O Pioneers! (Masterplots II: Women’s Literature Series)
At a glance:
- Author: Willa Cather
- First Published: 1913
- Type of Work: Novel
- Type of Plot: Naturalism
- Time of Work: The late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries
- Setting: The Nebraska prairie near Hanover
- Principal Characters: Alexandra Bergson, Carl Linstrum, Emil Bergson, Marie Tovesky, Frank Shabata, Lou, Oscar Bergson, Crazy Ivar
- Genres: Long fiction, Domestic realism, Regional fiction, Naturalistic literature
- Subjects: North America or North Americans, United States or Americans, Sexism, Murder or homicide, Twentieth century, Gender roles, Nineteenth century, Marriage, Midwest, Brothers and sisters, Jealousy, envy, or resentment, Obsession, Farms, farmers, or farming, Adultery, Sweden or Swedish people, Frontier or pioneer life, Nebraska, Land settlement, Grasslands
- Locales: Hanover, NE
Form and Content
O Pioneers! presents one woman’s experiences as she struggles to keep her family together in harsh conditions on the Nebraska prairie, called “the divide” in the book, in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The book is divided into five parts. Part 1, called “The Wild Land,” introduces the teenaged Alexandra Bergson, her young brother Emil, her friend Carl Linstrum (who is slightly younger than herself), and an already captivating girl, Marie Tovesky, who is visiting her uncle. Even in this first section, it is clear that...
[The entire page is 2203 words long]
Join eNotes
Over 3,500 study guides, question and answer forums, literature criticism, reference content, and much more!
Navigate
See Also
