Ostracization In My Antonia, By Willa Cather

In the novel, My Antonia, it expresses multiple themes in different sections of the novel. “Book Four, The Pioneers Women’s Story” has the theme ostracization. The book shows ostracization mainly on one specific character, Antonia. Frequently in the book Antonia is seen ostracizing herself from the people around her. Reading through My Antonia, written by Willa Cather, there seems to be a specific theme, ostracization. In the beginning of “Book Four, The Pioneers Women’s Story”, Antonia is in Denver with her soon to be husband, but later, Antonia's friends and family don’t hear from her after several weeks. “The next week Yulka got a postcard, saying she was “well and happy”. After that we heard nothing. A month went by, and old Mrs. Shimerda began to get fretful”. The symbolism represented in this quote is, when tough positions strike, some people like to handle it on there own or they don't like to express their feelings with others, similar to what Antonio did by not responding to her family. The conflict in this section is Human vs. Self. rather than Antonia seeking comfort, she decides to heal on her own.

The author’s tone in Book Four is concerned because the way he describes how the characters react to

The theme relates to the “The Pioneers Women’s Story” section specifically when Antonia comes back from Denver, unmarried, secretly pregnant and excluding herself from others. “He never married her Frances said. I haven't seen her since she came back. She lives at home, on the farm, and almost never come to town. She brought the baby in to show it to mama once. I’m afraid she’s settled down to be Ambrosch drudge for good”. There is symbolism between the theme and this quote. The quote describes how Antonia acted when she was left alone bearing a child, during a time of grief, the people of our society tend to ostracize themselves, and prefer to spend time