“Pioneering Spirit: My Antonia as a Representation of Midwestern Fiction”

Pioneering Spirit: My Antonia as a Representation of Midwestern Fiction

Jim Rogers

. . .

    In some way, humans are all drawn to novel concepts. The pioneer that dwells within us longs for the spark of discovery and enlightenment. Novelty comes in many forms, some small, such as the first person to eat a raw oyster, and others large, such as Lewis & Clark discovering the Pacific shoreline. Much like Lewis & Clark, the early settlers of the American Midwest were possessed by wanderlust, striking out into a little-known land with nothing more than a sense of purpose and direction. The stories of these familial journeys have in many ways become part of the foundation of Americana, providing guidance and curiosity for generations of future farmers and their growing families. By providing a detailed vision of Jim Burden's maturation from youth to adulthood, Willa Cather invokes in us that familiar urge to look out the window and think of sacred places untouched and unseen by the broad scope of humanity. Much like its counterparts, the themes throughout My Antonia illustrate the hardships of life and the natural beauties of frontier living that have become iconic to this particular era in American history. As such, My Antonia is an essential complement to the great works of Midwestern fiction, painting a vivid portrait of Nebraska farm-life around the turn of the 19^th century.

    The reader's quest into the west begins on a train ride alongside the young Jim Burden. Having lost his parents, Jim is shipped to his grandparents' farm in Nebraska from his former home in the east, Virginia. This shift from east to west is an iconic catalyst for discovery in Midwestern fiction. In the 19^th century, the east coast with its ports and bustling cities was a mecca of industry. Conversely, the red grasses of the open plains had been somewhat forgotten in the United States' push for societal growth. This shift in cultural focus helps explain the fearful way in which Jim, and many other early settlers, experienced the open country for the first time. Often times the characters of these stories are left baffled by the sheer openness and underdeveloped nature of the plains. As wide as an ocean and nearly bereft of foliage, it would have seemed as if “there was nothing but land: not a country at all, but the material out of which countries are made” (Cather 11). This theme of raw and unsullied land is inherent to the overarching motifs of reinvention and potential for personal growth. The open plains provide a humbling perspective of life before the advent of modern technologies as well as a blank canvas upon which to cultivate a new way of living. The difficulties of this lifestyle transition are focused upon in great detail during the opening chapters, which employ an element of verisimilitude to make the severity of the events more affecting. Cather creates a strong sense of tangibility throughout My Antonia by detailing Jim's observations and experiences, such as surviving winter, watching the workers laboring through harvest, and confronting his own loneliness.

    

    Many of the lessons drawn from Midwestern fiction are based upon the developing relationship between Mother Nature and the newly arrived settlers. Living life in this “new world” presents the characters with a unique set of trials and experiences that challenge their collective humanity's depths in ways vastly different from city life. Lessons of labor and community intertwine throughout My Antonia, covering topics that range from the delights of childbirth to the soberness of mortality. This brings to light the didactic quality of writing that is employed within the Midwestern Fiction sub-genre. In the case of Mr. Shimerda's death, his suicide is not written off as a random act of violence. Rather, his death reveals moral layers of The Shimerda's and The Burden's that were previously disguised by the politics of family and a sense of familial stability. The loss of Mr. Shimerda not only changes the politics of the Shimerda family it also illuminates the gaps in personal characteristics that are so easily exploited by the hardships of frontier-living. The chaos of building a life from little more than a plot of land would have lead many to believe, as Mr. Shimerda had, “that peace and order had vanished from the earth, or existed only in the old world [they] had left so far behind” (Cather 60). The disconnect between the luxuries of city life and the demands of pioneering therefore becomes a cautionary tale to the reader about respecting nature in all of its power. After all, Jim's appreciation for the staunch heat of summer only comes after his first harsh winter, just as his appreciation for country living only comes from exposure to city life in his teen years.

    Once the Shimerda's and the Burden's have become accustomed to their new homes, an alternate vision of the Midwest begins to form. The beauty of the plains, while once viewed with scrutiny, is fully embraced and doted upon. Jim recalls how “July came on with that breathless, brilliant heat which [made] the plains of Kansas and Nebraska the best corn country in the world” (Cather 91). This is a notable departure from the viewpoint he held upon his arrival to Nebraska, having replaced his skepticism toward the concept of living on a farm with a healthy pride from his accomplishment of surviving the unknown. This pride carries with it a strong sense of purpose and optimism that are generally viewed as a form of naivety among those not yet initiated into the simple pleasures and hard truths of country life. This naivety allows for the purity of love and family that are exemplified through the romantic ideas of the working girls and Jim's own interpretations. When Jim states that “she wakened fresh with the world every day, and her eyes had a deeper color then like the blue flowers that are never so blue as when they open,” the reader feels the overwhelming influence of the Midwest on Jim's interpretations of beauty and even romance. This purity of heart is imperative as it is directly tied to the concepts of love, progeny, and respect for nature which are paramount to the framework of ideals in Midwestern literature.

    Along with many other authors, Cather realized that a “region is a complex, nuanced site, a dynamic place of crossroads, or settlement and movement” (Maher 53). While of a different dynamic, the happenings within a farm community are not entirely different from the happenings in a city. The selection of a farm community as the setting for My Antonia, therefore, holds special semblance to the author and, as such, the reader interpreting their words. The lookback towards a time of societal simplicity shows how many “Midwestern writers remain haunted by the failure of the present world to fulfill the promise of forward-looking democratic idealism” (Brinkmeyer 120). Whether the author speaks to the beauty of earth or the pride of hard work and a stout yield, “Midwestern literature characteristically castigates the present with trenchant social realism, hoping through its critical work to pave the way for a better future” (120). Therefore, Cather does not implement verisimilitude in her work to create a more stunning biographical context but rather to create an immersive world in which her ideals can be fostered and digested.

    Jim's journey through adolescence and adulthood covers a wide range of topics and ideas shared among authors who write Midwestern fiction. The focus on this particular region of the United States harkens tales of cornfields and prairie dog mounds as far as the eye can see and a simplistic way of life that is revered by those who have experienced it. While My Antonia is widely considered a romance novel, at its core, the ideals and content are about discovery and the promise of a new beginning. The hardships faced by those brave pioneers in the early days of Midwest development are a testament to the determination of a select few who felt the need for something better than what the busy streets of the east had to offer. As time passes, the hardships of that life may be forgotten, and the beginning of expansive family trees lost to the fog of time, but thankfully, the lessons and the splendor of that bygone era remain alive and well within the stories of those who lived during those years.

Bibliography

Dictionary of Midwestern Literature. Vol. 1 by Philip A. Greasley

Review by: Susan Naramore Maher

The Journal of the Midwest Modern Language Association

Vol. 36, No. 2 (Autumn, 2003), Published by:Midwest Modern Language Association

A Certain Slant of Light: Regionalism and the Form of Southern and Midwestern Fiction

Author(s): Robert H Brinkmeyer, Jr

 The Southern Literary Journal 30.1 (Fall 1997): From Literature Resource Center.

Copyright 1997, University of North Carolina Press, p.120