Paean Of Female Pioneers

Willa Cather, a prodigious and productive female writer in the early 20^th century, establishes her fame in the American literary canon alongside Earnest Hemingway and Scott Fitzgerald. She gains her reputation mainly from her Nebraska pioneering novels, among which My Antonia has aroused the attention from scholars and critics from various perspectives. Based on the previous researches, this thesis intends to systematically interpret this novel from the eco-feminist approach, aiming at digging out the eco-feminist consciousness of Cather and providing a new angle to the understanding of the novel.As a combination of feminist and ecological movements, eco-feminists hold the conviction that there are important interconnections between men, women and nature. By applying the theory of eco-feminism, this thesis firstly explores the connection and the subordination of women and nature. Secondly, it strives to dissolve the patriarchal dualism which is inherent in androcentric and anthropocentrism. The last part devotes to the construction of a new world where men, women and nature live in peacefulness, cooperation and harmony. What’s more, this thesis is expected to provide a kind of new perspective for the world today and evoke more people’s environmental awareness.