O Pioneers
History 2112
November 19, 2009
Is Alexandra still considered a feminist, although Cather
positioned her in a male role throughout the novel O Pioneers?
Although Alexandra was depicted as a “tall, strong girl,” (p.10) which is typically viewed as characteristics of a male, she was indeed a feminist in Willa Cather’s novel O Pioneers! In the introduction of the novel, an argument arises due to the differences of O Pioneers! in contrast to some of Cather’s other pieces as well as several other novels of that time period. Marilee Lindemann references that “law and custom in most (if not all) Western countries severely limited what are girl might ‘do’, in life as well as in literature (…) thus, in comparison to their male counterparts, female characters in Anglo-European novels are confined to smaller spheres of action or are punished for daring to seek larger ones.”(p.vii) However, this is not the case for Alexandra or for this novel. Despite Cather’s ability to place Alexandra in a male role throughout her life on the Divide, Alexandra still portrayed those aspects of a feminist, which she revealed towards the end of the novel. Similar to the depiction of women in the Anglo-European culture, Alexandra was also depicted as those Anglo- European women as she was looked down upon by her brothers, Oscar and Lou, as well as other residents on the Divide. Alexandra was shunned because she tried to expose her femininity in many instances within the novel. Not only was she ridiculed by her brothers, but she was also forced to defend her male role because they claimed that her managerial work was easy and unreal as follows, “Oh, now, Alexandra, you always took it pretty easy! But, of course, the real work always fell on us.” (p.91) Here we see a glimpse of the issues presented by gender and power roles as depicted in the novel.
As noted above, Cather began to reveal Alexandra’s femininity through various channels within the book. Cather began by
November 19, 2009
Is Alexandra still considered a feminist, although Cather
positioned her in a male role throughout the novel O Pioneers?
Although Alexandra was depicted as a “tall, strong girl,” (p.10) which is typically viewed as characteristics of a male, she was indeed a feminist in Willa Cather’s novel O Pioneers! In the introduction of the novel, an argument arises due to the differences of O Pioneers! in contrast to some of Cather’s other pieces as well as several other novels of that time period. Marilee Lindemann references that “law and custom in most (if not all) Western countries severely limited what are girl might ‘do’, in life as well as in literature (…) thus, in comparison to their male counterparts, female characters in Anglo-European novels are confined to smaller spheres of action or are punished for daring to seek larger ones.”(p.vii) However, this is not the case for Alexandra or for this novel. Despite Cather’s ability to place Alexandra in a male role throughout her life on the Divide, Alexandra still portrayed those aspects of a feminist, which she revealed towards the end of the novel. Similar to the depiction of women in the Anglo-European culture, Alexandra was also depicted as those Anglo- European women as she was looked down upon by her brothers, Oscar and Lou, as well as other residents on the Divide. Alexandra was shunned because she tried to expose her femininity in many instances within the novel. Not only was she ridiculed by her brothers, but she was also forced to defend her male role because they claimed that her managerial work was easy and unreal as follows, “Oh, now, Alexandra, you always took it pretty easy! But, of course, the real work always fell on us.” (p.91) Here we see a glimpse of the issues presented by gender and power roles as depicted in the novel.
As noted above, Cather began to reveal Alexandra’s femininity through various channels within the book. Cather began by
Bibliography: Cather, Willa. O Pioneers!. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997.