Willa Cather\'s O Pioneer !

Willa Cather's O pioneer ! And the frontier female hero

Willa Cather's O pioneers and the Frontier female hero

Willa Cather's "O pioneers!" is considered as a good example for the frontier literature. That is, the heroine in this novel represents all female characters who defies the difficult life in the American west at that time. The narrative points out the challenges faced by the female characters of the time as well as their battle to stay relevant to their mission in life. In particular, the author of the story remains particular regarding the discussion of the female personality in the story. Ideally, the story presents the struggles of a female character amidst several challenges in the society. The strength of the woman is demonstrated in this story through the pitfalls and hurdles that the chief protagonist overcomes. It is clear that the author's intention was to examine the nature and mental capacity of a woman in the face of several challenges. Indeed, the story is crafted to meet the demands of the author in terms of psychoanalyzing the mental capacity of a woman in terms of her ability to withstand opposition and offer leadership skills in the society (Duby, Perrot and Pantel 68). Equally, the author of this story also manages to achieve a study of the feminist theory in terms of examining the factors as well as circumstances that made it a reality at the time the story is set. It is for this reason that the author decides to exemplify the role played by the female characters in the novel. As a matter of fact, the chief protagonist is a female character.

Analytically, Alexandra presents an examination of mental, physical and psychological strength exhibited by women who lived in the seventeenth century. Cather emphasizes her role from the very first moment when she presents the character. "His sister was a tall, strong girl, and she walked rapidly and resolutely, as if she knew exactly where she was going and what she was going to do next" (Cather 6). It is obvious that the writer wants to display this character as an individual who, in spite of her gender, is reluctant to accept to take on the role of a stereotypical eighteenth century woman. Alexandra is actually powerful and determined to achieve her goals, even if this means that she needs to act in disagreement with the typical image of a girl in her contemporary society. The fact that Emil sees her as a person who can help him further contributes to highlighting her strength.

Strong psychological strength is exhibited by Alexandra in the position and quest for land in the story. The psychological strength of Alexandra is clearly visible when her dying father entrusts her with the family's land. According to father, she is supposed to be take care of the family's estates when he dies. The father seems to have developed more confidence in Alexandra in comparison to her other brothers, Lou and Oscar. It is for this reason that he makes a will stating that the Alexandra would be the caretaker of the family's estates once he dies. Surprisingly, the father's trust in her seems to pay-off when she manages to preserve the land three years after his death during a famine (Freud 23-25). The great strength of the female character is demonstrated in this portion of the story when she manages to intellectually apply her abilities to preserve the family's estates. The crafting of this character by the author to exhibit great personality to earn the trust of the father is instrumental in terms of understanding the intentions and objectives of this story. Alexandra demonstrates exemplary qualities that make her stand out amongst her peers in the story. There is no other character that the author presents whose qualities can be compared to her. At this point, the exhibitions of these traits bring into mind the psychological and mental stature of this character in the story.