Neighbor Rosicky | Harmony in "Neighbour Rosicky"

In the following excerpt, Arnold gives an overview
of Cather’s ‘‘Neighbour Rosicky’’ and examines
Cather’s use of integrating devices to create a
sense of balance, wholeness, and unity in the story.

The first story in the collection [Obscure Destinies], ‘‘Neighbour Rosicky,’’ may have been written as E. K. Brown believes, in ‘‘the early months of 1928, when her [Cather’s] feelings were so deeply engaged by her father’s illness and death’’ [Willa Cather: A Critical Biography, 1953]. It is generally agreed that the portrait of Anton Rosicky is a composite picture of both Antonia’s (Annie Pavelka’s) husband and Charles Cather, Willa’s father. Excruciating though the loss of her father must have been, Cather does not use ‘‘Neighbour...

[The entire page is 2783 words long]

Join eNotes

The above is a free excerpt. Get total access to this content with the:

eNotes Pass

Summary and Analysis – Themes – Characters – And much more...