by middle class white men... Lamenting their misfortunes. .. Yes, they get mid-range jobs never to make it big, they get a divorce because they can't help themselves somewhere along the way and have affairs... They are depressed because the big American dream has turned out to be just that: a dream.

So, in comparison, earlier books do seem more interesting and of consequence to me.

[TheFifthElement]

Scher, if you liked My Antonia I suspect you would enjoy Elena Ferrante's Neapolitan series if you haven't read them already. 4 books which explore friendship, poverty, opportunity centred around 2 extraordinary female characters.

[Scheherazade]

Thank you, Fifth... I will check them out.

And it is nice to see you online :)

[prendrelemick]

There is a moment near the end, written in the most sublime language, when the Moon and the Sun stare at each other from opposite horizons and the two young people stare into each other's face. Suddenly you realize you've been reading Wuthering Heights - not Little House on the Prairie. Here the book reaches the highest level of artistic performance. It changed the whole work for me (backwards and forwards) from a story into work of art. You realize what Cather has been doing, what her purpose has been from the start , what her themes and her symbols for expressing them are. As this realisation dawns you cannot help but be in awe of the writers skill, her patience and her trust in you. It's outstanding. It's the reason we search for good stuff to read.

[Jack of Hearts]

It's quite a read so far.







J



EDIT: Liked the ending.

[Jack of Hearts]

There is a moment near the end, written in the most sublime language, when the Moon and the Sun stare at each other from opposite horizons and the two young people stare into each other's face. Suddenly you realize you've been reading Wuthering Heights - not Little House on the Prairie. Here the book reaches the highest level of artistic performance. It changed the whole work for me (backwards and forwards) from a story into work of art. You realize what Cather has been doing, what her purpose has been from the start , what her themes and her symbols for expressing them are. As this realisation dawns you cannot help but be in awe of the writers skill, her patience and her trust in you. It's outstanding. It's the reason we search for good stuff to read.

Didn't get this from that scene, Mick.

It was a fine novel. Jack of Hearts wouldn't compare it to Wuthering Heights in that way, which is a sad novel of tragedy and bleakness (if memory serves). The romantic aspect between Jim and Ántonia is only approached at the edges, constructed as though it was somewhat unspeakable. We are shown Jim as the engine of this aspect, in a scene just before he leaves for university. He and Tony actually kiss, but Tony redefines the parameters of the relationship on her terms-- more sisterly than anything.

There's also another fact or two, that for this reader, are inescapable. The first is that this is a first person narrative from a male perspective, written by a woman who was almost certainly gay based on experiences she herself had actually had in her own life. Is it too much of a reach to see Jim Burden as a literary representation of the author? For all its worth in examining what is feminine, the book offers almost nothing about masculinity-- and it's narrated by a character who is allegedly male, for pete's sake.

So returning to the scene in question, when Jim and Tony are having a conversation on the prairie and the sun is setting and the moon is rising in opposition, it feels like a slightly mixed metaphor to this reader, not a revelatory scene or something. Or maybe, if the work is interpreted generously in terms of cohesion, it could be related to the statements about destiny. Something else decided the moon and sun's paths across the sky, or that they should be opposition, but like Jim and Tony, it's already been decided, all they ever can or will be.






J

[prendrelemick]

'That' scene was so full of metaphor it's hard to know where to start - sun, moon, horizens, shadows, endings, beginnings - take your choice.

It was the way a landscape can integrate so strongly with a character and become a character itself that reminded me of Wuthering Heights. It took me till I got to that scene at dusk, (second reading ) for me to spot the symbolism of Antonia as the personification of the prairie for us and for Jim - and also of his past and his anchor to the past and place (I'm a bit slow with this kind of thing). Once you find an angle you start finding more and more connections to it, eg; the way he describes how the prairie is yielding up its fertility after years of hard work - then visits her in all her domesticated fecundity. The trouble is you also start finding things that aren't really there.

Cather was gay? Was Jim gay ? I thought she wanted a male narrator to add a bit of sexual frisson to the plot, while grounding the story in fact with that opening. I agree about the lack of maleness, every significant character is female and Jim is certainly in touch with his feminine side, but I don't know if it was intentional or just inevitable. I'm reading something at the moment written by a male with a first person heroine, and she's a bit male.

[Jack of Hearts]

It would be hard to present the main character Jim as gay, but maybe easier to interpret him as the (perhaps more socially acceptable, at the time?) manifestation of a certain aspect of the female, gay author.

Spot on comments about Tony and the embodiment of the prairie as character in a person.





J

[semyonovna]

I read My Antonia in my freshman Humane Letters class, and absolutely loved it. However, our class never could agree on the exact nature of Jim and Antonia's relationship. Still makes us argue now.

[Pompey Bum]

I haven't read it (or, to be honest, this thread), but I think My Antonia was a sequel to a better known novel called O Pioneers, and that there was another book in the series, too. You may know more about this than I do. I just wanted to call your attention to the other books in case you haven't read them yet.

[prendrelemick]

I read O Pioneers after My Antonia. That is probably why I thought it came after MA, also it seemed the communities she described were a bit more advanced.

Now, both are good books, but being a farmer myself I wanted more description of tillage and harvest - never mind all this relationship palaver. That is why I prefer the Laura Ingalls Wilder books with her perfect eye for detail.