My Antonia, by Willa Cather

Last Christmas, while on vacation, I picked this up at a bookstore in the states. I have to admit, most of the pioneer literature I have read up until this point has been Canadian literature. I’m not opposed to American pioneer stories. I just prefer Canadian ones because as a Canadian, I can relate to them more. It also seems to be my duty as a Canadian to prefer Canadian over American literature. Preferences aside, My Antonia was a fair book. It was more than fair, actually. I loved it.

I was in need of a good story, rather than something intellectually stimulating. Willa Cather knew how to write good characters, although at first I questioned her POV choice. How could a female author looking to explore the life of a pioneer woman chose a male narrator? After my reading, I think I understand part of why Cather chose a male narrator.

The pioneer women of the novel are in a world run by men. In the case of Antonia, the woman whose life is most closely examined, she is forced to be a breadwinner for her family, working alongside her brother in the fields and then going to town to be a maid, while giving the majority of her money to her brother and to the farm. Antonia, like many of her friends,  lives in a world where she must try to play both a man and a woman’s role in order to survive. By having a male narrator tell the story, Cather displays the similarities between Antonia, a woman, and the narrator, a man, in the pioneer world. The result is that Antonia appears as a strong, heroic woman.

My theory aside, the characters and life of the setting were superb. I really loved the way the land is described by the narrator. Through his eyes we see the beauty of Nebraska and the wildness of it at the time that the narrator is recalling.

Next time you’re in a book store, head to the classics section and give this one a try. My copy is a Barnes and Noble Classics printing, which I paid about $5 for.