Mrs. Dalloway

Mrs. Dalloway (pages 1-63)

• First part incorporates many different points of view through the use of free indirect discourse.

• Mrs. Dalloway- “She felt very young; at the same time unspeakably aged.” (P 8)

• Septimus, a scarred war veteran
•  Rezia, his wife- “For she could stand it no longer. Dr. Holmes might say there was nothing the matter. Far rather would she that he were dead! She could not sit beside him when he stared so and did not see her and made everything terrible.” (P 22)
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• What is the significance of including Sally Seton in the story? What impact does she have on Clarissa?

• Peter Walsh- “For why go back like this to the past? he thought. Why make him think of it again? Why make him suffer, when she had tortured him so infernally? Why? (P 41)

• Mrs. Dalloway- “Now of course, thought Clarissa, he’s enchanting! Perfectly enchanting! Now I remember how impossible it was ever to make up my mind- and why did I make up my mind- not to marry him? she wondered, that awful summer? (P 40)

• What is the significance of including all the love interests of both Peter Walsh and Clarissa Dalloway? Does this add to or take away from how readers view their feelings for each other?

• What is the purpose of including Peter following the young woman he saw on the street? 

My Antonia Finish

-       What are the main themes of books III and IV?

-       Lena Lingard

o   Pg. 191 “I watched Lena sitting there so smooth and sunny and well cared for, and the thought of how she used to run barefoot over the prairie until after the snow began to fly, and how Crazy Mark chased her round and round the cornfields. It seemed to me wonderful that she should have got on to well in the world. Certainly she had no one but herself to thank for it.”

o   What news dies Lena bring of Antonia?

-       Harvard

o    Pg. 202 “You wont do anything here now. You should either quit school and go to work, or change you college and begin again in earnest. You wont recover yourself while you are playing about with this handsome Norwegian.”

o   How will going to Harvard affect Jim’s life?

-       What happens in the time from Jim promising to visit Antonia again and when he actually sees her? How does it affect their relationship and standings?

o   “I tried to shut Antonia out of my mind. I was bitterly disappointed in her. I could not forgive her for becoming an object of pity.” 206

o   “The first things that troubled her was when he wrote that his run had been changed, and they would likely have to live in Denver. ‘I’m a country girl,’ she said, ‘and I doubt if I’ll be able to manage so well for him in a city.’” 212

-       How does coming back to Nebraska make him come full circle with his childhood?

o   “I lay awake and watched the moonlight shining over the barn and the stacks and the pond, the windmill making its old dark shadow again the blue sky.” 217

-       How did Antonia affect his childhood?

o   “We reached the edge of the field, where out ways parted. I took her hands and held them against my breast, feeling over more how strong and warm and goof they were, those brown hands, and remembering how many kind things they had done for me.” 219

-       “My day in Black Hawk was disappointing. Most of my old friends were dead or had moved away. Strange children, who menat nothing to me, were playing in the Harlings’ big yard when I passed.” 242

-       Could Jim and Antonia have married? Would they have been happy if they did? What stopped them from trying?

My Antonia Books 3, 4 and 5

“My Antonia, that had so much good in her, had come home disgraced. And that Lena Lingard, that was always a bad one, say what you will, had turned out so well, and was coming home here every summer in her silks and her satins, and doing so much for her mother” (214)

• ·      Lena

o   “I don’t want a husband…. They begin to tell you what’s sensible and what’s foolish, and want you to stick at home all the time. I prefer to be foolish when I like it, and be accountable to nobody” (203)

o   “I like to be lonesome” (203)àwants to enjoy her life for herself and not be taking care of other people.

o   Busy family where they were all taking care of each otherà “that’s no life for a girl” (204)

o   “Lena’s success puzzled me” (197) àJim expects there to be some conventionality where Lena was “a bad one” and so her life shouldn’t be as good as a result. He expects conventional gender roles, but he is still attracted to Lena/her independence.

o   Lena has already been caretaking. She took care of babies and developed a distrust of men. This turned her away from having a family; however, she still managed to retain her “feminine” qualities that make her a good businesswoman (much like Frances).

o   Exemplifies blending of gender roles.

• ·      Antonia

o   “She won’t hear a word against him. She’s so sort of innocent” [Lena about Antonia in regards to Larry Donovan] (192)

o   “’Antonia,’ I used to say, ‘don’t run that machine so fast. You won’t hasten the day none that way” (212)àAntonia jumped right into things with Larry Donovan while Lena spent a long time developing her skills and saving money to move to Lincoln

o   Antonia is “never ashamed” of her baby (216)

o    “She was there, in the full vigor of her personality, battered but not diminished” (223)

o   “I know so many women who have kept all the things that she had lost, but whose inner glow has faded. Whatever else was gone, Antonia had not lost the fire of life” (225)

o   The energy/vigor that drew Jim to her wasn’t suppressed by her difficult domestic/gendered position.

o   She also had to take on both masculine and feminine roles, especially when she and her husband were beginning to farm. With the intense struggles of farm life, the roles are not gender specific, but rather just doing whatever is needed for the betterment of the large family.

My Antonia 3/19

Book II covers Jim's move from the country to the town and the the change in scenery is accompanied by a shift from weather to the townspeople as a point of emphasis. By paying more attention to the town, where is an analysis of society and societal norms.

• Gender Roles
• Jim is told he's "too romantic," alluding to the preference of a touch, macho man--typical expectation of men
• "I could fight, tease the little girls, and use forbidden words as well as any boy in may class"--p.128
• Antonia leaves behind her days as a tomboy, imitating Ambrosch, and is shaped into a more feminine ideal over the years
• Immediately praised for her beauty--p.132, 3rd paragraph; she's clearly seen as a woman now as opposed to just help
• "Tony wore gloves now, and high-heeled shoes and feathered bonnets"--p.165
• Antonia becomes infatuated with dancing, having been "discovered" at the tent--p.160

• Societal Norms
• through Jim's clear preference for the "hired girls," you can tell how he condemn the expectations of society. He uses a comparison of town girls and country girls to show how the country seems more free--part IX, pg 157 in particular
• country girls had a "freedom of movement," but the town girls seemed to have muscles that asked "not to be disturbed" when they danced and their "bodies never moved inside their clothes"
• "physical exercise thought rather inelegant for daughters of well-to-do families"
• only saw them as faces in the school room, no vibrant personalities that seemed to stick to memory
• country girls dances were "gayer than the others"
• "country girls were considered a menace to the social order" 
• Other instances of the restraint society put on activities
• When the tent opened up seemed like a huge relief to "at last [have] something to do in those long, empty summer evenings."
• "one could laugh out loud without being reproved by the insuing silence"
• the disapproval of Jim's attraction to the hired girls: "something queer about a boy who showed no interest in girls of his own age, bug who could be lively enough when he was with Tony and Lena or the three Mary's
• Jim also clearly hates the perception the Black Hawk has on foriegners
• Sterotype: All foreigners were ignorant people who could n't speak English
• Jim argues this statement by pointing out how "foreign farmers in our country were the first to become prosperous" (157) and that "their children were better off than the children of the town women they used to serve"(158)
• not having their daughters work seemed to only hurt themselves and Jim clearly mocked their backwards way of thinking
• also shows clear contempt for the way the town boys would admire the country girls but never marry them because "the respect for respectability was stronger than any desire" (158)
• Slyvester Lovett situationg--Jim glaring at him, hoping he was showing his "contempt" for Lovett
• Overall there seems to be a greater amount of freedom in the country (remember scenes where Jim described the open range as something never ending--he wasn't trapped)

• The appeal of Country girls
• I believe this comes from the fact that they have suffered through poverty and hard times in the country and now fully enjoys their opportunities of fun. Like in Rasselas, to know happiness you have to know misery; because these girls have experienced the misery of hard times they can embrace their happiness without restraints.
• "tried to make up for the years of youth they had lost" --p. 157
• "A girl like me has got to take her good times when she can"--p.161

My Antonia: 127-185

Move to Black Hawk serves as a shift from:

• Jim's childhood to young adulthood
• the land being a huge part of the book to the people/characters being the main focus
• succession of important events to more episodes (kind of like Robinson Crusoe)

Why might Cather have made Black Hawk more people-oriented? What might that reflect about Jim?

How are social norms different between the country and the city? How do we see the characters adapt to     the change?

What is the significance of the title "The Hired Girls" for this second book?

Why can't Jim put Antonia in his dream?

What is the significance of the tractor in the sunset? Something fleeting? like adolescence?

I noticed that Cather will have a character appear and do something and then describe them and give background info... Lena, for example, comes and has a conversation with the Harlings before we find out that everyone thinks she's a skank... If she had been introduced before she entered the house, would your opinion of her be changed?

Other interesting parts:

Suicide: "'He cut bands all right for a few minutes, and then, Mrs. Harling, he waved his hand to me and jumped headfirst right into the thrashing machine after the wheat'...'Now, wasn't that strange, Miss Frances?' Tony asked thoughtfully. 'What would anybody want to kill themselves i summer for?'" (146)

Why is she more concerned that he did it in nice weather than the fact that he committed suicide?! 

•  Wick Cutter's relationship with his wife; his return to Black Hawk without her...
• What is a Lapp? Why does it make Lena wild?
• I loved when Lena was trying to be all seductive and then Antonia came in and treated him like a brother... Where is their relationship going? What are they doing?
• Monotony Breaker: blind pianist - probably could be taken really offensively now, even though it's what people wanted to hear when it was published...

My Antonia Jordan Stackhouse

My Antonia Discussion Stuff

Jordan Stackhouse

Introduction from unnamed narrator-adding to credibility of story like the “autobiography” of Jane Eyre? What does the flash into the future do to the rest of the story? Positive or negative?

What do you make of the “My” in front of Antonia?

1.       What do you think of Cather being a woman writing in the voice of a man reflecting on his boyhood?

2.       What do you make of Jim’s description of the father? Obvious foreshadow to the suicide? Pg63

3.       Differences between the Bohemians and the minorities in the other novels? They have a larger part in the story and seem quick to learn and respected.

4.       What do you make of Jim and Tony’s relationship?

5.       How are the gender roles played with? “Much as I liked Antonia, I hated a superior tone that she sometimes took with me.”

6.       Pater and Pavel

7.       Mr. Shimerda’s death and the fact that he was unable to be buried because he committed suicide?

8.       Why did Shimerda commit suicide?

9.       Illustrations

10.   Chapter breaks a

11.   nd book breaks in the text.

12.   The change of setting from Europe to America-differences in culture and practices

13.   Religious/cultural barriers between Antonia and Jim (Catholic vs. Protestant and cultural)

Quotes:

·         The descriptions of the people-insightful and reflective of their feelings/personalities pg 56 with grandfather, description of Antonia and her father etctera

·         “This girl seemed to mean to us the country, the conditions, the whole adventure of our childhood.”

·         “If I live here, like you, that is different. Things will be easy for you. But they will be hard for us.”

·         “I never know you was so brave, Jim,” she went on comfortingly. “You is just like big mans; you wait for him lift his head and then you go for him. Ain’t you feel scared a bit? Now we take that snake home and show everybody. Nobody ain’t seen in this kawn-tree so big snake like you kill.”

“Why aren’t you always nice 

My Antonia p. 125-187--Riley

My Antonia p. 127-185

Book II

Part I

Jim and his family move from the country town. Mr. and Mrs. Burden go to work for the church and Jim begins school in town. Antonia and Jim begin to lose touch because Ambrosch won’t tell Jim any information about his family.

How does town life compare to country life?

            “we saw more of our country neighbors now than when we lived on the farm…WE had a big barn where the farmers could put their teams, and their women-folk more often accompanied them, not that they could stay with us for dinner” (128)

Part II

Jim’s closest neighbors are the Harlings, a Norwegian family who were former farmers. Jim becomes close with the family and when the Harlings’s lose their chef Mrs. Burden convinces Mrs. Harling to hire Antonia in hopes for bringing her out of man’s work and into the world of womanhood.

How do gender roles interact with living in town? How does Jim change while living in the town?

“I can bring something out of that girl. She’s barely seventeen, not too old to learn new ways” (132)

Part III

Antonia begins to work for the Harlings.

Part IV

Lena Lingard, another girl from the country, comes to tell Antonia that she will be working in town as a dressmaker. Lena brings with her a reputation to town.

Why do the country girls come to town? How does their presence interact with the townspeople?

“I don’t want to marry Nick, or any other man, Lena murmured. I’ve seen a good deal of married life, and I don’t care for it. I want to be so I can help my mother and the children at home, and not have to ask lief of anybody” (137)

Part V

Winter comes and Jim sees Lena buying Christmas presents for her family and she confesses she is homesick.

Part VI

Antonia tells the Harlings a story of a man who killed himself by jumping into a threshing machine for no reason. Nina becomes very upset but Mrs. Harlings makes her be quiet because she likes to hear about the country.

Part VII

 The blind, black pianist Samson d’Arnault comes to town and plays a concert for the men. Antonia and her friends are found to be dancing in the room next door and they are coaxed out to dance with the men.

Part VIII

The Vannis family sets up a dancing tent and begin to give out lessons. The dancing pavilion becomes the center of the town’s social life.

How did the dance pavilion become a place to express social/ racial hierarchy?

“Dancing became popular now, just as roller skating had been the summer before. The Progressive Euchre Club arranged with the Vannis for the exclusive use of the floor on Tuesday and Friday nights. At other times any one could dance who paid his money and was orderly; the railroad men, the Round House mechanics, the delivery boys, the iceman, the farmhands who lived near enough to ride into town after their day’s work was over” (156)

My Antonia 40-126

Compare and Contrast the Two Beginnings:

• pg 47-50, pg 245-246
• Which beginning do you think is stronger? Why?
• "My own story....he brought it to me"
• What kind of expectations arise from this introduction (story of recollections from someone's life)

Natural Descriptions

• "I had the feeling...what would be would be" (54)
• "I sat down in the middle of the garden...it comes as naturally as sleep" (59-60)
• Sets the tone of the story
• Danger hidden under peace and beauty
• "Years afterward...well to the sleeper" (113-114)
• Affect characters (and people in general) have on the land

Eyes Motif

• "She's got the pretty brown eyes, too!"  (51)
• "Grandfather's eyes...fresh, frosty sparkle" (56)
• "I remember what the conductor said...in the wood" (62)
• "His eyes were melancholy...hi brow" (63)
• "Her eyes looked...she could not say" (63)
• "His eyes followed Peter...unfriendly expression" (79)
• What do these descriptions tell us about the characters?
• Universal means of communication--do looks or expressions in the eyes bridge language and cultural gaps?

The Shimerdas/Foreigners

• "The Shimerdas were the first Bohemian family...by it at home" (60-61)
• "There never were such people...substantial presents in return." (73)
• "Mr. Simerda rose...Protestantizing the atmosphere" (97)
• Does this novel have tinges of xenophobia or acceptance or both? Support your claim
• "Ambrosch was considered the important person...her elder brother" (99)
• "Grandmother was indignant...to be laid amongst 'em" (110)
• "Mrs. Shimerda came out...but grandmother interfered." (112)
• "They ain't the same...with any of 'em" (120)

Importance of Communication

• "They hated Krajiek...could get information" (67)
• "After Mr. Shimerda discovered the Russians...talk to them for me" (68)
• Necessity of assimilation

Gender Roles

• "Much as I liked Antonia...we had together" (73)
• Conflict between friends comes from Antonia breaking gender expectations (female as the protector/worker)
• "'I never know you was so brave...like you kill" (75)
• What masculine and feminine ideals are displayed in the novel? Are they similar or different than those held today?
• "'I ain't got time...one good farm" (116) vs. "I think Emmaline...decided for me" (122)
• "I began to wish...no time for me." (117)

Other Interesting Moments

• Pavel and Peter's Story (80-82)
• Mr. Shimerda's suicide (102, 105, 109)
• Building the road vs. burying Mr. Shimerda (110-111)

My Antonia Notes 3/7

My Antonia Notes 3/7

Willa Cather

• ·      Born in Virginia
• ·      Grew up in Nebraska
• ·      Went to University of Nebraska
• ·      Sometimes she used a masculine nickname “William” and wore men’s clothing when she was at the University of Nebraska
• ·      Some people interpret Cather as a lesbian and interpret her work through a lens of “queer theory”
• ·      Published My Antonia in 1918 

Jim Burden:

• ·      What does it matter that Jim is an orphan?
• ·      Does it contribute to the concept of sacrifice and loss?
• ·      Looks back with extreme emotional nostalgia
• ·      Though he is married, he still cherishes his time with Antonia with emotional significance.
• ·      The book has a lot of self-evaluation because it is written as a personal memoir—What does that add to the novel? Have we lost the subtlety and innocence of children?

Gender:

• ·      Introduction it is not specified whether it is a man or a woman.
• ·      Woman writing through Jim’s perspective
• ·      Jim hangs out with Antonia and Yulka more than any of the Shimerda boys
• ·      “I never know you was so brave, Jim,” she went on comfortingly. “You is just like big mans; you wait for him lift his head and then you go for him. Ain’t you feel scared a bit? Now we take that snake home and show everybody. Nobody ain’t seen in this kawn-tree so big snake like you kill.”
• o   He was angry because she didn’t warn him, but he quickly gives that up when she says this.
• o   Antonia is struggling with English—we can watch how her English develops through the book
• o   She regards him as an equal