On Willa Cather’s Quest Of Spiritual Home

Willa Cather’s works contain not only pastoral colors but also the tension of modernity. The pastoral colors, on the one hand, come from the minds of characters, which differ in status and historical background, but all cherish a desire. They long to find something more eternal and essential. On the other hand, the tension of modernity derives from their quest of spriritual home. To reach spiritual home and achieve a sense of belonging, and under the support of various spiritual resources, these peoples try to break though many dilemmas such as vulgar materialism and self splitting. Consequently, no matter which destination they arrived, the core of Cather’s art is always on the self split repair and pursuit of ideal homeland.On the basis of literary theory analysis and close reading of the texts consist of Cather’s nine novels and some typical short stories, my analysis falls into three parts. Introduction gives a glimpse to previous studies on Willa Cather, and points out the importance of spiritual homestead writing. By means of outside literary research, Chapter1analyses largely the accumulation and formation of Cather’s spiritual home from two aspects, namely life background and literary attainments. Turning to the internal research, Chapter2is devoted to various dilemmas and spiritual resources. Finally, Chapter3expounds the significance of religion in the spiritual homestead writing. Conclusion summarizes the realistic significance and lasting value of Cather’s spiritual home theme.