Pursuit And Disappointment About Civilization Dream

In the history of 20th Century American Literature, Willa Cather is one important writer. She was known as a physiocratic writer, a nostalgic writer, or an idealism novelist evading social problems and so on. Most scholars focused their attention on her efforts to resist material civilization and to critique urban life, but they neglected that Cather also showed her pursuit and recognition on material civilization in her works. In fact, her ingrained consciousness of the South and special experience of living in Nebraska prairie was the source of her contradictory emotions on the East and the West of America, civilization and nature, modern and tradition, which left profound influence on her life and writing. Thinking constantly of all good things in the West, she chose to stay in eastern city to enjoy all kinds of cultural resources. It is concluded that thirst for eastern civilization and return to western nature, which constitute and promote the theme of Willa Cather’s novels together, is the clue of interpreting the changing track of her spirit.Past research on Cather’s theme focused more on the origin or the destination of her mental exploration, and explained the contradiction in her early works or the tendency to return in the later works, which provides more space to me to make further interpretation. The contradictory of Cather’s emotion existed in her representative works from 3 different phases, and showed her spiritual world. At first, The prairie trilogy showed that she pursued her civilization dream which changed from depression to bloom, and looked her memory about the West as spiritual support. However, after many things, on one hand, Cather deeply hated the civilized world full of hypocrisy and fame struggle, on the other hand, she gradually realized the West world in her mind was not good as its past. Her contradictory emotion would not to be calmed down, then more disappoint and melancholy appeared in her current works. At last, she looked to distant countries, sat her novel story in the original scenes of life, trying to recreate the western pioneer spirit, and enriching the connotation of civilization dream. She finally got harmony between the East and the West, civilization and nature, modern and tradition.The contradictory emotion about the East and the West is profound for her all life and writing, which puzzled her, also made her achievement as we know. It’s important to know Cather’s mental world, and it’s the reason why she could be sober in roaring city. The homeland she always attached herself to, and the dream she always pursued, is not only in the West, but also in the East.