Willa Cather’s "Finite Revolution":The "Becoming" Of The West In My (?)Ntonia

In her masterpiece,My（?）ntonia,Willa Cather emphasizes the American West over the East,female characters over male characters,and marginalized individuals,all while narrating in a"safe"way.This thesis aims to shed light on the reasons for the popularity and revolutionary nature of Cather’s works and the shortcomings that prevent them from being regarded as a pinnacle of American literature and triggering major social reforms.Therefore,the inherent characteristics of Cather’s works initiate a"finite revolution.The novel has received worldwide acclaim and gradually changes readers’perspectives of the American West,marginalized groups,and gender stereotypes.Scholarship on the novel,both at home and abroad,has been in-depth and exhaustive,showcasing the variety of themes and the flexibility of Cather’s thoughts.Scholars have compared My（?）ntonia with other texts to explore intertextuality and have interpreted the novel from a variety of interdisciplinary perspectives,including historical studies,jurisprudence,philosophy,ecology,aesthetics,translation,and cultural studies.However,no scholarship has examined Cather’s works,including My（?）ntonia,through the lens of the"becoming"theory proposed by French philosophers Gilles Deleuze and Pierre-Félix Guattari.Cather’s unique depictions of the American West embody the theory of"becoming."According to Deleuze and Guattari,the world is constantly in a state of"becoming,"and all that exists is an instantaneous,relatively stable moment in the flow of"becoming-life."Their theory of difference and becoming goes against the traditional Western ideas of"being"and"identity."Cather’s writing similarly rejects conventional depictions of gender,cultures,and geography in the American West.Therefore,it is appropriate to interpret Cather’s works using the theory of"becoming."This thesis aims to explore how Cather alters the traditional writing of the West through osmosis and how her fine-tuned writing becomes a part of mainstream culture,using the"becoming"theory and historical facts,human geography theories,and Wai Chee Dimock’s theory of"deep time."The thesis consists of five parts.In the introduction,the literature review on My（?）ntonia and the"becoming"theory will be discussed,followed by a chapter outline and the feasibility of applying the theory to the interpretation of Cather’s works,including My（?）ntonia.The first chapter focuses on Cather’s characterization of individuals in the American West.By making readers sympathize with marginalized characters,Cather subtly changes readers’definitions of"appropriate"females and males.The chapter also explores how Cather participated in defining homosexuality and lesbianism at the turn of the 19^thcentury.The second chapter delves into how Cather depicts the"becoming"of the communal imagination of the American West and how this community makes contact with the world.It also distinguishes the spirit of the West represented in the novel from that of the East,which is regarded as the American cultural center.The third chapter examines how Cather’s imitation and resistance to French and American East dominant writers and her anti-traditional writing subvert Eurocentrism,American East’s culture and literature,and American white males’heterosexual hegemony.This chapter elucidates how Cather makes minor groups’existence heard and debunks the"becoming"of Americanness and female writing.In conclusion,the thesis uncovers how the"finite revolution"that Cather brings about disseminates through her"becoming"female writing.Cather’s works subtly influence the perception of the writers and readers to come towards the American West,New Women,and new immigrants,making American culture more tolerant.The thesis encourages more multifaceted interpretations of Cather’s works rather than continuing to focus on Mythological Criticism and ecocriticism.