My Antonia Essay: The Character of Lena Lingard -- My Antonia Essays

The Character of Lena Lingard in My Antonia Lena Lingard is the trump example of a non-domestic central character which appears amidst the domesticity of My ntonia. Often the sections which feature Lena sort of of ntonia are seen as confusing divergences from the plot line of a impertinent that purports to be active the adult female named in the title. However, since Lena appears in the novel most as often as ntonia, and more often than any some other character except Jim, she is a central character. Lena is a working woman who refuses to accept the constraints society places upon her. Even when society predicts that by becoming a dressmaker instead of marrying she will fail and become a swooning woman, she disrupts their expectations and succeeds. The first image of Lena in the novel is as newly arrived, pseudo-sophisticated uncouth girl who has come to town to learn the trade of dressmaking. However, from the beginning of our familiarity of Lena she is anti-domestic. Lena recognizes that marriage is difficult-- she is never caught up in the idea of romance which leads ntonia to a disastrous relationship and unwed motherhood. ntonia takes the dances and socializing much more earnestly and ends up in trouble, whereas Lena enjoys dancing and kissing but is merely having fun. When asked about her mother, Lena responds, Oh, mothers never very well she has too much to do. Shed get outdoor(a) from the farm, too, if she could (Cather, 104). When Frances Harling teases Lena about a suitor who the town thinks Lena will marry, she responds, I dont compulsion to marry Nick, or any other man, . . . Ive seen a good bay window of married life, and I dont care for it (105). It seems impossible for the town to believe that a beautiful gir... ...c plot limits and ignores the non-traditional female experience which is just as all-important(prenominal) to analyze. The Nan Princes, Lena Lingards and Tiny Solderalls of the fictional world deserve and demand p recise attention not for what they dont do (the dishes) but for what they are-- working women. Works Cited Cather, Willa. My Antonia. newfound York Houghton Mifflin Company. 1995. Gelfant, Blanche H. The Forgotten Reaping Hook Sex in My Antonia. Blooms Modern Critical Views, 103-123. Jewett, Sarah Orne. A Country Doctor. New York The Penguin Group. 1986. Romines, Ann. The Home Plot Women, Writing & Domestic Ritual. Amherst The University of mom Press. 1992. Weiner, Lynn Y. From Working Girl to Working Mother The Female Labor disembowel in the United States, 1820-1980. Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina Press. 1985.