O Pioneers
Land is the central motif of Willa Cather's O Pioneers! Land becomes a symbol of personal and political empowerment, and it also connects past, present, and future as land is transferred through multiple generations. Land is more than just an "image in the mind" for central characters like Alexandra. Land is linked to identity, family, and livelihood. However, land does serve a symbolic as well as a practical role for all the characters. Land is much more than ground beneath the feet; land is the lens through which the characters view the world. For instance, land helps measure the passage of time: "he years seemed to stretch before her like the land; spring, summer, autumn, winter, spring; always the same patient fields, the patient little trees," (Part IV, Chapter 5). Land serves an almost religious function for Elizabeth, who had "believed in the land" just as her father did (Part IV, Chapter 3). Especially for female characters in O Pioneers! like Marie and Alexandra, land serves multiple symbolic functions as the means by which to transcend patriarchy, the means by which to provide for their families, and the means by which to represent the figurative landscapes of life.
At the opening of O Pioneers! Marie is a "stranger in the country," and her family is described as having come from a far-off land, Bohemia. Therefore, land is a key to understanding both personal and cultural identity throughout the book as Marie's knowledge of the American landscape deepens. For Marie, land in Nebraska becomes associated with belonging, acculturation, and adaptation. Land also becomes an ironic form of liberation for Marie, who is at heart a free spirit. She "ran away from the convent school" to get married, something that likely seemed adventurous at the time (Part II, Chapter 4). Furthermore, Marie fantasizes about traveling as when she envisions what Mexico might look like as she thinks about Emil.
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