A Study Of Male Characters In Willa Cather’s Prairie Trilogy From The Perspective Of Eco-feminism

Willa Cather is a well-known American writer who enjoys great reputation for depicting the west prairie. Her three novels written in1910s-O Pioneers!, The Song of the Lark, and My Antonia-are usually called the Prairie Trilogy and have aroused great attention among readers. Willa Cather is an expert in characterization. The female characters she has depicted, especially the protagonists, strike readers as strong, brave and independent. In the past few decades, much has been said and done about her female characters in the Prairie Trilogy. Occasionally, the male characters are discussed in terms of certain thematic aspects in Cather’s writing, but so far, few have made systematic study of her male characters, leaving much room for further exploration.This thesis will focus on Willa Cather’s male characters in her Prairie Trilogy from the perspective of ecofeminism, mainly on their relationships with nature and with women. The male characters will be analyzed in great detail, to fill up the vacancy in existing interpretations and touch upon something new. While the analysis of female protagonists occupies limited space, since they have been discussed abundantly elsewhere, but still they are given certain emphasis, in order to form sharp contrast with those males. This thesis intends to prove that it’s difficult to find a man of integrity and morality in the Prairie Trilogy, and male characters are just foil to female characters who are indeed the focus of these novels.There are five chapters in this thesis. Chapter One offers a brief introduction to Willa Cather and her Prairie Trilogy, pointing out a vancancy in existing research:few have profoundly and systematically analyzed the male characters in the Prairie Trilogy from the perspective of ecofeminism. Chapter Two and Chapter Three concentrate on male characters’relationship with nature and with women respectively. Male characters seldom love or believe in nature; instead, they conquer the land, kill animals, and exploit natural resources:they have developed a poor relationship with nature. As for women, who are closely associated with nature, male characters have also exihibited their patriarchal behaviors of exploitation and oppression. They think they are superior to women; they emphasize their position as heads of the family; they have traditional expectations of women; and they often regard women as their objects of sex. Chapter Four shifts the attention to the three female protagonists in the Prairie Trilogy, who possess admirable qualities such as independence, bravery, strong-will, etc. and they have maintained a harmonious relationship with nature and other women. Chapter Five, the conclusion, reemphasizes men’s role as foil and their being overshadowed by heroines in the Prairie Trilogy.