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1、Spiritual“Garden”toMaterial“Garden” 【Abstract】WillaCatherisaneminentwriterwhoachievedrecognitionforhernovelsoffrontierlifeontheGreatPlains.Mostofherfamouslongnovelsaresongsofpioneers.HerearlyfrontiernovelsOPioneers!andMy?ntoniaarehermasterpieces.Thetwonovelsarechosentobediscussedforthemsharingsom
2、esimilaritiesintheme.ThetwoareabouttheEuropeanimmigrants’self-constructionintheAmericanunreclaimedmid-westland.Theprotagonistsofthetwonovelsarefemalecharacterssharedthesametoughtraits.Thisessayistotalkaboutthe“garden”buildingofthetwoprotagonistsfromthespiritualsidetothematerialone.“Garden,”inEmers
3、on’sTheYoungAmerican,hasbeengivenanallegoricalmeaningthatnomatterwherepeoplelive,aslongastheydevotethemselvesintotheirsmallland,thepieceofgroundwouldbea“garden”forthem.Thusthisessayfocusesonthenewperspectiveof“garden”buildingofthetwofemaleprotagonists. 【Keywords】“garden”building;self-construction
4、;frontier;OPioneers!;My?ntonia I.Introduction WillaCather(1873-1947)wasanAmericanauthorwhoachievedrecognitionforhernovelsoffrontierlifeontheGreatPlains.Somepeopleevenevaluateheras“thegreatestfemalewritersincetheestablishmentoftheUnitedStates”(Cather,“My?ntonia”2).Shewascelebratedbynationalcritic
5、ssuchasH.L.Menckenforwritinginplainspokenlanguageaboutordinarypeople.HerworkshaseverbeenpraisedbySinclairLewisformakingtheoutsideworldknowNebraskaasnooneelsehasdone. WillaCatherwasborninVirginiain1873.Whenshewasnineyearsold,herfamilymovedtoNebraska,awildprairieareatobecultivatedinthemid-westAmeri
6、can,whereshewasacquaintedwithmanyimmigrantsfromdifferentpartsoftheworld,especiallyfromthenorthernandeasternEurope.Theirdifferentculture,regionandcustomweredeeplyprintedinthemindofyoungCather.Laterinherwritings,theprairielifehasbeenfullydisplayed.“SusanRosowskihaswrittenthatCatherwasthefirsttogivei
7、mmigrantsheroicstatureinseriousAmericanliterature”(Stout151).Amongherimmigrantworks,themostfamoustwofrontiernovelsareOPioneers!andMy?ntonia. EventhoughtheenthusiasmforWillaCatherandherworkshasbeenraisedtoahigher