Cathers Feminist Tendencies Essay, Research Paper

Willa Cather?s Feminist Tendencies

Willa Cather tends to portray static characters with little depth, yet she seems to

approach her female characters with an air of liberalism that allows for a more

well-rounded exploration of society than is found in the works of other conteporary

authors. Cather depicts women as both the classic ?mother woman? and the independent

individual. Allowing her to free the female character from heir reliance on men. Her

women are not just mothers, daughters, or wives; they are characters of their own — able

to grow and explore. A flare is given to Cather?s pioneer stories by the dynamics of some

of her female characters. The independent women in Cather?s tales expand the window

through which their society is judged, while the ?mother-woman? frame of that window is

solidified through the traditional values that they represent. In My Antonia Cather

explores the diversity of the female race through two generations of women. Cather

further elaborates on the duality of the woman?s role of society in Sapphira and the Slave

Girl.

Mrs. Burden, the first woman introduced in My Antonia, represents the traditional

values of society. Her description is that of a bird: ?she was apt to carry her head thrust

forward in an attitude of attention?, ?she was quick footed and energetic in all her

movements? and ?her voice was high and rather shrill.? Mrs. Burden is in a constant flight

about her home. She is an obedient wife and a ?mother-woman.?. She is a homemaker, a

teacher to Antonia, the woman of the farm and the greatest help to her neighbors. Cather

uses Mrs. Burden to extol the values of the vaguely known townspeople. She respects the

Christian ideals of her small Mid-Western town and is nonjudgmental. She is pure of heart

and soul as she accepts the actions and choices of those to whom she hopes to set an

example. Mrs. Burden is the foundation of society and a foil to the independent girls of

her grandson?s generation.

Antonia is one of Cather?s few dynamic characters. She explores all the possible

options for her life before becoming the ?mother-woman.? As a young girl Antonia was

?quick, and very eager? to learn the ways of the new world in which she found herself.

When she moves to Black Hawk, as a young woman, she is exposed to a larger world.

She is taken aback by the freedom and opportunities that life in a town offers. At first

Antonia is weary of exploring the options available to her, but as she slowly discovers the

excitement of Black Hawk she begins to change. When a tent was erected for dancing

lessons Antonia was hooked on freedom. The eagerness in her takes over and ?at the first

call of the music, she became irresponsible.? Antonia rebels against the traditional values

of her society and rejoices in her independence. Cather utilizes the adolescent tendency

towards rebellion of the status-quo to explore the dynamics of the female character.

When Antonia bears a child out of wedlock unlike ?another girl [who] would have kept

her baby out of sight,… [Antonia]… must have its picture on exhibition at the town

photographer?s, in a great gilt frame.? The character of Antonia exposes the feminism of

Cather. Cather allows her women to be free, not of social judgment, but of social

restraint. At the closing of the novel we find that Antonia has discovered herself and

settled down and raised a family. Antonia has found what she has searched for, happiness,

through her freedom and gone from an independent individual to a ?mother-woman.?

Cather expanded upon the feminism demonstrated by Antonia through Tiny

Soderball and Lena Lingard. Both girls are as independent as Antonia. They are viewed

by the townsfolk as a ?threat to the social order.? But Black Hawk residents had nothing

to fear. Lena and Tiny would go on to be successful, contributing, businesswomen in

distant cities. Both girls were nonconformists and rebelled against the idea of marriage.

As Lena stated she didn?t ?want to marry [a former beau] or any other man.? Neither

would subject themselves to unhappiness in order to please the values of society.

Cather also demonstrates that a married woman can be independent. Mrs. Harling

is able to raise four children care for her house hold and please herself. Through Mrs.

Harling, Cather demonstrates that a woman can find balance and joy in married life and

motherhood. ?On nights when [Mr. Harling] was at home… Mrs. Harling paid no heed to

anyone else.? ?In his absence his wife was the head of the household.? Mrs. Harling

found the median between service and self satisfaction. She knows her priorities and is

able to succeed in her life. Cather also demonstrates the possibility of fulfillment through

traditional means.

In Sapphira and the Slave Girl Cather makes the same distinctions between her

female characters. Sapphy, although not dependent on her husband, conforms to the

expectations of society. She is an aristocratic slave owner that controls her own fortune.

In her prime she was the ideal ?mother-woman,? watching after the children and leading a

?respectable? life. ?She stayed at home after her two younger sisters were married to care

for her invalid father.? Sapphy is preoccupied with society?s perception of her. She cares

not for her own happiness, or the happiness of those close to her, but rather for the

opinions others in society hold of her. Cather allows her character to become almost

completely one-dimensional as she illustrates an extreme example of conformity and quite

possibly paranoia. She explores the traditionally conforming woman in a new light.

Instead of conforming to society?s notion of the woman?s role as wife, she explores the

role of conformity in the other aspects of life that result in a woman?s ?respectability.?

Rachel, Sapphy?s youngest daughter, cares not of what is thought of her but rather

for the well being of those less fortunate than she. One of the first statements that Cather

makes of Rachel is that she ?had always been difficult, — rebellious toward the fixed ways

which satisfied other folk.? Rachel is so rebellious that she assists one of her mother?s

slaves in escaping. She resists society?s insistence on obeying one?s parents and does what

she believes is right. Cather created a truly compassionate woman in Rachel. She is

willing to rebel against any injustice, even if it means being ostracized by her own mother.

Even though Cather explores the independence of women in her writing she also

exposes their vulnerabilities. In both My Antonia and Sappirha and the Slave Girl Cather

exposes the harsh realities that women had to face in their time. Cather speaks about the

mountain girls ?being fooled? and about the ?three Marys? being ?forced to retire from the

world for a short time.? In My Antonia the title character even suffered through the

societal defeat of having a child out of wedlock. Though some of the women that have

this problem rejoice in it as a gift most of them have to face the harsh reality that the must

raise their child alone on the outskirts of society. Cather takes time to equally explore

both the freedom that women have, their dynamism, and their pressures.

Cather, like several female writers of her era, approaches female characters by

addressing the differences between women. Cather develops dynamic characters that

relate the struggles of womanhood. The feminist tendencies of Cather allow her to create

outcomes for her characters that don?t have to involve love stories and births; her stories

can end in business adventures and self-discovery. Although Cather explores modern

ideals for women, she does not abandoned the traditional values of husband and family.

Cather portrays women young and old, rich and poor, and develops them into well

rounded citizens. She allows her characters to free themselves from the social restraint of

society and live the lives of their dreams.

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