Introduction


Willa Cather

Cather’s name has become synonymous with the pioneering spirit of the American West. Novels like O Pioneers!, Song of the Lark, and My Antonia feature largely female characters cast into a world in which they are forced to contend with the overwhelming space and barrenness of the Midwest. Much of the drama of these early works arises not only from the isolation of the landscape but also the isolation of the immigrants who have left their homes in Europe to pursue the American Dream. Language barriers and cultural barriers often made for a lonely existence for these pioneers, struggles which stem from Cather’s own life. Her family moved south from Quebec, crossing six states by covered wagon before finally settling in Nebraska. In addition to her novels, short stories, and poetry, Cather also worked for many years as an editor. She died in 1947.

Essential Facts

  1. Cather entered the University of Nebraska in 1895 disguised as her fictional twin brother, William Cather.
  2. She worked as the managing editor of McClure’s magazine for many years until author Sarah Orne Jewett advised her to quit and seriously pursue a career as a writer.
  3. Cather sustained a forty-year relationship with her nearly life-long companion, Edith White. Although a lesbian, Cather remained closeted all of her life. Still, there are subtexts in most of her novels that reveal her feelings about sexuality.
  4. A lover of life, Cather is quoted as saying, “I shall not die of a cold. I shall die of having lived.”
  5. The state of Nebraska has declared a portion of protected land the “Willa Cather Memorial Prairie.”
 

Recommended Resources

  1. My Antonia Study Guide (eNotes)
  2. O Pioneers! eText
  3. Willa Cather - Critical Survey of Long Fiction
  4. Willa Cather - Feminism in Literature
  5. Willa Cather and the Politics of Criticism

All Resources

Display as: Categories, List
  1. A Lost Lady - Literary Characters
  2. A Lost Lady - Literary Places
  3. Author Profile
  4. Critical Survey of Short Fiction
  5. Cyclopedia of World Authors
  6. Death Comes for the Archbishop - Book Review
  7. Death Comes for the Archbishop - Identities and Issues in Literature
  8. Death Comes for the Archbishop - Literary Characters
  9. Death Comes for the Archbishop - Literary Places
  10. Death Comes for the Archbishop Criticism
  11. Death Comes for the Archbishop Study Guide
  12. Dictionary of World Biography: The 20th Century
  13. Juvenile and Young Adult Biography Series
  14. Lucy Gayheart - Literary Characters
  15. Lucy Gayheart - Masterplots II: American Fiction Series, Revised Edition
  16. My Antonia (1994)
  17. My Antonia - Book Review
  18. My Antonia - Identities and Issues in Literature
  19. My Antonia - Literary Characters
  20. My Antonia - Literary Places
  21. My Antonia Lesson Plans
  22. My Antonia Study Guide (eNotes)
  23. Neighbor Rosicky
  24. O Pioneers! (1991)
  25. O Pioneers! - Book Review
  26. O Pioneers! - Literary Characters
  27. O Pioneers! - Literary Places
  28. O Pioneers! Criticism
  29. O Pioneers! eText
  30. O Pioneers! Lesson Plans
  31. O Pioneers! quickNotes
  32. One of Ours - Literary Characters
  33. One of Ours - Masterplots II: American Fiction Series, Revised Edition
  34. Paul's Case - Book Review
  35. Paul's Case - Identities and Issues in Literature
  36. Paul's Case eText
  37. Paul's Case Study Guide
  38. Sapphira and the Slave Girl - Literary Characters
  39. Sapphira and the Slave Girl - Masterplots II: American Fiction Series
  40. Shadows on the Rock - Literary Characters
  41. Shadows on the Rock - Literary Places
  42. Special Commissioned Entry on Willa Cather
  43. The Diamond Mine eText
  44. The Diamond Mine Study Guide
  45. The Oxford Companion to American Literature Article on Willa Cather
  46. The Oxford Companion to English Literature Article on Willa Cather
  47. The Professor's House - Literary Characters
  48. The Professor's House - Literary Places
  49. The Song of the Lark (2001)
  50. U.S. Immigration and Migration Primary Sources
  51. Willa Cather
  52. Willa Cather - Critical Survey of Long Fiction
  53. Willa Cather - Feminism in Literature
  54. Willa Cather and the Politics of Criticism
  55. Willa Cather Criticism
  56. Willa Cather Short Story Criticism