Deconstruction Of Patriarchy And Establishment Of Harmony

My Antonia (1918) is considered the masterpiece of Willa Cather (1873-1947), a Pulitzer Prize winner, and one of the most famous American women writers in the twentieth century. The novel is about a Bohemian girl Antonia's growth as an immigrant on the Nebraska prairie. The spunky, strong-willed heroine Antonia, the beautiful scenes on the prairie and the struggle of the immigrants in the frontier leave readers deep impression. For a century, numerous critics have approached this novel from different perspectives such as myth, romanticism, feminism etc.Based on the previous interpretations, this thesis attempts to read My Antonia from the perspective of ecofeminism. Ecofeminism is the combination of ecocriticism and feminism. It points out that the root cause of the domination over women and nature is patriarchy which sanctions a variety of human dominances through categorical or dualistic hierarchies. Ecofeminism strives to eliminate patriarchal dualistic hierarchies and aims to establish a sustainable and harmonious way of surviving which is based on mutual respect and cooperation between men and women as well as ecological living between man and nature.The thesis consists of five parts:the introduction, three chapters and the conclusion.The introduction is a brief survey on Willa Cather about her life, her works, and her status in the history of literature, which is followed by the literature review of Willa Cather and her My Antonia. The perspective and significance of the thesis will also be illustrated in this part.Chapter One is the theoretical foundation of the whole analysis. Ecofeminism as a movement and literary theory is explained in detail. Besides, Cather's ecofeminist consciousness deriving from her early life and reflected in her major works is briefly illustrated.Chapter Two is devoted to the status of women and nature in the patriarchal society of My Antonia. Both nature and women are debased as the inferior other in the patriarchal society. The root cause is patriarchy which sanctions a variety of human dominances through categorical or dualistic hierarchies.Chapter Three focuses on the deconstruction of patriarchy in the novel. Women respect and care nature as a friend of them; nature grants women great power and courage so women are dependent on nature. Women achieve the self-realization as Earth Mother Goddess based on the symbiosis with nature and nature possesses productivity. Women and nature are not inferior others. Their symbiosis and creativity lead to the deconstruction of patriarchal domination.Chapter Four is about the establishment of harmony between man and nature in My Antonia. In the novel, the life force and creativity of both nature and women greatly influence men. Men realize their interconnectedness with other creatures in the whole ecological system. Every life form is an independent being with intrinsic value and should be respected and cared equally. Men cooperate with women on the basis of mutual respect and understanding and a harmonious life is established between man and nature.Conclusion concludes the ecofeminist ideas reflected in the novel based on the previous analysis and describes the significance of an ecofeminist reading of the novel to the modern society.