An Interpretation Of Symbolism In My Antonia From The Perspective Of Feminist Criticism

Willa Cather (1873-1947), the first woman writer committed to describing stories about pioneers in American Midwest, has laid an important position in American literary history on account of her unique subjects, multiple themes, fresh artistic style, gentle rhythm, simple and beautiful words, and noble mentality. She has been regarded as the prolocutor of American pioneering era and "the defender of spiritual beauty in the continuous process of material civilization" in America. Therefore, both Cather the writer and her works have aroused a broad concern and appreciation in the field of criticism, overseas and domestically.Although in recent years scholars have been conducting their research on Willa Cather as well as her works from varied perspectives, the application of symbolism in her novels hasn't been analyzed comprehensively and systematically so far. In light of Cather's ever resolute resistance against patriarchal society and her close watch on women's destiny, this thesis strives to interpret symbolism in My Antonia from the perspective of feminist criticism. Feminist criticism came into existence in the 1960s or 1970s. As a critical school having made great achievements, it is still undergoing constant evolution and improvement. When the Western Women's Liberation Movement provided for its birth abundant resources in different fields, such as history, politics and culture, it was also profoundly influenced by many other schools like psychoanalysis, structuralism, deconstructionism and "Neo-Marxism". It mainly demonstrates its concern over women's equal freedom and rights with men in terms of social status, legislation and culture. As a literary technique, symbolism originated in France in the mid-19th century and extended to Europe and America in the 1920s. Since then, it has gradually developed into an international literary genre. Opposed to superficial expression, it demands to communicate the complex ideas and subtle emotions of some writer through symbols, allusions, metaphors, images and free associations. Rated as a wonderful flower in the garden of Willa Cather's Western frontier literature as well as a representative feminist classic, My Antonia (1918) chiefly talks about the heroine Antonia whose life is full of twists and turns eventually attains the ideal situation of independence and harmony with her self-reliance and persistent efforts. Through interpreting the symbolic elements in the novel with the help of feminist criticism, this thesis aims at exploring the profound meanings hidden between the lines from those simple phenomena in order to guide readers to appreciate its deeper-level significance and thus reaches the goal of deepening its themes.This thesis is made up of four parts in total:chapter one is the part of introduction, consisting of a brief introduction to Willa Cather and her My Antonia and literature review; chapter two is the part of theory explorations, including feminist criticism and symbolism:with the help of the two theories and taking the text as the foundation, the author will further expound the themes reflected in the novel; chapter three is the main body of this thesis: through interpreting symbols concealed in this novel, such as, Black Hawk, the sharp instruments, the electric storm, the story about the tramp, the image of a plough encircled by the setting sun, the old rattlesnake and the two luminaries, this chapter represents for readers that evil patriarchal society and reveals a strenuous process for women to fight for independence and achieve reciprocity between genders; the final part is the conclusion: through summarizing the main contents of this thesis, the author scientifically analyzes modern women's social status, appealing women to beware of the penetration of patriarchal ideology and the resurgence of patriarchal society so that a correct orientation is worked out for a reciprocal development and coexistence between genders.