Entry Five: Theorizing the Farm Through Willa Cather

In My Antonia, Willa Cather’s description of agriculture and the farming community around her are neither unrealistically positive nor drastically grim. Instead, her descriptions of the community surrounding Antonia’s family farm land somewhere in the middle, bordering on realistic. Moreover, though, her work acts to illustrate the significance of the farm and the community for maintaining a moral existence. In the end of her novel, readers contrast the success of lawyer Jim Burden with small town farmer, Antonia. Her level of happiness and contentedness seem more significant than Jim’s, who marvels in her peace. The farm is portrayed as a safe, comfortable space where one—as Antonia indicates—will always be surrounded by people who care about them and will not be lonely.