I don't usually like it when an author writes from the point of view of the opposite sex, but I think Willa Cather's stories are fairly believable. While reading "A Wagner Matinee" I thought the main character was female until towards the end when the aunt actually calls him by name. But, perhaps, gender isn't really important. I just found it interesting that the two stories we read by Cather were both written from the male perspective.
In "Paul's Case" we see a young man who is disillusioned with his mundane life. Paul feels he is destined for greater things; that he is meant to experience the finer things in life. Once he has tasted of these things he is content to let go rather than face the punishment that surely awaits him. His being has been satiated, so he simply lies down and waits for the release that is bearing down on him (the train and death).
I thought "A Wagner Matinee" was a very sad story. In order to survive a difficult life on the prairie, Aunt Georgiana had to give up the beauty and passion of the music she so dearly loved as a young woman. By taking her to the matinee, Clark rekindles those old feelings and, in the end, she doesn't want to leave the theatre only to return to her harsh prairie life. She would much rather remain with the magic and beauty of the music, but she realizes she must return to the prairie where there is not any time allotted for such things.
I enjoyed these readings by Cather this week. She was a very interesting woman whose writing reflected her propensity to challenge gender roles. I believe that by writing from the male perspective she was able to make the point that men and women are not so different from one another. Maybe she was trying to make the point that we are all just people with similar emotions and trials in life.
No comments:
Post a Comment