An Eco-feminist Analysis Of My Antonia

Willa Cather, one of the most outstanding female writers in American Literature, achieved splendid literary accomplishments during her life time. Her third novel My Antonia is considered her masterpiece frontier novel with great literary merits. Ever since the publishing of the novel, critics have made various research and explorations from different perspectives, such as Marxist and feminist, focusing on its theme of frontier, narrative methods and language style, etc. With the development of literary criticism, new critical theories, including eco-feminism, are gradually formed. However, there is little deep study on My Antonia from the perspective of eco-feminism. Therefore, there is big space for further research. This thesis tries to take eco-feminist approach to My Antonia, systematically and comprehensively analyzing the eco-feminist consciousness embodied in it. The thesis includes five sections:the introduction, chapter one to chapter three, and conclusion.Chapter one focuses on the relationship between women and nature in My Antonia from the viewpoint of eco-feminism. According to eco-feminist theory, the primary factor connecting them is reflected in their innate quality of reproduction and identical characteristic of motherhood. Antonia acts like a mother in many ways before she becomes a real mother. Her maternal quality is evidently presented in caring her siblings, Jim Burden and Harling children. Meanwhile, with her fostering power, nature takes care of everything on the planet. Similarly, nature is presented as an image of mother for she takes care of and nourishes all creatures on the planet. In addition to the first form of connection between women and nature, both of them are often employed to symbolize each other in the novel, through which they are closely interrelated. This kind of link corresponds to eco-feminist concept that women are most likely to be naturalized while nature womanized.Chapter two mainly discusses the domination of men over women and nature in a patriarchal society. Apart from the connection mentioned in chapter one, women and nature are also linked by their similar condition of being oppressed in a male-dominated world. In the context of patriarchy, women, just like nature, are frequently considered as commodities which can be consumed or utilized. This chapter firstly analyzes the oppression of women respectively from the angle of Antonia and other hired girls. In the eyes of men, these girls are just for the need of men and treated like working machine that can earn money for families. Secondly, the domination over nature in the novel is analyzed in the chapter. Environmental devastation and humans’separation from nature are illustration of this domination. This common male-suppression or domination, which both women and nature suffer from, unifies women and nature together, and finally cause their revolts against the domination of men.Chapter three concentrates on rebellion of women and nature and a kind of harmony between men and women, humans and nature, attained in some way through their revolts. Cather vividly portrays the revolts of women against men by depicting their pursuits of independence and equality. Even as a little girl, Antonia awakens with the consciousness of realizing her self-worth. As a young woman several years later, she fiercely opposes the power which prevents her from dancing. At the same time, other hired girls break up the suppression and struggle painstakingly to achieve their success on business. As the result of rebellions, the relationship between Antonia and her husband reached in a harmony she dreams for. This kind of depiction indicates clearly that a harmonious state between men and women could be gained by means of mutual respect and concern for each other. With regard to the relationship between humans and nature in the novel, it also demonstrates an evolution from confliction to harmony. Nature first rebels against the domination from humans by depriving imagination and vitality from them. With returning to nature and showing understanding and respect, humans then obtain harmonious relationship with nature and receive the generous rewards from it.The final section of this thesis is conclusion. Based upon detailed analysis and explanation, the thesis concludes that My Antonia is a novel with abundant embodiments of eco-feminist consciousness. The thought of eco-feminism in this novel attempts to achieve a goal that can be specifically defined as eliminating gender discrimination and avoiding the separation of humans and nature and environmental devastation. Thereby, men and women, humans and nature both achieve harmony.