Female Growth:The Construction Of Female Identity In Willa Cather’s My Antonia

Willa Cather (1873-1947), one of the most great American writers, establishes her reputation mainly on her novels about the immigrant life on the Nebraska prairies. As Cather’s most beloved novel, My Antonia is a song of eulogizing the hard-working country girls. It vividly portrays some female characters who grow up in extreme poverty, keep fighting against male supremacy, quest for their own place in the patriarchal world, and finally construct their female identity. In their struggle, they have experienced a lot of hardships, bewilderment and frustration that we could not imagine. The publishment of My Antonia has attracted much attention from the critics, and they have dealt with every aspect of this novel, such as the relationship between nature and human beings, Cather’s narrative techniques and the symbolic meaning of the images in the novel. Besides, some critics explore this novel from the angle of gender studies and female identity. Based on their research, this thesis will probe into the construction of female identity, trying to make clear the reasons of Antonia and Lena’s success, and Cather’s contemplation on the ways of dealing with the gender problems.On the basis of the life experiences and the final achieved identities of the two female protagonists Antonia Shimerda and Lena Lingard, the thesis argues how the two characters construct their female identity, digs out the reasons why both of them can succeed in constructing their female identity and reveals Cather’s contemplation on the way to deal with two genders’relationship in the light of feminist theories. Through dealing with the female characters’psychological development from innocence to maturity and the hard process of constructing their female identity, the thesis helps us better understand the toughness for female to search for independence and win respect from the others in the male-dominated world. In addition, by making a comparison between the two different kinds of female identities achieved by Antonia and Lena, it proves that the former one is preferable for the author. In her point of view, only by being independent from men but together with the mutual communication and understanding between the two genders, can men and women achieve a harmonious and balanced relationship. Therefore, while women seek to be independent in the patriarchal world, they cannot forget their traditional role as a wife and mother at the same time.Apart from the introduction and conclusion, there are three chapters in the body part of this thesis. Chapter Two tells about Willa Cather’s life experience and her identity bewilderment reflected through the novel My Antonia. Chapter Three mainly deals with Antonia’s transition from a sweet doll into the symbol of earth mother, and probes into the reasons of her successful transition. Chapter Four deals with Lena’s successful construction of her female identity as an independent businesswoman. In conclusion, the thesis makes a comparison between the two ways of identity construction, and draws the conclusion that the former one is preferable for the author. This thesis will deeply analyze Antonia and Lena’s process of constructing their female identities by using feminist theories. Meanwhile, the study of the process of constructing female identity can serve as a mirror through which we can see more clearly about Cather’s contemplation on the relationship between the two genders.