Quest For Female Identity In My Antonia

Willa Cather is one of the most significant American writers in the twentieth century, standing uniquely in modern American literature. Among her best known "Nebraska Novels", My Antonia is one of the most celebrated representative works, which mirrors the life in the frontier’s era and describes the Bohemian immigrant girl Antonia Shimerda’s persistent struggle and pursuit. Through analyzing the typical image of a female immigrant and the confusion Antonia experiences in the process of growing up, this thesis discusses the conflicts immigrant women face and the way they choose when they quest for survival and spiritual growth in a male-dominated patriarchal society.This thesis takes the perspective of feminism to discuss the images of women as reflected in My Antonia. In the process of female fulfillment exploration, the heroine breaks the fetter of sexual discrimination and realizes her value at last. She embodies the pioneering spirit and as the symbol of an independent pioneer woman in the patriarchal society. My Antonia is considered as an influential work, which not only deeply concerns with women’s situation in a male-dominated society, but also highly praises the values of fortitude, hard work, and faithfulness that are associated with pioneer life. It also helps women today to enhance their self-consciousness and to fulfill their own female identity.