Wilia Cather`s O! Pioneers!

p Friends , Family , Lovers

Themes of Love and Loving in Willa Cathers ' O ' Pioneers

I : Introduction

According to Willa Cather "human relationships are the tragic necessity of human life " Love is the one universal thing in the world All humans experience this emotion and it can be either a positive or a negative experience . My thesis is that although there are several types of love and loving relationships only friendship and love of the land are not detrimental to human achievement . This ties into the central theme in O ' Pioneers (1913

) of love and loving relationships . Several different kinds of love are exhibited in O ' Pioneers (1913 ) and all of these loves impact the lives of the main characters in some way Romantic love of course plays a role in O ' Pioneers (1913 . The romantic relationships of the characters both trouble and sustain them during the difficult times on their Nebraska farmAnother type of love that plays a powerful role in O ' Pioneers (1913 ) is the love between family members Finally , there is the love of the land that supports them . All of these loves play powerful roles in the life of the main character Alexandra and her family and prove to be both beneficial and problematic for them

II : Discussion

Romantic love is one of the most important themes in the novel Romantic love is often a deciding factor in the lives of the characters For instance the love between Frank and Maria is based upon lust , and the desire to have the unattainable . Cather (1913 ) states about Frank when he farewells Marie before she enters a convent school

He managed to have an interview with Marie before she went away and whereas he had been only half in love with her before , he now persuaded himself that he would not stop at anything . (Cather , 145

Momentary infatuations often lead to jealousy , and violence after the couple discovers that they have absolutely nothing in common . For instance , Frank feels jealousy over any man that dares to pay attention to Marie . This causes him to treat Marie badly , and gradually her heart turns towards someone else . Cather (1913 ) states about this situation

In the first days of their love she had been his slave : she had admired him abandonedly . But the moment he began to bully her and to be unjust she began to draw away at first in tearful amazement , and then in quiet , unspoken disgust . The distance between them had widened and hardened (Cather , 222

In the end this will end up in tragedy for Frank and the Bergson 's when Marie turns to Emil for the love and affection that she feels she does not receive from Frank

Romantic love can turn into tragic love . This can be seen in the romantic triangle that arises between Frank , Marie , and Emil . Emil comes back to find that his childhood sweetheart has married another man . One that she does not love , and because of his jealousy has come...